Career Center | Ryan McNamee's cool cruise-line job

What do you do? I am the marketing coordinator at Un-Cruise Adventures, an adventure cruise line [based in Seattle]. My primary role is to manage the visual assets and act as the company photographer and videographer. How did you get

Career Center | Book editor Kjersti Egerdahl's cool job

What do you do? I'm an editor of nonfiction illustrated books, mostly on pop-culture-related subjects. My company, becker&mayer! Book Producers, creates books for publishers. We work with a lot of licensors; I’ve done officially licensed books with Star Wars, Star

Career Center | Furniture designer Andy Whitcomb's cool job

What do you do? I am a furniture designer, and I own two furniture companies, Whitcomb & Company and Brackish. Whitcomb & Company is a custom furniture company in which I design unique pieces made from salvaged wood, steel, and

Career Center | Hydroplane museum director David D. Williams' cool job

What do you do? I am the executive director of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum [in Kent]. We are the nation’s only museum dedicated exclusively to powerboat racing. Unlike many museums, all of our artifacts are restored to running condition,

Career Center | Lieutenant Commander Daniel Simon's cool job at NOAA

What do you do? I'm a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) commissioned officer currently assigned to the role of associate director for operations for the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory). My main responsibility is to find ships to perform oceanographic

Career Center | Shawndra Illingworth's cool bobblehead job

What do you do? I’m a sales associate at Funko, which produces licensed pop-culture toys. It’s often referred to as “slangin’ bobbleheads.” Some of my main focuses? Obtaining new customers, keeping current and potential customers excited about Funko items and

Career Center | Animator Tom DesLongchamp's cool job

What do you do? I am an animator. I use whatever materials/tools are available to create animations. This primarily occurs on my computer with the help of my Wacom Cintiq, which is a special monitor and stylus that allows me

Career Center | Script supervisor Rhona Rubio's cool job

What do you do? As a [Seattle-based] script supervisor, I'm the one who makes sure the lead actor's hair is parted in the same direction during a scene, even though we may be shooting the scene over multiple days. I

Career Center | Kaijudo community manager Andrea Cole's cool job

What do you do? I am the community manager for [Renton-based] Wizards of the Coast’s newest brand, Kaijudo, a collectible card game and television series. I manage the brand’s Facebook page and other social-media accounts and keep my ear to

Career Center | Ghoul job: Ghost-tour guide Jake Jacobson

What do you do? I am the owner and guide of Private Eye on Seattle Tours, which offers Ghost and True Crime tours in the city. What’s a typical day like? Depending on the schedule, I chauffeur people to either

Career Center | Michael Strick's cool job at NOAA

What do you do? I prepare, calibrate and check out oceanographic instruments for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate-research cruises. I'm primarily responsible for rain gauges and current meters. These instruments are used on oceanographic research buoys studying El

Career Center | Water taxi deckhand Chad Wiesenfeld's cool job

What do you do? I work as a deckhand on the Vashon Island to downtown Seattle route of the King County Watertaxi. I collect fares, handle lines and stand bridge watches. The way I see it, my job is to

Career Center | Seattle Storm emcee Shellie Hart's cool job

What do you do? I am the on-court entertainment emcee for our two-time WNBA Championship team, the Seattle Storm. How did you get started? Since the tip-off of the first season in 2000, I volunteered when I could to emcee,

Career Center | European tour specialist Robyn Stencil's cool job

What do you do? I work as a tour operations specialist for Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door, managing the Germany-Austria-Switzerland, Berlin-Prague-Vienna, Ireland, Scotland and Adriatic itineraries. My job is to assist in planning and coordinating these itineraries; organize

Career Center | Game tester Jonathan Bettger's cool job

What do you do? I test games at Big Fish Games [in Seattle]. A game tester's job is to discover bugs, or problems, in the game software and then work with developers to get those bugs or problems resolved before

