The One Week Job project was launched in February 2007 when 25-year-old college graduate Sean Aiken worked 52 jobs in 52 weeks to find his passion.
The idea to try out a new job each week came to Aiken when he realized he was unsure of what
career
The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways.
Definitions
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...
to pursue after completing a business degree.
In lieu of wages, Aiken asked his “employers” to donate to
Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History are organizations in a number of countries, which focus on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice. They generally form a coalition of aid and development agencies which work together ...
, and raised $20,401.60 for the campaign. To support his travels and basic living expenses during the project, Aiken was sponsored by NiceJob.ca, a Canadian job search engine.
Over the course of the year, Aiken tried out a variety of job roles across
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, including
preschool teacher A preschool teacher is a person who is employed to care for children from infant to 4 years of age in a daytime setting. “Preschool“ is the category for children aged 2 to 4 years of age. (Infants: 0-1 year of age & Toddlers: 1–2 years of age) ...
,
firefighter
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
,
fashion buyer
In the retail industry, a buyer is an individual who selects what items are stocked and their key responsibility is dealing with all the products that come into the store. Buyers usually work closely with designers and their designated sales repre ...
,
cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...
,
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
mascot, and
stock trader
A stock trader or equity trader or share trader, also called a stock investor, is a person or company involved in trading equity securities and attempting to profit from the purchase and sale of those securities. Stock traders may be an invest ...
.
With his project ending in March 2008, Aiken wrote a book about his adventure, titled ''The One-Week Job Project'', published in 2010 by Penguin Canada and Random House Publishing Group in the United States.
About Sean Aiken
In 2005, Sean Aiken graduated from
Capilano University
Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshin ...
in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a degree in business administration. He had a 4.0
GPA
Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
and was voted class
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
. After graduating, he travelled around the world for a year-and-a-half before returning to live with his parents in British Columbia. At this point, he was still unsure of what to do with his life.
One day, during a family dinner, Aiken's father told him, “Sean, it doesn't matter what you do, just make sure it's something you're passionate about.” Shortly after, Aiken started his 52-week journey.
Sean Aiken currently lives in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia. He continues to encourage people to find their passion through his speaking engagements at schools and colleges around North America.
Documentary
Sean Aiken's best friend, filmmaker Ian MacKenzie, travelled with Aiken for much of his original 52-week journey and documented the details of the experience on film. In the summer of 2010, the documentary The One-Week Job Project premiered at HATCHfest in the United States.
Summer Program
In the summer of 2010, three program participants were selected for the inaugural One Week Job Program. Spots for the program were awarded based on public votes during an online competition. The first three participants were from Toronto, Texas and Tennessee. Each participant was awarded a scholarship of $3,000 (CDN) and given eight weeks to try eight different jobs.Shadi Elien, ''"One Week Job documentary filmmakers aspire to inspire"'' (The Georgia Straight) January 13, 201 /ref>
Bibliography
* Aiken, Sean (2010) ''The One-Week Job Project.''
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Official Website