6 Most Interesting IT Jobs on the Planet

We understand that IT professionals are highly skilled workers who put in long hours on the job, often working in offices, server rooms, or data centers. Someone doesn't enter the field expecting to travel the world, interact with celebrities, or even be thanked often. (We do thank you, though.)

One of the best aspects of working with information systems today is that everyone needs support for their software and devices. This means trained IT professionals can choose to work at any location in the world, as long as their services are in demand in that area

Here are a few of the most intriguing IT jobs that may not yet be on your radar.

Traveling Tech

If you want to see the world while getting paid, the best route is a job that includes travel as part of its primary job description. Because heavy travel deters many job applicants, you'll have an advantage, especially if you work in a specialized area of IT. When your workday is over, you'll be able to see the sights and dine in restaurants in locations you might not have ever visited otherwise. Unless, of course, you're a traveling data center tech. In that case, you'll likely be in no man's land most of the time. Otherwise, you can see some pretty cool cities due to business.

The upside: Traveling techs are often contract positions, which means you'll probably be paid a premium for your services. If you like constant change and new challenges, then this is the place for you.

The downside: Independent contractor is not synonymous with job security or a typical 9-5 job. However, you have plenty of flexibility.

Bitcoin IT Tech

Bitcoin has been hailed as an integral part of America's cashless future, and by working in this field, you'll be at the center of party conversations. If you have the specialized certifications necessary, you'll not only be able to name your salary, but able to explain to other people what Bitcoin is and how it can benefit their lives. Otherwise, just a CCNA and some experience mining should serve you well.

Bonus: We dug deep into our YouTube library vault, and found an old NuggetCast by Keith Barker and a special appearance by CBT Nuggets CEO Dan Charbonneau dedicated to bitcoin mining. You'll see that bitcoin mining is mostly a hardware puzzle drawing from the concepts you'll learn with a CCNA, particularly when scaled to the big bitcoin facilities.

Cruise Ship IT Support

Cruise ship passengers increasingly expect connectivity while on vacation. As a result, cruise ships regularly put out calls for IT support workers and managers to work aboard their ships. If you have the required qualifications, you can make a career on a cruise ship. Whether you want to make it a career is another thing, entirely.

Modern cruise ships have upwards of 2,000 crew members with all the IT issues of a restaurant, hotel, casino, corporate business, and, well, a giant ship, rolled into one. There's a brief, but illuminating Quora answer, that goes into further detail about the day-to-day requirements. Usually, a cruise ship will have a few IT pros along for the ride to fix everything that can break.

The downside: Employees don't enjoy the same perks as passengers, but many cruise lines do offer entertainment and recreation lounges.

Entertainment Industry Technician

If you want your IT job to be interesting, choose an interesting business. Movie studios, record companies, and even local TV stations need IT assistance on a regular basis. To better equip yourself to work in these industries, learn to support the specialized equipment they use for editing, mixing, and recording. Beyond the equipment for recording equipment, modern entertainment businesses require their IT folks to master challenging broadcast management systems that closely relate to networking and collaboration.

Taking a look at a handful of broadcast technology IT job postings, they really like using the terms "fast-paced" and, in one case, "not for the faint of heart." While you still might not end up on the closing credits, you'll be the one to keep the content flowing (or, seemingly, the one to blame if everything crashes and burns). Nothing new, really.

IT Tech for CERN

At the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), leading physicists conduct experiments and research on particle physics. CERN researchers found the elusive Higgs boson, and invented the world wide web. It's basically nerd heaven. And guess what? They need IT pros. Consider this: CERN maintains 20,000 miles of fiber that transport 30 petabytes of experiment data.

Because it's an enormous, multinational government project partnered with academia, their IT pros are either contractors or billeted as graduate fellowships. We assume they only hire the best. If that's you, then pack your bags because you're heading for Switzerland. Or maybe not. You can work for CERN in the United States, too. U.S. institutions like the Department of Energy and various universities collaborate with the scientists at CERN, analysing their experiment data. How did the data get from Switzerland to California? You get the picture.

Bonus: Just think, you could either help discover the next particle, or know that your work created a black hole that swallows the Earth (or at least Geneva, Switzerland). Looking at it this way, we argue that any job has its rewards and dangers, and we like those odds.

IT Tech for SpaceX

Elon Musk's plan to send civilians into space is well underway, and the long list of open positions is proof of that. Working as a technician on the program will let you be an insider on a project that has the world buzzing.

There are multiple information security and technology jobs open for those who have the education and experience necessary. These jobs will likely be highly competitive, so it's important to emphasize any special certifications or experience you may have that applies to the work they're doing.

The upside: Working to send humans to Mars under the direction of Elon Musk.

The downside: Working 100-hour weeks to send humans to Mars under the direction of Elon Musk.

IT work is well-known for its generous pay and great opportunities, but there are also some jobs that can place professionals in interesting, fun environments. Because these jobs can be competitive, it's important to keep your certifications up to date, learn how to hack your career, and create an impressive resume so that when these jobs do come along, you have a great shot at landing one.