The country is mired in economic quicksand. Layoffs are a constant threat. You may have never wanted to leave your job more than you do now, but everyone around you is telling you that this is the worst possible time to make a move.
Thomas Camposano has worked as a broker, a teacher, and a firefighter, and he’s done these things all over the world. Yet, when he was finishing college, the economy looked a bit like the current one.
Camposano graduated Magna Cum Laude from George Washington University with a degree in International Business, and landed a solid job as a commodities broker with the US Department of Defense. After three years, he began to realize that he was miserable.
“I was surrounded by a lot of unmotivated people,” says Camposano. “I couldn’t spend my life doing something I hated, so I started looking for an exit.”
He had three criteria:
- The new path had to get him out of the office environment that he had found stifling.
- He needed to be able to make enough money to live comfortably.
- He needed the freedom to pursue his biggest passion: travel.
Teaching English Abroad
He found a program that provided certificates for teaching overseas. He submitted his application, quit his office job and moved to Prague to begin teaching.
“It was the best two years of my life,” Camposano says. “Prague is my favorite place on earth, and teaching is extremely rewarding. I met people there that are still some of my best friends. ”
Park Ranger
Camposano used to surf at Cape Hatteras, NC, and noted how the park rangers there seemed to love their jobs. He wanted in, but he also knew that these jobs were in demand and were highly competitive. “I figured, I’m not going to get this if I don’t at least give it a shot.”
He submitted the park service application from Europe. While on a ski trip in the French Alps, he received an email saying that a representative from the park service was interested in speaking with him. He called the interviewer from the slopes and was offered the job.
Elated, Camposano flew back to the US and drove to Cape Hatteras. He spent his days patrolling the beach, greeting campers, and enjoying the upbeat attitudes of his fellow park rangers. At first, he had a hard time believing that he was getting paid for it.
“It was the opposite of the stagnant environment at my first office job,” he says. “These park rangers were all getting paid less than the office workers, but they were far happier. I would have done it for free.”
Because his position at Cape Hatteras was seasonal and lasted from April until October, Camposano was free to pursue his passion for travel in the winter months, covering the globe, often choosing countries with beneficial exchange rates to stretch the park service money he had saved during the summer.
Camposano enjoyed the rotation for several seasons, but he knew he needed something a bit more lucrative.
Wildland Firefighter
During his time as a park ranger, Camposano often worked with wildland firefighters who were called in when brushfires occurred in the park. He was attracted by the adrenaline rush of fighting fire, and gradually began making the transition to wilderness firefighter while stationed in Cape Hatteras.
Once he had some experience under his belt, he began looking for bigger action. “I was sent out West, where there is always fire. Eventually I landed a position with the Bureau of Land Management in Utah. I’ve never seen so much fire in my life.”
Because of Utah’s centralized location in relation to other western states, Camposano was dispatched all over the West, depending upon where wilderness firefighters were in highest demand.
He would sleep in the forest, and wake up to fight advancing blazes. A typical week would consist of 100 work hours. It wasn’t always easy, but it was never boring, and overtime pay was high.
Camposano is now a firefighter with the Montgomery County Fire Department in Maryland, and is now working on a book titled “Jobs that Pay Well, and Don’t Suck”. He has some tips for workers looking to make a job change in a tough economy:
- Recessions can present opportunities to make a change. Seize them. “If you’re going to be laid off, why not use this time as an opportunity to make a positive change?”
- Ignore your critics. “I shake my head when I think about the life and work experiences I would have missed out on had I listened to folks telling me that my traveling and job changes were a bad idea.”
- Pursue your ideal job, no matter the demand or requirements. “Some of the jobs I’ve had are widely sought after. I didn’t expect to land them, but there’s no way to get these jobs without applying.”
- If you’re wondering whether or not it’s time to leave your current job, it probably is. “Life is too short to be unhappy at your job,” says Camposano. “I’ve spent my life experiencing a variety of occupations, and I’ve never regretted leaving a situation that wasn’t meeting my needs professionally. Find something that makes you happy.”
Feature photo by Paphio
Community Connection
For more resources on making a big move, check out our roundup of the Top 10 Places to Teach English Abroad as well as our guide on How To Become a Wildland Firefighter.
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23 Comments... join the discussion!
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I totally agree that there's no better time than an economic crisis to make the leap. Thanks for this inspiring article.
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That's it, i'm quitting my office job!
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This is a great article! I keep hearing "I can't" from people right now and have been looking for examples of how YOU CAN. This is a great one.
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Now THIS is the life. Wow.
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The more I think about this (and that's been a lot recently), the more it seems that it's only ourselves who are holding us back. Just go for it! Great stuff.
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Call me wher u r back in the city, Choco boy!
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I work in finance. Good article. Clean writing. But this Tom Capistrano is retarded. How am I suppose to pay for the european car note and the loft on a park ranger salary. Sure the dollar is still stronger than a lot of third world currency but if you are staying in a five star hotel, it'll still be expensive. And who said that you are suppose to love your job anyway. Thats why it is a job. It's work. You are not suppose to love the damn thing like the model from Nolita you are dating. The economy will get better. Things will turned around by early next year. I bet you he wish he had stayed in finance where his worth would be in at least 7 figures by now.
