Take Your Next Career For A Test Drive

Want to learn what it's really like to be an architect? Or jewelry designer? Why not find out on your vacation?

VocationVacations of Portland, Oregon offers that chance. They offer a range of short (1-5 day) pay-for-mentoring opportunities.

This mentoring is isn't chatting after hours -- it's work. The Seattle Times ran a story featuring a Southern California graphic designer who always wanted to own a coffee shop. After days learning the ropes and making lattes on a VocationVacation in Seattle, he found out he could do it.

VocationVacation's inventory is diverse. One current offer is for two days of mentoring at Moskow Architects in Boston. Cost: $999. For $599 you can have two days of one-on-one with jewelry designer Mena Messina. Other possibilities include meteorologist, pet detective, or whitewater raft outfitter.

Founder Brian Kurth told writer Diana Wurn that vacationers are usualy 35 to 50 years old, unfulfilled professionally, and often have technical or financial services jobs. "About 20 percent of the VocationVacations clients have gone on to change careers as a result of their experience," he says in the article.

You can learn more at the VocationVacations website or the Travel Channel's "This Job's A Trip."

This post is part of LifeTwo's Midlife Career Change FAQ covering all aspects of changing careers in middle age.