The Pest Control industry is definitely one that not I am sure not many think of as a potential career when coming out of college. Though, as I am finding out this week, it is a huge industry and so as a result, there is a lot of opportunity. I guess someone has to do it.

I have been told this week that if a choice had to be made between eliminating the medical industry or the pest control industry, that it would be better off to eliminate the medical industry due to the amount of disease that are a result of pests. That, and the collective weight of all the ants in the world is about equal to the weight of all the human beings in the world.

My first day at Truly Nolen I learned all about the company, met the executives through a video conference call to Tuscon, AZ, and watched some of the training videos about proper inspection, safety procedures, and how to identify infestations. I am not sure why, but it always seems that the majority of training videos for any company were produced in the early 90’s. Needless to say, they were pretty entertaining.

Yesterday I helped fumigate a house which is quite hard work. The tarps they put over top of the house to seal in the chemicals inside are really heavy. The guys I was working with have been doing it for years, so I looked pretty weak next to them. Today, I spent with Ashley, a Truly Nolen Sales Inspector. We got to drive in the signature beetle car decorated like a mouse, complete with ears and even a tail. You can kind of see it in the background of this picture.

-Sean

In case you missed it on the homepage, here’s Sean’s week working as a Trade Show Salesman for FIFO Bottle.

This week I am in Miami, Florida working as an Exterminator with Truly Nolen Pest Control.

“Truly Nolen focuses on keeping pests out through exclusion, dusting and applying liquids and baits to the outside and perimeter of your home. This creates a barrier around your home and limits the use of chemicals that may be detrimental to your family and pets.”

This week, I will get to assist in seeking out and identifying potential active nesting sites of pests and treat the problem accordingly. My initial thought was that it is probably not a good idea to be exposed to all those chemicals, though apparently the technique limits the use of invasive chemicals, so that’s good to know.

If you live in the Miami area and want to meet up while I am in town, let me know.

Look out bugs, here I come!

-Sean

Here’s Sean’s full interview on CNN yesterday. It features a great montage of previous jobs, along with an in studio interview. We’ve finally hit the big time baby!

A very big thank you to everyone at The Georgia Aquarium for such a positive experience and for sharing your love of the marine world with me!

At the aquarium, there is a strong focus on educating visitors about the conservation of marine life. I think that once we have been able to view the beauty that exists beneath the ocean, we will be more aware of the consequences of our actions. One of the great things about the aquarium is that it serves as an opportunity to give people a glimpse into a world that we would not normally get to experience. I find we tend to care more about things with which we have developed somewhat of a relationship. And let’s not forget, their mascot “Deepo” is rather cute.

If for some reason you find yourself awake tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 8:00am EST, I will be on CNN for a live interview about One Week Job.

After that, I have to figure out how I am going to get to Miami, Florida. If you can help me out at all with that, give me a shout!

-Sean

The Georgia Aquarium is absolutely beautiful. I am learning a lot of fish facts that I never knew before.

For example: Did you know that the Whale Sharks’ mouth can span 4ft wide, though their throat is only about the size of a quarter? Also, they have 300 rows of teeth.

When I was young, I really loved dolphins and always thought that it would be cool to work with marine animals. Working with the other staff at the aquarium has allowed me to get as close as possible…without actually swimming in the tank.

The first two days, I helped out at different exhibits and at the touch pools, shadowing one of the workers who speaks with visitors about the animals and answers questions. I also met a really interesting guy from Bhutan, and had a great talk with him about how he ended up in America.

Yesterday, I supervised the Georgia Aquarium Mascot, “Deepo” (not to be confused with Nemo).

It can be difficult to see with the costume on, so I was assisting Deepo in navigating the aquarium, watching children that were running around his ankles, and making sure no kids were yanking on his tail.

After that, I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium. I learned more about how the facility operates and was able to see the main tanks from up above. I was so close I could have jumped in…

The largest exhibit is called Ocean Voyager.

It has 6.2 million gallons of water in it, filters 60,000 gallons every minute, and is the home of the four whale sharks among thousands of other fish. Giant groupers, hammer head shark, saw nose sharks, rays.

Every time I walk by I wish that I could go scuba diving in it.

Today I was working with the Life Support Systems Department. They make sure that everything is functioning smoothly, the water temperature is accurate, the pumps are doing what they should be doing, basically all the mechanical stuff that goes into operating the aquarium.

It is amazing how much work is required to keep things going behind the scenes.

Tomorrow I will be working with the training program and perhaps with the children’s educational program.

This week we are staying with Jon. He is a cool guy and has been nice enough to brave rush hour traffic each morning this week to drive us to the aquarium.

We met him through couchsurfing.com - a site where you can meet people that have an extra couch or floor space that they are willing to offer you.

Sounds sketchy I know, but it’s a great way to meet some cool people and keep costs down.

I am still looking for a job next week. I have some ideas and it looks like I will be heading to Florida, though as always things could change in the next few days. If you have any ideas or offers, send them my way.

In the meantime…sea you later!

-Sean

This week I am in Atlanta, Georgia working at the largest aquarium in the world - The Georgia Aquarium.

The Georgia Aquarium features more animals than any other aquarium and has more than eight million gallons of water. “Through a path of more than sixty exhibits, the Aquarium tells a global water story, with features modeled after the greatest zoos and aquariums in the world.”

I will get to do a few different things around the aquarium this week. I will be on the floor helping people with directions, assisting with the educational programs, cutting up fish for feed, water testing, and who knows what else. I am hoping that they will let me feed some of the animals or even help clean the tanks one morning. I guess we will see!

I imagine that everyone who works here share a love for animals and enjoy what they are doing so it should be a great environment to be a part of.

If you are in Atlanta this week and want to meet up, let us know!

-Sean

Here’s the new episode from our week in Victoria, BC, working at The Boulders Climbing gym. Enjoy!

I am enjoying my week here in Alpharetta, Georgia working with Snorg Tees.

After I finished my degree, I had a few ideas and thought that I would like to start my own t-shirt company though I didn’t really know where to start or if that’s what I would really want to do. Come to think of it, I was probably just scared to take the first step.

Matt, the president, gave a good suggestion that would have helped with that. He said that when he started up the company it was a huge undertaking, though what allowed him to keep moving forward was that he broke it down into small achievable steps. First step? Learn how to print t-shirts.

He remarked today that when he looks back, he now realizes just how far he has come.

On the surface, companies who sell a fun product or service appear to have a crazy work environment and to be always good times. Though we have fun at work, the reality is there are always the details and administrative tasks that inevitably accompany running any business. I think that it can be easy to forget this when thinking of potential company ideas.

When you own the business, I think it can be difficult to simply leave your work at the office, as there are much higher stakes involved, you have more at risk, and ideally a higher benefit. It requires long hours and Matt says that most nights he is at home working trying to stay on top of everything. It appears that being an entrepreneur definitely takes a certain type of personality.

I have lined up my job for next week and will be working at The Georgia Aquarium - the worlds largest. Afterwards, I think I will be heading south into Florida. If you have any ideas/contacts for potential One Week Jobs, please pass on the word about the site or send me an email.

Snorgly yours,

-Sean

This week I am working with Snorg Tees. A young, hip, funny t-shirt company located just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

The company was started by four friends three years ago in one of their parents basement. They were profitable by the third month in business and now they have recently moved into their own office/warehouse space.

I am interested to see how they began the company, the steps they took, how they overcame the challenges, managed risk, and what it goes into running a small business.

Should be good times!

-Sean