WEEK     JOB: INNKEEPER

LOCATION: OTTAWA, ONTARIO

EMPLOYER: MCGEE’S INN

WAGE: $20,290 YEAR [Source: BLS]

McGee’s Inn is family-owned, employing four members of the Armstrong family over two generations. Located in a beautiful heritage building, it offers Victorian décor, fourteen bedrooms, and gourmet breakfasts.

JOB DESCRIPTION: Cooked breakfast, served guests, cleaned rooms, made beds, worked in the yard, tidied common areas, visited with guests. By the end of the week, I could serve up a decent eggs Benedict, though my hospital corners still needed some work.

WHAT I LEARNED: Think “lifestyle.”

The decision to operate a B & B is a major lifestyle choice—the ultimate convergence of social life and work. One reason the Armstrongs chose this profession was that it provides them with more time to spend with family and to raise their children. However, this benefit does bring challenges, such as needing to be careful not to allow any stress from work-related issues to impact the home environment.

This week I realized that when I choose a career, I won’t just be choosing how I spend forty hours of my week. I’ll also be choosing the lifestyle associated with that particular profession: salary, type of people, work environment, travel requirements, commute, vacation time, risk of transfer, and so on.