Career Center | Therapeutic riding instructor Kelly Chaplin's cool job

What do you do? I am a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International advanced instructor at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center [in Woodinville], and I work here as the senior instructor. This means I teach people with disabilities how

Career Center | Conservation director Jim Wharton's cool job

What do you do? I use education to inspire conservation of our marine environment. [At Seattle Aquarium], I work with a team of passionate, creative educators and volunteers, and together, we try to infect our audiences with a little of

Career Center | Ballet dancer Carrie Imler's cool job

What do you do? I am a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet. How does someone get a job like yours? Many years of practice! I started training when I was 5 and a half years old and have been

Career Center | Cyclist Tommy McCarthy's cool job

What do you do? My main job is lead trainer/cycling instructor at Flywheel Sports in South Lake Union. I am also a cycling coach for Team Survivor NW, a life coach with Seattle Life Coach, a Lululemon ambassador and a

Career Center | Microbiologist Karlyn Beer's cool job

What do you do? I'm a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington, and I work at Institute for Systems Biology, studying how microbes navigate their way through complicated and ever-changing environments. I work with a single-celled organism native to

Career Center | Pie-maker Dani Cone's cool job

What do you do? I own Fuel Coffee and High 5 Pie; these days, I spend most my day making pies and drinking endless amounts of coffee. How did you get started? I have been a barista since about 1992.

Career Center | Model Tristyn Rowlan's cool job

What do you do? I’m a [Seattle-based] fashion model represented by Heffner Management. How did you get started? My ex-girlfriend always suggested I should do it. I took the time out to do the research on where I needed to

Career Center | Naturalist Kevin Mack's cool job

What do you do? I am the naturalist in charge of the release program at the PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood. Our center is a full-service wildlife hospital that rehabilitates sick, injured and orphaned wild animals with the goal of

Career Center | Kung-fu instructor Michelle McVadon's cool job

What do you do? I teach kung fu and self-defense at Seven Star Women’s Kung Fu, a nonprofit women’s martial arts school founded in 1981. How did you get that job? I started at Seven Star in 1983, just a

Career Center | Cookbook author/foodie Becky Selengut's cool job

What do you do? I'm a private chef who prepares dinners for small groups of diners. I teach cooking classes out of my home, in client's homes, at PCC, Bastyr University and The Pantry. I lead foraging trips in the

Career Center | Tasting-room host Ken DeCamp's cool job

What do you do? I try to entertain as well as educate our customers while introducing them to our wines. Brian Carter Cellars has a great group of European style blended wines. When they leave our [Woodinville] tasting room, I

Career Center | Musician Jack Forman's cool job

What do you do? I'm the bass player, joke teller and business manager for Recess Monkey. We're three elementary school teachers from here in Seattle who make music inspired by kids and their families. What's a typical day like? This

Career Center | Documentary food photographer Clare Barboza

What do you do? I am a food photographer, with a particular passion for documenting how food goes from the farm to the kitchen to the table. I shoot for chefs, farms, cookbooks and magazines, and also teach food photography

Career Center | Home stager Patty Bonnell

What do you do? I am a home-staging professional [at SetTheStageWA.com]. I make houses beautiful so people can sell them faster and for more money. I work with real estate agents, builders and home sellers to create clutter-free, dramatic rooms

Job Calendar | "Casino Women" reading/signing

Jill Jones will read from her book "Casino Women: Courage in Unexpected Places," which offers a behind-the-scenes look at careers in the gaming industry such as maid, cocktail waitress, dealer, pit boss and vice presidents. Autographed copies of the book

Career Center | Fantagraphics PR director Jacq Cohen

What do you do? I’m the publicist for Fantagraphics, which is a comics publishing house [in Seattle]. I’m the liaison between our books and the media. Day to day, I set up book reviews and cartoonist interviews, and confirm features

Career Center | Cool Job: TV producer Eric Riddle

What do you do? I’m a segment producer for KING-TV’s "Evening Magazine." My job is to find and write compelling stories for our 30-minute weeknight show. I basically do everything a reporter does but I’m not on camera so I

