Real Work, Real Life

Emily Sampson

Everything you wished you learned during your school's Career Day. Hear interviews from people in every line of work, covering how to get there, what the actual work is like, pay, benefits, and both the joys and annoyances that aren't clear until you're working in the field. Reach out at [email protected]

All episodes

Best episodes

Top 10 Real Work, Real Life Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Real Work, Real Life episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Real Work, Real Life for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Real Work, Real Life episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Occupational Therapist, Pediatrics

Real Work, Real Life

11/01/23 • 35 min

Send us a text

On this week's episode of of Real Work, Real Life, I’m talking with Tracey, a pediatric occupational therapist. One thing Tracey mentions is that a lot of people don’t know what OTs actually do. Occupational therapy enables people of all ages to participate in daily living. Occupational therapy intervention uses everyday life activities to promote health, well-being, and the ability to participate in the important activities in your life. This includes any meaningful activity that a person wants to accomplish, including taking care of yourself and your family, working, volunteering, going to school, among many others.

I’ve talked to a few different people in the therapy field and they all seem to have some degree of the same issue: the work is in high demand but the pay has not kept up, meanwhile the education requirements and cost continue to increase and you’re often required to complete an unpaid internship before beginning work. Despite these challenges, it can be incredibly meaningful work. If you’re interested in hearing other related interviews, I talked to Dawn, a therapist in private practice, Kat, a physical therapist assistant, Alison, a social worker, and Samantha, a music therapist, which I’ll link in the show notes.

Another theme that has come up in quite a few interviews is people finding that they are best suited to a speciality in their field that they actually did poorly in or didn’t like in college. I think probably the message there is to keep your mind open, liking or doing well is something in school is not always an indication that it will be right for you as a job, and of course, vice versa.

Other episodes you might like too:

Social Worker: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/social-worker-in-canada/id1673653251?i=1000608593635

Music Therapist: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/music-therapist/id1673653251?i=1000631717144

Therapist in Private Practice: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/therapist-private-practice/id1673653251?i=1000619359028

Physical Therapist Assistant: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/physical-therapist-assistant/id1673653251?i=1000615135619

If you want to learn more about Tracey:

Website: https://peds.thinkific.com/
Website: https://parentnicuconnection.com/
Email: [email protected]

If you like the show, please rate and review on iTunes and Spotify (linked below) and please share with a friend! You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Tiktok. And if you’d like to be interviewed here, or there is a particular job you’d like to learn about, please reach out at [email protected].
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-work-real-life/id1673653251
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Cp0w2BjOtS8NWfj0NhmIg?si=ece5b6ad45274b73
Transcripts are now available here: www.realworkreallife.com

Electrical Engineer

Real Work, Real Life

03/22/23 • 26 min

Send us a text

In this episode, we'll talk with Chelsea, an electrical engineer. For the right person, electrical engineering can be a rewarding and interesting job, with the potential for excellent benefits, hours, and compensation. It requires a four year engineering degree, and often a multi-year apprenticeship and licensing exams, but that process also lends credibility to people in the field.
Listen to the end for Chelsea's advice to her younger self on work: to know your value and negotiation compensation.

Coming Soon: Real Work, Real Life

Real Work, Real Life

02/22/23 • 1 min

Send us a text

When we dream about our careers as children, we think about the work first, and then are blindsided by the reality of life in a particular career. What if we dreamed about our life first, and chose a career that fit our dreams for the perfect life for us? This podcast aims to share what real life is like in jobs across the working world. We'll share pay, benefits, day-to-day realities, how to get into different fields, and both the joys and annoyances you'd never see coming.
If you'd like to be interviewed, or would like to hear about a particular job, please reach out at [email protected]

Nonprofit Founder and CEO, ENGin

Real Work, Real Life

03/29/23 • 38 min

Send us a text

In this episode, we’ll talk with Katerina Manoff, the founder and CEO of ENGin, a nonprofit organization that pairs Ukrainian youth with English-speakers for free online conversation practice and cross-cultural connection, with a mission to rebuild Ukraine through 1-on-1 connections.
Katerina shares the incredibly rewarding experience of dedicating your working life to a cause that you are passionate about, but also is candid about the challenges of starting a nonprofit while raising a young family.
To learn more about ENGin, volunteer, or donate to this impactful cause, visit: https://www.enginprogram.org/

