Popular Science has the worst jobs in science. Some are silly, some are sick, some make you angry, and some just flat-out suck.

As happens in science, fundamental assumptions are herein turned on their heads. If you assume, for example, that people employed to supervise fart-smelling research would dislike such work, think again. Ditto Robert Jones, who adores working with flesh-eating beetles to remove every last morsel of decay and make his skeletons truly gleam. Mosquito researcher Helge Zieler says the beauty of the Brazilian rainforest far outweighs the thousands of mosquito bites and the malaria he suffered there. Science is full of inquisitive people who take great pleasure in doing jobs that others would not touch with a 10-foot pole—and the world is indisputably a better place for their efforts. We’re grateful that someone out there is doing these jobs. Even more grateful that it isn’t us.



Here’s the list:



1. Flatus Odor Judge

2. Dysentery Stool-Sample Analyzer

3. Barnyard Masturbator

4. Brazil Mosquito Researcher

5. Hot-Zone Superintendent

6. Isolation Chamber Tester

7. Fistula Feeder

8. Prison Rape Researcher

9. Carcass Cleaner

10. Postdoc

11. Metric System Advocate

12. Corpse-Flower Grower

13. Endangered Species Ecologist

14. Astronaut

15. Fish Counter

16. U.S. Stem Cell Researcher

17. Planetary Protection Officer

18. Fusion Researcher

More here.