Homer has had so many different jobs on The Simpsons, from food critic to astronaut, that his employment history has become a running joke on the show. Every now and then, a character will point out just how many different jobs Homer has held over the years. He’s held every job title from lowly busker to top-of-the-line corporate executive at Globex.
Since Mr. Burns has got him locked into a draconian employment contract to provide for Maggie, Homer will probably never stop working at the power plant. But he’s had a litany of side hustles over the years, be it amateur boxing, grease collection, or Grammy-winning rock ‘n’ roll.
Food Critic
Homer talks to a journalist in The Simpsons
In season 11, episode 3, “Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner,” Homer lands a gig as a restaurant critic for the local paper, working under a motormouth editor in the mold of J. Jonah Jameson. Homer dictates his reviews to Lisa, who polishes up his language and grammar to be more coherent and readable.
Homer is determined to qualify every single adjective with the word “groin-grabbingly,” so Lisa has to do a lot of editing. When his fellow critics point out that all his reviews are positive, Homer goes so far the other way — penning a succession of searing thumbs-down hit-pieces — that the local restauranteurs conspire to have him assassinated. Trust Homer to take a job as mundane and harmless as criticism and almost get himself killed.
Boxer
Homer and Moe in the boxing ring in The Simpsons
Moe discovers Homer’s uncanny tolerance for pain in season 8, episode 3, “The Homer They Fall.” When Homer is savagely beaten at Moe’s Tavern and barely flinches, Moe realizes they could make a lot of money on the boxing circuit. Homer initially just fights amateurs, but before long, he’s challenged by Springfield’s own Mike Tyson avatar, Drederick Tatum.
The episode has references to all the classic boxing movies, from Raging Bull to The Harder They Fall, but the premise of a champion taking on an up-and-comer is ripped straight from the most iconic boxing movie of all: Rocky. Everything you need to know about Homer’s short-lived boxing career can be summed up by his choice of walkout music: “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”
Grease Collector
Homer and Bart stealing grease in The Simpsons
In the season 10 premiere, “Lard of the Dance,” Homer learns that he can sell cooking lard on the black market and make a fortune. He pulls Bart out of school to help him build his empire, but they soon run afoul of Big Grease. It’s a wonderfully absurd scenario that only The Simpsons’ writers could come up with.
Homer essentially becomes the Daniel Plainview of grease. He’s blinded by greed, he’s in a toxic business partnership with his long-suffering son, and his ruthless ambition becomes his undoing when he goes after one last score: Groundskeeper Willie’s retirement grease. This is technically a B-plot, but it’s much more iconic than the A-plot.
Trucker
Homer and Bart in a truck in The Simpsons
In the first act of season 10, episode 17, “Maximum Homerdrive,” Homer gets into an eating competition with a trucker who ends up eating himself into an early grave. The episode gets into full swing when Homer is tasked with delivering the trucker’s last shipment, so he hits the road with Bart at his side.
The road trip gives Homer and Bart a good opportunity to bond, and it starts off as one of their sweetest storylines. But they run into trouble when Homer blabs about the best-kept secret in the trucking industry and gets hunted down by a secret society of truckers.
Imitation Krusty
Homer dressed as Krusty in The Simpsons
When Krusty opens a clown college to train regional Krusty impersonators to help pay off his debts to the IRS and the mafia in season 6, episode 15, “Homie the Clown,” Homer decides to enroll. He aces the class, but finds that working as a clown is nowhere near as much fun as it looks (especially when he’s run ragged by a rowdy birthday party).
However, he finds that being Krusty comes with some perks, too. As a recognizable celebrity, Homer can get out of speeding tickets, schmooze with the local elite, and get free stuff everywhere he goes. Unfortunately, he also gets lumbered with Krusty’s debts to the mob.
Volunteer Firefighter
Homer and Apu robbing a burning building in The Simpsons
Every now and then, The Simpsons thrives when it puts a random group of characters around Homer to act as a comic foil for his antics, whether it’s the Pin Pals or the Be Sharps. One of the most underrated examples of this kind of episode is season 18, episode 19, “Crook and Ladder,” in which Homer, Moe, Apu, and Principal Skinner become volunteer firefighters.
It’s a fun setup for a half-hour sitcom, but it morphs into a We Own This City-style gritty thriller about crime and corruption when Homer and his fellow firemen (except Skinner) start stealing valuables from burning buildings. It’s an interesting exploration of economic struggle and the corruptibility of underpaid (or, in the case of volunteers, unpaid) public services.
Baseball Mascot
Homer dancing on a baseball field in The Simpsons
Season 2, episode 5, “Dancin’ Homer,” is one of the rare episodes where Homer finds that he’s genuinely great at something. In a lot of entries on this list, Homer either lucked into a new job through circumstance (boxer, astronaut) or strongarmed his way into doing a job he was totally unqualified for (trucker, restaurant critic).
But in “Dancin’ Homer,” when Homer becomes a mascot for the Capital City Capitals, he really thrives. He struggles to entertain the big-city crowds, but he’s a genuine star in his small-town shows.
Bounty Hunter
Homer and Flanders with a bounty in The Simpsons
Out of all the jobs on this list, this is the one that could sustain its own spinoff show. In the season 20 premiere, “Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes,” Homer meets a bail bondsman played by Robert Forster (delightfully reprising his role from Jackie Brown) and realizes he could make a bundle chasing down parole-violating ne’er-do-wells.
Ned Flanders joins forces with Homer and they become a bounty-hunting buddy-cop duo. Homer is the reckless renegade; Flanders does things by the book. I could watch a whole series of Homer and Flanders hunting down fugitives, bickering every step of the way, but the episode already came up with the perfect denouement for this story: Flanders’ final bounty is Homer.
Rock Star
Homer, Barney, Skinner, and Apu sing as The Be Sharps mimicking the Beatles in “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet.”
In the season 5 premiere, “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet,” we find out that Homer was once the frontman of a barbershop quartet called the Be Sharps. Despite belonging to a niche genre, they took the world by storm and became a bestselling, Grammy-winning sensation. All the beats of the Be Sharps’ rise and fall are taken directly from the story of the Beatles.
From their experimental phase to the interference of their romantic partners to their final concert on the roof of Moe’s Tavern, every step of the Be Sharps’ journey parallels that of the Fab Four. Sam Mendes will have to make four really great movies to top “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet” as a Beatles biopic.
Astronaut
Homer eating chips in space in The Simpsons
The best job that Homer ever had on The Simpsons (and the one that he’s most woefully unqualified for) is astronaut. In season 5, episode 15, “Deep Space Homer,” as a publicity stunt to help boost their TV ratings, NASA decides to send an average joe into space with Buzz Aldrin on their next mission.
This should’ve been the moment that The Simpsons jumped the shark, but it actually ended up being one of the show’s greatest episodes. Rather than focusing on the high-concept gimmick of Homer going to space, it focused on his fears and insecurities about going to space, and making his family proud. The premise jumped the shark, but the execution stayed grounded.