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According to recent reports, millennials are ditching the 9-5 in droves to pursue more flexible careers that allow them to work remotely and travel at the same time. The concept has inspired countless "Best Job on the Planet" contests, ranging from getting paid to drink rosé in France to exploring the globe as a travel photographer. Cities (Tulsa) and states (Vermont) have even gotten in on the action, paying people to move there. After all, isn't it the ultimate dream? Quit your day job, travel the world and get paid for it.
But most dream job contests usually entice applicants with a modest stipend. Until now.
The sustainable clothing company Prana has just launched a once-in-a-lifetime "Day Job to Dream Job" promotion that will pay one winner a one-year salary of $100,000. But here's the hook: Are you courageous enough to quit your day job and pursue your passion?
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Prana says the $100,000 will help jumpstart your career, get your dreams off the ground and also help spread the company's "clothing for positive change" philosophy, which involves sustainably transforming the way fashion is made. To apply, applicants must submit a one- to three-minute video that showcases both their current occupation and their dream job.
Submissions for Prana's dream job will be reviewed by a panel that will select a finalist based on "passion, boldness and originality." During their year-long gig, the winner will produce a series of videos that shows how they're working toward their dream.
Get ready for competition: Sweet gigs like this are typically flooded with applications. When The New York Times created its first “52 Places Traveler” position, which required someone to travel the world for a year, a staggering 13,000 people applied, while a contest to be Cancun's CEO (Cancun Experience Officer), getting paid $10,000 a month for six months, attracted a whopping 8,000 applicants.
And be prepared to work. "The word ‘contest’ diminishes the qualifications that someone has to have to get one of these jobs and the work that they’re going to have to do,” says Jada Yuan, who was hired by The New York Times to be the newspaper's first 52 Places Traveler. "Not all of them are equal, but I have met people who have won these 'contests' and they really are jobs. These people are working nonstop; they’re just doing things that maybe from a 9-5 office perspective doesn't seem like a job."
And there are downsides. Yuan says that when she meets people who have gotten similar roles, they have "all bonded over the idea that we were in these beautiful places and often didn’t have a chance to enjoy them because we were so busy creating content that had to be shared."
But the results can pay off. For Yuan, who had previously been working as a contributing editor and culture reporter at New York Magazine, the role gave her a chance to try a different kind of journalism—and to see the world. She's now a political features writer for the Styles section of the Washington Post.
And take Chelsea Odufu, who won a job as the chief digital nomad of Fiverr and traveled around Asia for four months. She says that the position helped contribute to her end goal: "to make narrative feature films and epic branded content that allows me to travel and stay true to my voice."
In the case of the Prana contest, the sky's the limit. The deadline for entries is September 16, 2019. To be eligible you must be 21 years or older and a legal resident of the United States. The winner will receive a $100,000 prize distributed in quarterly payments of $25,000 each. For more details, visit prana.com/dreamjob.
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