CareerCast.com Identifies Creepiest Careers

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Oct 20, 2011, 05:20 ET

CARLSBAD, Calif., and AMSTERDAM, Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- At this time of year, many of us take great pains to avoid spiders and other creepy-crawly creatures. But for some, a career working with slithery creatures is exactly what the doctor ordered, according to CareerCast.com, which identifies the nation's creepiest careers.

"Forensic Entomologist, who studies insects that invade a person's dead body and decipher insect life cycles to determine the time and manner of death, is the creepiest career on our list," says Tony Lee, publisher, CareerCast.com. "These little bugs can even offer clues as to when and if a body part was moved after death and the types of injuries that may have occurred."

Other creepy careers include Arachnologists, who study over 90,000 discovered species of arachnids, including spiders, scorpions, daddy longlegs, camel spiders, ticks and mites; Pest Control Specialists, who must be able to accurately assess and eliminate insect and rodent threats; and Reptologists, who are wildlife biologists specializing in the study of creatures with green scaly skin.

If you aren't a herpetophobe, arachnophobe or just "creeped-out" by the mere mention of slithery critters, then maybe one of the following creepy-crawly careers is for you:

1) Forensic Entomologist
Average Salary - $47,740
Job Description - Forensic Entomologists use their knowledge of insects and the lifecycle of death to apply it to criminal matters.

2) Arachnologist
Average Salary - $61,660
Job Description - Arachnologists are biologists who study spiders of all shapes, sizes and varieties.

3) Pest Control Specialist
Average Salary - $30,340
Job Description - Pest Control Specialists remove creatures from households, apartment buildings, businesses and other structures to protect people and maintain structural integrity.

4) Reptologist
Average Salary - $61,660
Job Description - Reptologists are wildlife biologists who specialize in the study of reptiles. Some may work in zoos or museums of natural history.

5) Road Kill Removal Specialist
Average Salary - $30,000
Job Description - Road Kill Removal Specialists help to extricate and remove dead animal carcasses from highways, roadways and other passageways to dispose of the remains and to prevent potential accidents.

6) Field Entomologist
Average Salary - $47,740
Job Description - An entomologist studies insects and their lifecycles.