America’s Toughest Jobs September 9, 2008

Contests Gold Mining in Alaska

This fall NBC is airing yet another reality TV show. Initially I thought the concept of challenging 13 contestants to train and participate in some of America’s Toughest Jobs was sort of absurd, but after watching the first three episodes I’m truly amazed.

On the first episode the contestants went Crab Fishing on an Alaska crab boat. The temperatures were well below freezing and sleep was not an option. You couldn’t pay me to do what they did…

In the second episode the group learned how to drive 18-wheeler trucks in the Northern Canada bush and Alaska. The icy roads and steep hills are considered one of the most dangerous treks in the country. Learning how to shift the gears going up hill and down hill was very tricky for many of the contestants. I might have tried that, but again it was freezing cold so maybe not…

In the episode I watched last night the contestants went Gold Digging in an Alaskan River…and yet again temperatures were sub-freezing and in addition to wading through ice cold water, rocks and mud for pieces of gold smaller than the tip of a finger, they had to set up their own tent and sleep and cook outside. I definitely wouldn’t have done that…

But what inspired me to write about the show was the affect the experience had on the contestants who were voted off. Senta, a receptionist from California, was voted off after not being tough enough to handle Crab Fishing. After the show, she decided to return to Alaska and work for a National Wildlife Preserve. She said she learned that there were people in the world who were living a life closer to what she wanted to do. Senta took the opportunity, experience and connections and made it happen.

Phil, who was voted off last night after an unsuccessful gold mining attempt, returned to Alaska to accept a job offer as a truck driver. The truck driving experience in episode 2 proved to be much more fulfilling than his previous work as a pharmaceutical sales rep.

As I approach 30 years old, I am very inspired by the fact that those two individuals were willing to drop everything, relocate and change jobs in the pursuit of happiness after only spending a few days working a job completely different than anything they’ve ever experienced. I’m at that point in my life and would love to have a wake up call like that. I would love to find fulfillment in an unlikely job in a foreign place and have no regrets. That’s something you wouldn’t have to pay me to do. I’d do it for free…