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I wouldnt like to see u naked, your balls must be XXS or smaller.
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Actually you can stay in some 5 star hotels or spend the winter in a gorgeous, brand new ocean view villa in a 15th century village and more…on very little. We do it on 25K a year, total costs for a family of 3…living large on little can be an art form.
Perhaps you should read a little from Tim Ferris or Ralph Potts? Or even Jim Rogers.
After a boom, there is always a bust. This one will take quite some time to work out.
Life is too short NOT to love every moment.
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Very good article, this is when you find out that you have to enjoy what you do, instead to do something that you don't really like!!!
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The mantra of "You're not supposed to like your job" is what keeps people from trying something new. You'll never know what's waiting for you out there if you refuse to look.
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"things will be turned around by early next year". would this be before the commercial real estate crash or after the Alt A and Option Arms whack us with another wave of defaults?
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Fantastic, well written article and spot on. In response to Broker1, I like the old saying "Is the juice worth the squeeze?". If working in an office environment is stimulating to you, and you enjoy the financial reward then by all means keep the job and love it. If you can't find joy in it, then do something new. I agree that work is called "work" for a reason, but hating every minute of it is not necessarily a requirement one has to submit themselves too. The actual day by day increase in lifestyle between the 50K a year job and the 150K a year job is, quite frankly, not that different. Your car has leather and can go fast, your house is bigger than you NEED, and you can enjoy other niceties in life, but again the question needs to be asked by each person, "Is the juice worth the squeeze?"
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cannot agree more with Matthew. Broker, when you hate your job, you will never find the energy to go the extra mile and achive excellence in it. The choice is then to stay average broker who dreams about european cars and lofts or to hoist the sails and discover new worlds. Its dangerous to stay in a job u hate. Sooner or later it will make YOU retarded.
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Back then I didn’t have a European car note or a mortgage on a loft in Manhattan. I still don't. When I traveled around the world, I never stayed in anything with a star.
In Costa Rica we rented a house near our favorite surf spot.
In Chile we stayed in a friend’s apartment and later in a wildlife refuge.
In North Africa we found a beach house in Essouira and a little riyadh in Marrakech.
It was the life. I worked in the national parks till the end of the season and then traveled around the world for the rest of the year. I was always somewhere beautiful.
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As it turned out there was no need to worry at all career wise. I am a high roller now.
I am stud. ( At least that's what my shift says when I cook at the fire house.)
My company car cost at least a $750,000 (Yes, fire trucks are expensive.)
I am admired and envied by other man (Okay so they were 5 year old boys who visited our fire station. But hey they said they wanted to be me one day).
I occasionally bring dead people back to life (This actually happened last shift. Coolest thing in the world. The dude had a heart attack and we brought him back.)
I casually stroll into a burning buildings and walk out unscathed (Well, maybe not exactly casually. I am nervous as hell. It’s more like we crawl in and we definitely don’t walk out unscathed. The whole thing can sometimes be frightening. But I am a fireman and it's the love of my life.)
So everything turned out as planed. I have no regrets, except maybe staying in that uninspiring job for 3 years. Yeah I could use a 7 figure income, but not if it would cost me my soul.
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Hey Tom, I dug your article. And no you do NOT need that 7 figure income! What would it really get you, other than the exchange of your soul? So many people think extra money means happiness, but I think less money means less complications, therefore less stress and more satisfaction. You did everything right. The poor economy means I'm getting laid off in a few months (I do PR for a non-profit, not exactly recession-proof) and I'm looking at it as an opportunity- to really dig in and make my 'big" dreams a reality. Thanks for the inspiring words.
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That commodity job I had was literally sucking the life out of me. I would look around the office and see what it had done to all the people around me and I could not believe that I was about to let it suck me dry with out a fight. I thought it was too early in my life to surrender. So i resigned. It was hard to walk away from that stable paycheck but after the first few steps it got a lot easier. I ended up in Prague and that was the best two years of my life so far. Life became adventure.
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Hey Campo. Wasup. I did not know you were a park ranger before DFRS. You were detailed to our battalion a while back and you cooked this beef stew that was off the hook. It was a couple of tricks before you got hurt at 10. Can you give me the recipe brother? Thanks
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Hey Hoseman. Hit me up on the fire department email and I'll give you the recipe for that stew. That was nothing at 10. Just a little nick. Another fireman dropped an ax and it hit may hand. I was back on full duty after a couple of tricks.
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Good one on you, Tom. As an idealistic 17 year old who is still looking for his 'path' in life, I'll be looking forward to that book!
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Excellent! I love this and think this is actually going to become a trend. The recession will allow more people to take a jump at their dreams and this will be a good thing. I recently wrote a post about how to do extended travel because I think more and more people are excited about doing that and it has never been easier.
We also broke free 3 years ago and have been on our open ended world tour as a family ever sense. In our case we retired early and sold everything to do it. There are many ways to break free. We only wish we would have done it sooner as it has been the best thing in the world for our family and for educating our child as a global citizen for the 21st century.
We are a 3 laptop family blazing a trail that I think many will follow in the years to come since it is so easy today to become a digital nomad and do everything online no matter where you are in the world. Bravo to you for going after your dreams!
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