Career Center | Yule Job: Santa Russ

What do you do? I have the wonderful job of having my picture taken with thousands of children of all ages while they tell me what they’d like for Christmas. It’s also a good time for me to review the

Career Center | Cool Job: Horse trainer Laura Moore

What do you do? I am a horse trainer and horseback-riding instructor. I train horses in the fields of dressage and show jumping. Horses come to me in all stages of training; whether I’m breaking a horse or just putting

Career Center | Cool Job: Propmaster Shauna Frazier

What do you do? I make props and scenery for Teatro ZinZanni [a Seattle dinner theater that’s part circus, part cabaret]. Every day, someone (an artist, director or colleague) describes something to me that they wish could be real. What’s

Career Center | Cool job: stylist/personal shopper Tiffany Wendel

What do you do? I’m a stylist and personal shopper, helping clients weed out and maintain their wardrobes. I shop for the key pieces they need for the season and put together a look book of outfit combinations for them

Career Center | Cool job: hot air balloon pilot Shannan Sorensen

What do you do? I get paid to fly a hot air balloon! Over the past few years, I’ve shifted from flying passenger flights [for Airial Balloon Company in Snohomish] to mainly tethering for commercial interests and in public events

Career Center | Cool job: FBI Special Agent Cheryl Hinderer

What do you do? I am a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I investigate criminal cases involving the sexual exploitation of children. I speak at schools and community functions about the risks children take while online. I

Career Center | Cool Job: Social media manager Evonne Benedict @king5seattle

What do you do? I am the social media manager for KING 5 TV and KING5.com. Part of my job is to post news to Twitter and Facebook, but even more important is using social media to build our community

Career Center | Hot Job: Private detective and investigators

The job: Private detectives and investigators help people, businesses and attorneys by finding and analyzing information. They connect clues to uncover facts about legal, financial or personal matters. Private detectives and investigators offer many services, including executive, corporate, and celebrity

Career Center | Cool Job: Chief Formulation Officer Eric Butler

What do you do? I am the founder and CFO (chief formulation officer) for Eric’s Energy Co. (a small all-natural beverage company in Mill Creek). I create the recipe for each custom formulation that bears the Eric’s name. How did

Career Center | State regulates jobs you’d expect (doctors) and many you wouldn’t (pro wrestlers)

By Michelle ArcherNWjobs Did you know that in Washington, you need a license to be a professional sports announcer? An auctioneer? A camping-resort salesman? Hundreds of jobs are regulated by the state, many of them through the same agency that

Career Center | Cool Job: Malaria researcher Alexis Kaushansky, Ph.D.

What do you do? I’m a postdoctoral scientist at Seattle BioMed in Stefan Kappe’s lab, where our focus is malaria vaccine research. I design and conduct experiments, share the results of those studies in papers and presentations and write grants

Career Center | Cool job: Record label utility player Adam MacKinnon

What do you do? I’m in charge of shipping/receiving, odd jobs and comic relief for Barsuk Records, an independent Seattle record label that’s worked with Menomena, Death Cab for Cutie, Phantogram, Nada Surf and David Bazan to name a few.

Career Center | Cool job: Costume designer Emily McLaughlin

What do you do? I am lucky to work at the Seattle Children’s Theatre in wardrobe for the Mainstage Season and as one of the Costume Designers for the Drama School Summerstage Season. I also work as Costume Designer for

Career Center | Cool Job: Shana Iverson, The High Priestess of Rubber Chickens

What do you do? My title is The High Priestess of Rubber Chickens. I manage and select all the products for the store (Archie McPhee in Wallingford), I am a manager of our wholesale business, and I am involved in

Career Center | You’re a what? Offbeat job titles can be memorable and effective -- or not

By Marty Orgel The Associated Press Evangelist? Guru? Those are so stuck in the dot-com bust. These days, try “chief popsicle” or “public happy-maker.” Job titles can spell success or failure, and the new century is generating a host of