How to Get the Job of Your Dreams

Rebecca Donohue - Stand Up Comedian

What she does: Donohue's comedic style blends her Colombian-Irish background with her MTV generation upbringing. She has appeared on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Shorties Watching Shorties, A&E’s 15 Films about Madonna, and TLC’s Trading Spaces. Part show producer, booker, performer, website creator, and Fashion Police writer for US Weekly and Cocktail, Donohue wears enough hats to impress a milliner.

Why she loves it: "It's so much more work than just that ten minutes on stage. I'm up every day at 8 a.m., hustling for work, and then I don't get back till 2 a.m. sometimes. As a comedian you're constantly working -- you're 100% an entrepreneur. What you make of it depends entirely on you." But the results make it worthwhile: "The time on stage keeps me doing all the rest." For Donohue the thrill is about "the very powerful experience of taking an audience and changing them emotionally somehow."

Her career path: "I was a very funny, gregarious sort of child; being smart never got you as much cool attention as being funny so I was the class clown. I hadn't always thought about doing comedy as a career though. You have to come into your calling. People had always told me I was organically funny. I was maybe always meant to do it -- but it just presents itself to you and becomes obvious at some point." Donohue's "point" was during her undergraduate years at Rutgers University, when she performed in her hometown during summer break, and again at a show on campus that was headlined by Mike Sweeney. After her first few times on stage, she decided she had found her calling.

Her advice: "You have to be honest with yourself to a point where it may almost be painful," she says. "Because many times when you say, this is what I want to do, everyone around you will look at you like you’ve lost your mind." At the same time, Donohue cautions that people need to play to their strengths: "I see so many people go after something that clearly isn’t their forte. I would recommend that anyone who wants to find their dream job make it a part-time job to do some deep soul searching and figure out what they're passionate about."

Mark Ronson - DJ, Music Producer and Artist

What he does: DJ, producer, artist and bandleader, Ronson's musical abilities are as diverse as his wildly fluctuating accent. British born and New York based, Ronson has worked as a producer for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, Robbie Williams, and others. He owns Allido Records, a recording studio in Manhattan. He has also released two albums: Here Comes the Fuzz in 2003, and Version earlier this year.

Why he loves it: "I only make music that I enjoy… stuff I care about and am proud of," says Ronson. "In the record industry, it's easy to get bogged down and lose vision because of pressures from people -- to lose your voice if you're not headstrong about what you do. I've been lucky that what I care about is what ended up catching on."

His career path: The 29-year old Ronson started playing in a few bands at the age of 14 -- one of his bands was called the Whole Earth Mamas, a name that he recalls one of the band members made up on stage. During his time at Vassar he started DJ-ing in Manhattan, eventually dropping out to play full time. He gained a reputation in the city for playing hip-hop, as well as less conventional music like rock and soul. His first break came when a fan who worked at Cheeba sound was impressed enough by the 24-year-old DJ to offer him his first big production opportunity with singer Nikka Costa. This led to a deal that got Ronson his first solo record.

His advice: "…if you want to be an artist use the Internet. Make a cool video and put it on YouTube. There are so many amazing things made possible now with the 'net and with MySpace and so many ways to get your music out there. I do a radio show every Friday and I scour MySpace for demos for things to play. If someone sends me a message on MySpace I am so much more likely to play it than if it's a CD in the mail."

James M. Clash -- Adventure Columnist, Forbes Magazine

What he does: Jim Clash has climbed the Matterhorn, skied to the South Pole, taken a MiG ride to the edge of space, driven Indy cars at more than 200 mph, climbed virgin peaks in Greenland and Antarctica, and made two visits to the North Pole -- all in the name of work. A seasoned journalist with a seemingly bottomless reserve of energy, Jim Clash covers mutual funds and extreme adventure for Forbes. He writes a column, The Adventurer, and also hosts a weekly show where he interviews individuals like former world heavyweight boxing champ Smokin' Joe Frazier, moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, Olympic Silver Medal figure skater Sasha Cohen, motor sports legend Sir Jackie Stewart, and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dr. Frank Wilczek.