We’ve all heard of working lunches, but a working vacation? Believe it or not, folks are not only willing to drag their laptops to the beach or crank out emails on their CrackBerries, they’re willing to use their vacation time to try out a new job! Oh and there’s more…they’re willing to pay to work? Er?
That’s the business of VocationVacations. They help people who want to test out new careers to get their shot by taking on short stints in the jobs of their choice. You can choose interesting gigs like “Two days as a Coffeehouse Owner in New Haven, CT” ($799 per person) or “Two days as a stand-up comedian in NY” ($1099 per person) or “Four days as a bed and breakfast owner in Amelia Island, FL” ($999 per person).
Here’s how it works:
You, the would-be job tester-outter, search the VocationVacations site for a job that interests you (”dream job vacations” range from Artist to TV Producer to Fishing Outfitter to Florist to Sword-making)
Click on “Learn more about this dream job vacation” and you’ll find the bio of your “mentor”, the person with whom you’ll spend your 1-4 days, and a list of the activities that you can expect to engage in during your dream job vacation.
I checked out the dream job of “Baseball Team General Manager of Fort Worth Cats in Fort Worth, TX”. The small sum of $799 per person buys me two days with Monty Clegg, General Manager and 15-year veteran of professional baseball. Monty and I will do the following:
-
Receive overview and participate in activities related to running the front office of a baseball organization
-
Learn about and participate in player contracts and negotiations
-
Discuss year-round roles of General Manager
-
Participate in team meetings
-
Take part in community relations and promotion activities
-
Watch and participate in game with GM
Additionally, I will receive pre- and post- job vacation career/life coaching from a VocationVacation-approved coach, dinners and a nifty journal to write it all down.
Most of the “dream job vacations” are with somewhat generic companies in far-flung areas or with people working in the field (as opposed to stars or big names). There is a dream job vacation as a brew master, but you won’t be working at Samuel Adams or even Budweiser for that matter. Nope. You’ll be working at Blue Point Brewing or Guilded Otter Brewing. Not that there’s anything wrong with the generics (they’re cheaper but still effective).
Bottomline on VocationVacations: It’s worth checking out and probably worth trying if you seriously want to see what it’s like to be a working stiff in your dream job. I suspect that some of the companies on the site are there for the wee bit of publicity it might offer; others are there because they’re broke and this might be an easier way to make money (i.e. Stand-Up Comedian, Off-Broadway Actor and the scads of Bed & Breakfast job vacations).
Some of the prices are reasonable, starting at $399. But, the full package is actually a lot more once you add hotel, car and/or airfare. Read the fine print because that 2 day vacation as a Bed & Breakfast owner requires that you pay $349 plus a required two-night stay at the Bed & Breakfast at $200 per night plus airfare and rental car.
Stuff You Might Also Like
If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds
Loading ...
