Peter Parker got his superpowers at a very young age and has been juggling his civilian and vigilante personas ever since, with questionable success. This has led to him having to do various odd-jobs over his career to make ends meet, from mustering whatever he could in his teenage years to fill the void his uncle Ben left or whether it was finally buckling down and following his dreams in his adult years.

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Peter has done a lot over his sixty-year run in the comics and, as such, he has built up his portfolio rather impressively, covering a wide and diverse range of careers. Within this article, we will be delving into the seven jobs that Spider-Man has taken over the years, from his Ditko-drawn debut in the 60s to his spandex-spangled popularity in the 2010s.

7 Photography

ArguablyPeter Parker's most iconic role, and his longest-standing so far, is his time as a photographer. When everything else went kaput, Peter Parker saw an ad in a paper asking for pictures of the menace plaguing New York City, none other than his alter ego, Spider-Man.

Naturally, Peter responded that he would take photos of himself and pawn them off to J. Jonah Jameson for some quick cash. Rather amazingly, an entire mythos was built, one that would remain a core part of the Spider-Man iconography to an extent as strong as the red-and-blue spandex and the Osborn name.

It was at the Daily Bugle that we met Betty Brant, J. Jonah Jameson, and Robbie Robertson. Peter's time as a photographer wasn't just with the angry anti-Spider publication, however, as during the post-Civil-War era of the 616 universe, Peter lent his services to The DB! and The Front Line.

6 Wrestling

Photography wasn't Peter's first job, however, as he started in the entertainment business. He's had a lot of outfits over the years, and his very first costume doesn't even come close to resembling iconic one of today - it was just blue sweatpants with a baggy white shirt and a mask made of webbing. Nothing "spectacular" to say the least.

However, it didn't need to be, as Spider-Man's beginnings were as a high schooler trying his hand at anonymous wrestling. Things went south pretty quickly, however, as they needed his name to keep him on and he simply refused to give up his secret identity.

It's funny how one of the most beloved heroes started out by using their powers for personal gain, something that's often synonymous with villainy. It's one of many things that makes him so relatable, and this idea of him starting as a wrestler was even reused in the Ultimate universe and the Sam Raimi films.

5 Avenger

Spider-Man in the Avengers

You may be wondering why 'Avenger' is on a list about jobs but it counts. Peter didn't need to work anymore when he joined up with the New Avengers alongside Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Sentry, and Spider-Woman, just to name a few, as he was given a free room in the Avengers Tower with access to all sorts of luxuries and even Tony Stark's butler, Jarvis.

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He didn't just get paid with accommodation and all the resources he could ever need being at his fingertips, so readily accessible. He was also given a new suit from Tony, the Iron Spider. However, this job was one of his more shorter-lived ones. He gave up his identity to the world, then betrayed Stark and joined the Secret Avengers, who didn't have the resources to pay him.

4 Bodyguard

Spider-Man-working-for-the-mafia

Peter Parker's beginnings were somewhat morally questionable, and it wasn't until Uncle Ben's dying breath that he realized that with great corny catchphrases comes spandex-clad bad-guy fighting. However, he didn't hang up the morally ambiguous lifestyle entirely as, at one point, he agreed to be a bodyguard for a mob boss.

He was paid a fairly decent fee of $12,000 per day but he wasn't allowed to leave this morally bankrupt criminal's side. In all fairness, he undertook this job partly to catch a criminal and he even managed to dig enough dirt on his new boss to throw him away too. Nonetheless, he took money from a mob boss, and who knows just how this scummy "businessman" acquired the funds to hire a superhero to keep an eye on him.

3 Scientist

Spider-Man Horizon Labs

Something that Peter has wanted to do since he was in high school was to delve into a life of science, but his time as Spider-Man completely ripped that dream from him. He simply could not ground himself in a 9-5 Monday-to-Friday job, hence why he took freelance jobs such as photography to pay the bills.

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However, when Aunt May helped him land a dream-job at Horizon Labs where he was able to come-and-go as he pleased, things changed rather quickly, as he was able to finally get paid for what he loved doing. He even used the resources to help with his Spider-life, building gadgets and technology to help him be a superhero.

2 Teaching

Peter has truly come a long way since his days in the 1960s under the helm of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko but it is important to note that his origins are rooted in Midtown High, the school whose name has become as iconic as the Daily Bugle even though both are fictional organizations.

Whilst he did graduate fairly early on in canon, Peter ended up returning in JMS' run to teach at his old school, which had changed drastically since his time as a student there. Seeing this parallel between the past and the present was a bleak reminder of just how much time had really passed since Peter's youth, and this job also highlighted just why Parker should never have a 9-5 Monday-to-Friday job since it doesn't work whatsoever with his alter ego. There are not enough sick days collectively in the entirety of America to keep him above water.

1 CEO

Parker Industries

Peter Parker has a run called Superior Spider-Man where Doctor Otto Octavius, one of his most iconic and beloved villains, takes over his body and begins to run his life. Doctor Octopus gets Peter a doctorate and then builds him a company - Parker Industries. However, the clock eventually runs out and Parker gets his own body back.

The trouble is that Otto has built him a new personality with a public identity, a company, and a brand new life. He is thrust into all of this and somehow has to keep the spandex on in spite of everything. He hires Prowler to take over as the wallcrawler and ends up running his company into the ground through terrible decisions and from being too nice. It was incredibly clear that this once-photographer, teacher and scientist was in way over his head.

NEXT: Spider-Man: 10 Costumes With Oddly Specific Uses