Unhappy workers thinking of a dream job can give it a test drive

Aah, sunny New Glarus, Wis. Population 2,111.

It's a nice place for a vacation - if you're an aspiring sword-maker.

The Southern Wisconsin town is home to Albion Swords, one of only a few shops nationwide where a person can learn how to make his own sword. 

"It's something you won't know if you want to do until you try it," said Albion Swords owner Howard Waddell. "Most people have this idea in their minds that it's like in the beginning of the movie 'Conan the Barbarian.' That you just take a piece of metal, heat it up and stick it in a pile of snow and there you go. But there's a lot more that goes into it."
Waddell left his job at the U.S. Department of Labor to become a sword-maker in 2001. Now he's helping other people do the same by serving as a mentor with VocationVacations, a company that lets people "test drive" their dream jobs by trying them out for a few days.

Dream jobs vary: For some it's cattle-ranching; for others, cheesemaking. For Torrance, Calif., resident Gynna Bayle, it was wine retailing.

"I love wine," said the 43-year-old, who in November spent a vocation vacation with the wine retail company Vineyard Express. "They always say to do something you truly love instead of going through life just making a living."

Bayle works as an information technology system administrator for a satellite communications company. But after more than 10 years in the tech industry, she said she's hoping for a change.

"The IT business, it gets cold and robotic. Even the speech - HP, AD - it's all acronyms," she said. "I listened one time in a meeting when people were talking and that's all I could hear: acronyms. I was like, 'OK, this is not human stuff.' That's when it occurred to me: I don't want this anymore."

She's not the only one second-guessing her career choice. According to a survey conducted by the Conference Board, a market information company, 40 percent of workers reported feeling "disconnected with their employers." Twenty-five percent said they were "just showing up to collect a paycheck."

And only 14 percent of people surveyed said they were "very satisfied" with their jobs.

VocationVacations founder Brian Kurth can relate. He left his job in the dot-com world to pursue his dream of helping others pursue theirs.

"I was stuck in traffic and not liking my lifestyle," said Kurth, who lives in Portland, Ore. "I was very busy but bored. I should have been satisfied, but I wasn't. I kept thinking of all the things I wanted to do - working in the wine industry, being a dog trainer, working as a tour guide."

He left his job to travel the country. Along the way, he realized a lot of other people felt the same way he did.

"I'd be having a beer in Boulder or hiking in the Grand Canyon and I'd meet and talk with fellow travelers," he said. "I realized there were a lot of disgruntled people out there who had dreams jobs they weren't doing. I asked them, 'Would you pay to have experience in your dream job?' They said, 'Uh, yeah, I would if it was affordable.'"

In its first year, VocationVacations had 10 packages, all in Oregon. Today, the company offers more than 200 jobs, from chocolatier and brew master to meteorologist and make-up artist.

Host employers are called "mentors" and get an undisclosed percentage of the trip cost in exchange for their teachings. Prices range from $400 to $2,000, depending on the length of the trip and the notoriety of the mentor. The cost includes pre- and post-career counseling. Airfare and accommodations are not included.

Considering that most Americans get about two weeks of vacation time per year, one might wonder: Who'd use their time off work to ... work?

Anyone looking for a career change, Kurth said.

"You can take an internship when you're 20, 25 years old, but as adults, we can't take the time off," he said. "We've got jobs, we've got mortgages. We can't go up to our bosses and say, 'Can I take all of July off to pursue another job?' We'd get fired."

In the Los Angeles area, the big draw for job-seekers is the entertainment industry. Travelers can vacation with a choreographer, a production designer, a wardrobe stylist, a make-up artist or a talent agent.

"People tend to think it's going to be really exciting and that you're going to be meeting movie stars and hanging out at movie sets all the time," said Tim O'Brien, president of Clear Talent Group, a talent agency in Studio City. "That might happen - but it doesn't really happen with assistants."

People who want a career as an agent, he said, need to be prepared for long days and little pay to start. O'Brien said vocationers do tasks ranging from sorting through applicants to helping with auditions, working eight- to 10-hour days.

"This isn't something I'd advise someone to go into lightly," said O'Brien. "It's not easy work."

It's not all about show business in Southern California, however. Manhattan Beach wedding coordinator Mary Dann has opened her business to would-be event planners.

"It's difficult in the competitive world for people to open up their offices and their books," said Dann, 41.

To the wannabe wedding planner, Dann's resume speaks for itself. Aside from doing the every-so-often celebrity wedding (she won't say whose) and writing for Inside Weddings magazine, Dann recently finished filming the fifth season of the Style Network's "Who's Wedding Is It Anyway," a reality show chronicling the hectic lives of wedding planning pros.

A three-day vocation vacation with Dann costs about $2,000. Participants work in the office, help with the rehearsal and attend the wedding.

"It truly is test-driving your dream job," she said, adding that at least one of her vocationers has gone into the business.

Kurth said about 20 percent of his clients go into their vacation's vocation. But dream jobs aren't always what they seem.

"Sometimes we have vacationers come out and say, 'OK, this is not my dream job,' and that's equally as important as learning it is your dream job," Kurth said. "It's like, 'Oh my God, I so don't want to be a baker. I can't wake up at 3 a.m.'"

Dann agreed, saying, "The biggest thing that people are surprised about, that they consistently tell me, is how much work it is."

For Bayle, whose weeklong vacation cost $400, the dream of some day having her own wine shop is still there. It's just, she said, a little more realistic now.

"I got a lot of insight in regards to what needs to be done prior to that glamorous grand opening. You can't just open a shop. You have to have big capital. You have to have a plan."