Living the Map: 50 states, 50 jobs, 50 weeks

In an age when many people doubt that it’s realistic to travel or find work, it’s great to see someone who’s combining both to prove them wrong.

Check out Daniel Seddiqui’s undertaking: traveling to all 50 states and working 50 different careers in 50 weeks. His website, LivingTheMap.com shows that he’s more than half-way done—now in week 32. His latest job? None other than working as a peanut sheller in Blakely, Georgia.

A recent USC grad, Daniel started the trip as a way to suss out what he really wanted to do for a career. He says he’s “on a mission to explore various careers, environments, and cultures that America has to offer.”

He’s definitely on an unusual trip, but I think that a lot of us can relate to the experimentation of it. Isn’t the best travel the kind that tests your comfort levels and assumptions? Granted, my test might be trying out new foods—whereas he’s trying out everything from being a border patrol agent to corn farmer, wedding planner to archaeologist. It may be unrealistic to think that he’s seriously considering each job, but there’s something to be said about gleaning the slightest hint of interest in a job by test-driving it, whether it’s realizing that you like to work autonomously or in a creative field.

Kudos to him for planning such a grand adventure!

You can sign up on his website to get updates on his whereabouts.