The Next Best Thing - Spend Your Vacation Working

Article, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, December 16th

No, this headline is not a sarcastic quip. It is actually the purpose of a new dot.com travel company called vocationvacation.com. This new company finds people who do cool jobs, and pair them up with vacationers who want to learn how to do those jobs.

For example, you could spend a few days working with a wine taster, or spend a week learning how to make cowboy boots from an expert. And for the benefit of working alongside these pros, you'd only have to cough up several hundred dollars.

This company also offers stints brewing beer, making cheese, or running an inn. If you think you have a cool job, you might want to give them a call. They're currently looking for mentors in new fields - a marine biologist, boat captain, and dogsled outfitter are some of the company's newest finds.