Whale of a job!
As kids we fantasise about becoming astronauts or explorers but these dreams rarely come true. GO talks to five people who bagged their dream jobs—from a whale naturalist to a travel writer. Read on to find out how.
Amy Kennedy, Whale Naturalist
As a humpback whale research assistant at the Center for Coastal Studies, in Provincetown, Mass., Kennedy records the behavior of whales, photographs them for identification purposes, takes genetic samples, and serves as a naturalist on public whale watch vessels.
Start: Growing up on the coast of Maine, Kennedy remembers, “I was such a geeky kid—I had pictures of whales all over my room and every birthday from the age of seven, I would make my dad take me out whale-watching.” In college she set out to study the big mammals as a career.
Wrangling full-time work took time—lots of it. In fact, before she became full-time Kennedy had “a huge number of contract jobs” everywhere from Alaska to the West Indies.
When she got her first whale-related job in college, it was for the Bar Harbor whale watch company that had taken her out for all those birthdays. She worked there for four college summers.
After graduating, Kennedy did marine mammal observer contract work in Alaska, California, Washington, the West Indies, and Florida.
Big break: “I was working in Florida with right whales,” she says, when the opportunity with the Center for Coastal Studies came up. Kennedy flew to Massachusetts to interview, and realized that she and the interviewer had mutual work acquaintances. “Networking helps,” she notes. In April 2004, she started full-time at the CCS.
Tips: Volunteer really early; that way you’ll start getting noticed. Don’t get discouraged by negative comments. Put in your time, do the bad jobs first, then the good ones. You can do it.
Sylvia Caminer, Film Director
Sylvia Caminer produces and directs the Travel Channel show “Passport to Europe,” frequently directs independent films and documentaries, and has worked on major Hollywood projects including Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, Robert De Niro’s A Bronx Tale, Carlito’s Way and others.
Start: In the early 1990s, after stage directing off-Broadway, I got production assistant work on The Age of Innocence. Getting this was difficult—it’s hard to break into the tight little group that is called on to do production work.
I did so by going up to Troy, N.Y., where the shooting outside New York City was taking place. I said I had family up there, which actually I didn’t, but it was worth it to be handy when they needed out-of-town staff.
Big break: After that, I was called to work on A Bronx Tale; and subsequently on Carlito’s Way, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, and others within a two-year period. It was pretty thrilling to work with those kinds of greats.
In 2001, after producing 10 films in eight years, I moved back to my home state of Florida, because my father was very ill. After five or six months, I began looking for work that I would enjoy: adventure and travel film work.
After working on several projects, I got involved with the Travel Channel show “Great Hotels.” After two and a half years, the show was re-vamped to become “Passport to Europe.”
It’s definitely fun; next month I’m off to Spain.
Tips: The real challenge is that you have to be ready at a minute’s notice, and you’re away from home more often than not. These days, to get started, many people just pick up a camera and go. Volunteering for even a few days with a crew in your area will get you noticed, too.
Rolf Potts, Travel Writer
Rolf Potts has reported from over 50 countries for dozens of publications, including National Geographic Traveler, Conde Nast Traveler, Outside, Salon.com and National Public Radio. His book on independent travel, Vagabonding (Random House, 2003), has been through five printings and translated into several languages.
Start: At age 23, Potts traveled by van across North America for eight months and later wrote about the experience. “The journey was wonderful but my written account was awful,” he notes now.
Big break: What I learned from that first experience was important; remember your audience, take detailed notes on the road, identify and distill the best stories from a swirl of experiences.
I sold my first story to Salon.com’s wonderful travel section (now defunct). I was living in Korea at the time, teaching English. After selling five more stories to Salon that year, I stumbled across the filming of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach, in Thailand. My article about that landed in the inaugural edition of The Best American Travel Writing. Subsequently, Salon made me a travel columnist—my planned year of travel stretched into 30 months, and my career took off.
Tips: Travel writing isn’t a very stable profession. You really have to simplify your life to make it work financially. One great tip is to base yourself in an inexpensive part of the world. It’s also an ongoing process of pitching stories, working with editors and rewriting—which is more time-intensive and central to the job than the travel itself. Build up experience and expertise as a traveler, and develop your voice and discipline as a writer. Specializing in a region, country or type of travel (adventure, retirement, etc.) also helps.
Suzanne Perrault, Antiques Expert
Suzanne Perrault has a fascination with antique tiles that started after admiring the walls of the New York subway. Since 1996, she has been a tile and pottery appraiser on PBS television’s “Antiques Roadshow.” She lectures across the country on various subjects, including pottery, and is a principal auctioneer at Rago Arts and Auction Center, in Lambertville, N.J.
Start: After moving to New York in the late 1980s, I found a job at Barton Kaplan Antiques, selling Arts and Crafts furniture and accessories. I knew nothing about those; the only thing required was a sense of humor. So I applied, got the job, and began learning.
While there, I met David Rago, now my husband, who had a gallery and needed help with auctions. Those are such busy enterprises that I was able to get into that field.
Big break: While I was freelancing at his gallery, David was asked to participate in “Antiques Roadshow.” I would go listen while he worked at the pottery and porcelain table, and eventually I was made a junior appraiser at that table.
I began calling the auctions after a friend pointed out that we’d need back-up in case anything happened to David’s voice. So I started out—very badly and very nervously. David would train me, and if I made a mistake I’d have to start over in front of lots of people. But eventually I caught on, because it’s not rocket science—and now I call auctions regularly.
Tips: This work is mostly about experience in the field—less about having a degree, although art history does help. The more you do, the more you see and interact, the more you learn. Reading books and articles helps too.
Jesse Jones, Professional Poker Player
Known for wearing tuxes at games, North Las Vegas resident Jesse Jones has played tournament poker since 1985. Winnings such as $194,131 for the Crown Australian Poker Championship in January 2004, and $37,740 for the WPT World Champsionship III, in April 2005, supplement his other income.
Start: I’ve always been a games person and was on my high school chess team. In 1984, I moved to Las Vegas for work. That’s when I played my first casino game. Although I’d long played poker with family and friends, playing in a casino was a whole different experience.
Big break: The following year, I played my first tournament, the World Series of Poker. At the time the WSP was one of the few tournaments, so it was particularly exciting to participate.
These days, the sport has grown to attract people from every nationality, and all ages. You can be at a table with anyone from a grandmother to a college student.
The number of tournaments has increased since 2000, making it easier to make money. Now, there’s a major event nearly every week, or two to three times a month.
Tips: As with anything, poker takes practice —you have to dedicate the time necessary to become proficient. It took many years for me to reach the point where I thought I could make serious money playing poker.
Don’t get discouraged, though: It’s possible to get into a tournament even if you only play poker casually. In 2003, Fritz Moneymaker, who was then an amateur, won tournament poker’s major event. That’s the great thing—the game always has an element of surprise.
Words by Catherine Arnold