Dream Jobs Dissected
BCBusiness rounded up 10 British Columbians with cool jobs. From travel writer to fashion photographer to stuntwoman, there are plenty of people in our province making an exciting living.
If you view your corporate gig strictly as a lifelong straitjacket that pays the mortgage and feeds the kids, you’re not alone. Most of us fantasize about the elusive dream job, the one we hoped for in our childhood: owning a vineyard, becoming an astronaut, being a rock star or playing on the Canucks’ top line. To kick-start your creative juices, BCBusiness rounded up 10 British Columbians with cool jobs. Yes, they love their work, but it ain’t all bliss. There are boring bits, they feel stress just like the rest of us and they’re more likely to put in long hours in less than ideal conditions. Still, no one glazes over at dinner parties when they talk about a typical day at the office.
Travel Writer
“People think I swan around taking free vacations,” jokes Vancouver-based John Lee, who admits he is frequently cornered at parties by envious nine-to-fivers. “In fact, travel writing is tougher than it looks. When I arrive in a country, I always have at least three pre-assigned stories to write, sometimes six. I hit the ground running.” In the U.K. doing legwork for Lonely Planet’s Western Europe Guide earlier this year, Lee visited 22 cities in 26 days; not exactly an itinerary that screams rest and relaxation. “This business involves a lot of meticulous research,” he insists. “I’m not lounging around a swimming pool.”
Lee, 35, a U.K.-born teacher-turned-journalist, was born with boundless curiosity and a yen for adventure. Completing his master’s degree in political science at UVic in 1993, he switched into journalism, something his hometown high school career counsellor had firmly discouraged. He toiled briefly as a feature writer at Business in Vancouver before shedding the corporate yoke for a suitcase. Since 1999, he has circled the globe, with writing gigs that include riding the Trans-Siberia Railway, igloo camping in the Rockies and trekking in New Zealand’s Whirinaki rainforest.
Whether he’s in Paris or Bangkok, Lee takes the road less travelled, avoiding obvious tourist attractions in favour of little-known local hangouts. His cynical, irreverent style has endeared him to more than 80 picky editors of publications ranging from the Guardian in London to the Sydney Morning Herald. An Everyman with an eye for the absurd, Lee is no doubt responsible for inspiring a few incorrigible couch potatoes to venture beyond the confines of home.
Despite the endless hours in airports and almost constant jet lag, Lee says the job hasn’t lost its appeal. Still, while most of us would thrill to spend a couple of weeks on a different continent, he admits his idea of a holiday is to stay at home and catch up on his reading. For a non-working trip, though, he’d head back to New Zealand or Malaysia.
While he’s been to some pretty exotic spots, Lee says his most surreal travel experience came during a Disney World press junket. “I remember riding around It’s a Small World with a beer in each hand and thinking it just wasn’t enough.” So does travel writing have longevity? “It’s hard to say: I see a lot of leathery old writers on the road. They’re crabby and hard to please – I don’t want to end up like that.”
DJ
You don’t have to be in high school to be part of the cool crowd. Just ask Leanne Bitner – a.k.a. DJ Leanne – Vancouver’s undisputed queen of the turntables. For the last 12 years, she has rocked discriminating crowds in Canada, the U.S. and Europe with her particular brand of electronic dance music, and exudes the kind of self-confident attitude you’d expect from someone who’s used to being the life of the party.
In 1994, fresh out of broadcasting school, Bitner left Saskatoon for Vancouver and a career in the entertainment industry. Working first for Nettwerk Records then house music label Nordic Trax, she went on to do PR for Sonar, the city’s longest-running nightclub. In 1999, Bitner formed her own production company, Girlonwax, and began spinning full time on the local club circuit. As her star ascended, Bitner spotted a nifty entrepreneurial opportunity and opened Vancouver’s first DJ school in the back of a downtown music store. Today, in much larger premises, her Rhythm Institute offers beginner spinners intensive instruction on the finer points of audio mixing, cueing, phrasing, cutting, needle drops, scratching and beat-matching. While her classes mostly attract teens with $350 in their jeans, they also appeal to 30-somethings who plan to keep their day job but want a taste of life in the club lane.
Bitner’s schedule sounds gruelling: on weekends she DJs at lounges such as Ginger 62 until the wee hours, then routinely puts in 12-hour days at the school she operates with partner David St. Helene, an early graduate who loved the business so much he bought into the company. DJs are currently in big demand, says Bitner, 32, not only in clubs but for special events such as store openings and fashion shows.
“To survive in this business you have to be diverse, keep on top of your music and know how to work a crowd,” she says. “When I’m out there I’m not just spinning: I’m dancing, lip synching and entertaining. People respond to my energy and to the music I love to play. It’s an amazing feeling.”
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