The job-market jackpot: A profession that's a pleasure

Fall means back to school, standardized tests, and resumé-building. It's when high school students hear the mantra, "Study hard and get into a good college." And college students hear, "Choose the right major and get good internships."

But parents also tell their children to pursue what they love: Get paid for something you'd gladly do for free!

Sounds great, but can you really earn a living playing Guitar Hero?

Well, maybe not, but it turns out that even in this economy, the day-job jackpot still exists.

Take Shelly McDonnough. When she tells people what she does for a living, she usually has to explain it twice. Sometimes more.

"I say I work in research and development for Tastykake, and they always say, 'Did you say Tastykake?' "

Her job description: tasting Tastykakes, of course.

For Sean Kenney, it was his parents who expressed confusion when he left a six-figure salary on Wall Street to build with Legos - full-time.

"A friend once told me that my brain did not belong in a cubicle," the onetime computer programmer explains. "All I really wanted to do was sit on the floor and play with Legos."

Last spring, Kenney - and his Lego assistants (!) - sat on the floor of his own Manhattan loft studio to build six-figure Lego brick sculptures for the Philadelphia Zoo. The team clicked together 259,540 blocks for the "Creatures of Habitat" installation, which runs through the end of this month, and includes his largest work to date - a 400-pound polar bear made up of more than 90,000 Legos.

(Kenney's parents are no longer concerned.)

Rachel Appel-Vazquez was taken to her first Jets game by her father, but now she watches Eagles - and Flyers, Phillies, and Sixers - games for a living. Adding to the burden, she has to call and interview lots of the players, too.

"My dad couldn't be prouder, and my brother loves to tell all of his friends that his sister knows more about football than they do," says Appel-Vazquez, who has been a booking producer for Comcast SportsNet since May. Before that, she was with the NFL Network and the Eagles.

So do these lucky three - able to turn pleasures into professions - have any advice for stressed-out students?

There's the usual refrain: Science and math classes are really important; get hands-on experience doing a job; don't rule out work or internships just because they don't pay.

But they offer other, less traditional, tips to land that less-than-traditional job:

Bake in the kitchen as much as you can and try everything. (McDonnough)

Build, build, and then build some more. Just keep building. (Kenney)

Be friendly and easy to talk to. It's actually really important to just be nice. (Appel-Vazquez)

On a typical day, Appel-Vazquez coordinates logistics with Philly players, coaches, and other local celebrities for several daily segments to air on Comcast SportsNet. So yes, it's important to be nice. It's also important to stay current on everything sports-related by reading newspapers, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter feeds, and by watching as many games and events as you can catch in between.

But when it's your job to have professional athletes and agents on speed-dial and you bounce from news conference to pregame warm-up to charity events, how much time do you actually spend watching sports on television?

Appel-Vazquez pauses and then laughs before answering, "A lot." She has a 13-inch television on her desk - it's always on - and five or six large plasma screens are situated throughout the newsroom, tuned to various sporting events. She has been surrounded by screens and sports since taking an internship in college, where she produced videos of the University of Maryland football and basketball teams.

OK, so if sports isn't your thing, what about snacking for a living? And we're not talking about sampling a bite here and there, like a wine taster.

"No, I pretty much eat the whole thing," says McDonnough, who's been plying her sensory and analytic skills at Tastykake for 16 years. McDonnough came to this area to attend West Chester University from her native Jamaica - a land sans Tastykakes. So it wasn't until college that she met her first one - and then she was hooked.

"Butterscotch Krimpets, chocolate fudge brownies, and cherry pies," says the former biology major. "Those were my meals."

While many classmates used their major to land public-health and pharmaceutical jobs, McDonnough says the mix of food science, chemistry, and analysis at Tastykake are a good fit for her. That, and unfettered access to her favorite caramel apple pies.

These days, in order to develop and fine-tune recipes and new products, McDonnough frequently eats as many as 20 or more Tastykakes by lunchtime. So what exactly does she choose then?

"Definitely something salty," she says. "I try to eat a salad - or a cheesesteak."

Alas, for those students thinking they should pass on the PSAT and go right for the fantasy, McDonnough says it's not all about having your cake and tasting it, too.

"The worst part of the job is when somebody says, 'Here, taste this, I think there's something wrong with it,' " she says. "Of course, I have to taste it because that's my job. And there's usually something wrong with it."

But the booker, the baker, and the Lego maker are also aware of their own good fortunes.

"I absolutely love building - every day. And I love the look on kids' faces when they see what I've built and what they can build," says Kenney, who was the first of only 11 Lego-certified professionals in the world. Mind you, not just any 12-year-old who's clever with a box of the colored plastic bricks can turn pro. Kenney spent years building intricate replicas of buildings and cityscapes, and he had a devoted online following before Lego called and asked him to exhibit his work.

And despite the stress of juggling the playoffs and postgames, Appel-Vazquez says she still gets pleasure from watching sports. "It's important to remember how to be a fan at a game, because that's what it's all about."

And McDonnough doesn't have any second thoughts, either.

"One of my friends is a nurse practitioner for a gastroenterologist practice. I certainly prefer my job."