If you haven't pegged what your dream job is, research a subject that interests you. Take a class, shadow a mentor or work part-time in a new field, advises Jeri Sedlar, co-author of Don't Retire, Rewire! (Alpha Books, $18.95). You can even try out a job to see if you like it. Vocation Vacations, in Portland, Ore., lets you spend anywhere from a few days up to a week with a career mentor. These mini working vacations cost $350 to $1,200 (excluding travel arrangements).
Vocation Vacations is the brainchild of Brian Kurth, a former dot-com executive who came up with the idea while stuck in traffic on his way to work. You can sample more than 70 occupations, including vintner, brew master, inn-keeper, tour operator and TV producer, to name a few. There's even a selection of jobs in England: pub owner, chocolatier and floral designer.
One of Kurth's clients is Kevin Guthrie, 50, of Northport, N.Y.,
who wanted a change after 18 years of working for a nonprofit organization. Guthrie thought he might like to be his own boss, but he didn't know anything about running a small business. With no family obligations, Guthrie figured he could use his tax refund and tap into his savings for about six months as he pondered what to do next. Last April he headed to Los Angeles for a stint with the owners of Vineyard Express, a retail wine store.
After two intensive days that cost him $500, Guthrie ultimately decided against going into retail sales. But, encouraged to go out on his own, he took a real estate course and recently landed his first listing.
FIVE WAYS TO GET STARTED
Give Yourself a Push
Tiffany Mock was miserable in her job as a senior manager for Oracle business software, so she took a class at her local career center in San Francisco. There she met Joel Garfinkle, founder of Dream Job Coaching. Over the course of eight months, Mock, 38, paid Garfinkle about $5,000 for advice on plotting a new career course. He helped her decide to leave her job and use a home-equity loan on her condo to finance her expenses while she figured out what to do.
Together Mock and Garfinkle identified her talents for organization, problem-solving and empathy. Garfinkle suggested a career as a professional organizer and put Mock in touch with pros in that field. Three years later, Mock earns more than $100,000 a year, thanks mainly to word-of-mouth referrals and a timely article about professional organizers in a local magazine.
You can find a career coach through the International Coach Federation or Coach U. Coaches typically charge $50 to $200 an hour. But there's plenty you can do on your own at no cost.
Immerse yourself. Learn everything you can about your dream job. Join associations, talk to people who work in your chosen field, and volunteer.
Make a plan. When Dilbert creator Scott Adams was still toiling in the cube farm, he got up early in the morning to draw cartoons before he went to work. Once he had 50 samples in hand, he mailed them off to various syndicates. United Features offered him a contract within weeks.
Be creative. Figure out ways to turn your passion into profit. Rich Wagner started out as a freelance photographer in college and continued to pursue photography as a hobby during his 20-year career in retailing. Eventually, he opened a custom-framing shop and fine-art gallery in Simsbury, Conn., and his own photographs hang in collections worldwide.
Face your fears. Once you determine what has been holding you back -- whether it's lack of training or worries about money -- you can devise strategies to overcome the obstacle, such as going back to school or tapping your savings to launch a new career. To get a sense of how much you can expect to make in your new field, check out the "Salary Wizard" search engine at www.salary.com.
