I had read about a new trend of 'working' vacations and just assumed it meant working on vacation, and as a travel writer, I'm a big advocate of mixing travel with work as much as possible. You might as well get paid to hang-out in a museum and tell someone else about it. But Vocation Vacations takes it a step above and beyond, introducing otherwise unexplored careers to the travelers. In essence, it allows you to test-drive a career for a week and assess your interests and skills.
What's so appealing is the universal truth that passion often doesn't pay the bills and it takes true innovation to ever break free from the 9-5 shackles. How can you really expect to explore a new career when you're tied down to your current career crap.
When I first discovered Vocation Vacations, their services mostly stopped at your dream job vacation. But now they offer all kinds of resources and coaching:
- Choose from over 130 different careers with 250 mentors across the country.
- For one to three days, join an expert in your chosen dream job.
- Take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator online personality assessment to assess your interests.
- Participate in one hour of pre and post Vocation Vacation career coaching from an accredited career coach.
- Receive a pocket--sized journal to document your dream job, share lunches with your mentor.
They've also put out a book called Test-Drive Your Dream Job, building on their vacation vocation philosophies. There are opportunities in both the US and UK with a wide variety of 'jobs'. Want to be an actor? You can hang with Jack Plotnick for $1349. Who's Jack Pltonick? Looks like he's been in tons of comedy circuits, a few films and commercials. But you're not going to hook up with Dinero on your vocation vacation, unless J. Plotnick is buddies with him.
Other cool vocations include Alpaca Rancher, Animal Therapist, Architect, Cheese Maker, Cheesemonger (What's the difference between a Cheese Maker and a Cheese Monger?), Guitar Maker, Make-Up Artist, Meteorologist, Model, Resort Owner, Restaurant Owner, Wrestling Ring Announcer (cool!), Vet, Voice-Over Actress, Weaving Studio Owner, Wine Maker, Wine Sommelier, Yoga Studio Owner, and several dozens in between.
The website is nice and organized with easy access to all the information you're looking for, including bios on the mentors you'll be chilling with on your trip. While not cheap, it's a far better investment than singing up for career counseling and filling out tests to figure out what you want to do with your life. Might as well pay to see it all firsthand, gain valuable experience, and make some connections.
But it's not just for career-hoppers. Some of their vocationers are just looking to try something different, satisfy their curiosity, and brag to their friends how cool their vacations are. The founder, Brian Kurth, had that same kind of career wanderlust. After working in corporate America and a stint in Estonia helping set up an office for the post-Soviet period (who hasn't?), he spent his long commutes in Chicago wondering what it was like to be a wine maker, dog trainer, tour guide, etc. He tried finding a company that offered adult internships for this sort of thing and realized it didn't exist. So after getting the pink slip from a dot.com he worked at, he went on a six-month journey throughout the US and Canada and eventually launched his company.
If they're not laughing all the way to the bank, I'm sure they will be in the next 5 years. Wish I had thought of that kind of that kind of travel innovation. Just shows you can combine anything with travel if you're determined.
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