Fisheries Biologist

Real Work, Real Life

04/05/23 • 23 min

Send us a text

In this episode, we'll talk with Julie, a Fisheries Biologist for a state government in the southeast of the United States. Julie’s job in fisheries seems to have a nice balance of hands on work, adventure, and the stability of a full time, professional job, which can be a tough balance to find in many professions.
Listen to the end for Julie's advice to her younger self on work: Find the work life balance that works for you early in your career. Don't allow your job to define you.

Charter Fishing and Tugboats

Real Work, Real Life

01/24/24 • 47 min

Send us a text

On the week's episode of Real Work, Real Life I'm talking with Ed, a merchant mariner who works on tug boats and captains a charter fishing boat, the Rita B, in his off time. We talk a lot about general life in the maritime industry and also get into all the details of working as a charter captain. It can be great gig for passionate anglers who love active work on the water and meeting lots of new people you might never meet otherwise. Because it’s seasonal in our area, most captains either have another full time job or do something else in the winter, so it can pair well with winter-only work, or for people that have a lot of time off from their primary work. If you’re in the southern Maine area and looking for a charter fishing adventure, I can tell you that you’re in good hands with Ed.

Want to go fishing with Ed? https://www.mainecharterboat.com/

Judge

Real Work, Real Life

07/19/23 • 42 min

Send us a text

A few weeks ago, I interviewed my Dad, a boat captain, and today, I am so pleased to share another very special guest, my Mom, Trish, an active-retired Judge on this week's episode of Real Work, Real Life.

We talk a lot about what it’s like to be a judge, but we also cover the different roles she’s had within the legal profession, so if you’re considering law, this will be a great episode for you. My mom graduated law school in 1979, when about 8% of lawyers were women, today that number is closer to 40% and that continues to inch up each year.

One of the many moments that led me to want to do this podcast was attending my Mom’s retirement party a few years ago, and seeing how respected she was for her work, and what an impact she made in our community. My mom never talked about her work at home, but I know from talking to others over the years, that through her work, she’s been able to genuinely help people in scary and stressful situations. A lot of jobs don’t offer an opportunity to make an impact like that, and understanding how important that is to you can be really useful in charting your career path.

I’m so excited to share my Mom with you all. And if you’re lucky enough to have your parents still around and have a good relationship with them, consider this your sign to get a conversation with them on tape. You won’t regret it.

Financial Services, CFA, Investment Associate

Real Work, Real Life

12/13/23 • 27 min

Send us a text

On this week's episode of Real Work, Real Life, I’m talking with Urmi Hossain, an investment associate based in Canada with the goal of becoming a portfolio manager. Urmi is a CFA, or a Chartered Financial Analyst. CFA is a globally recognized professional designation that measures and certifies the competence and integrity of financial analysts. Candidates are required to pass three levels of exams covering areas, such as accounting, economics, ethics, money management, and security analysis.

Working in financial services can offer a lot in terms of compensation and benefits and upward potential. We also talk about the challenge of finding that first job out of school and how disheartening it can be struggling to get your foot in the door somewhere, even when you have all of the qualifications on every posting. So if you’re there now, just know you’re not alone. My best advice for that stage of your career is to keep a number of strong applications open at once, don’t stop looking and applying until you’ve actually started a job. Hiring for salaried, professional jobs can take months of stops and starts, so if you have a lot of irons in the fire at once, it’s not so disappointing if one falls through.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might enjoy my interview with Steph, a Certified Public Accountant: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/certified-public-accountant-tax/id1673653251?i=1000602280682

You can find out more about Urmi here:

LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/urmi-hossain
Book: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0B75X14G7/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38ODHSOSYZ3W8&keywords=urmi+hossain&qid=1658373403&sprefix=urmi+hossain%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2
Blog: https://www.myways.ca/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZoiI0SGU0Xo9_lNjtLWtgg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urmamio/

Certified Public Accountant, Payroll Company CEO

Real Work, Real Life

01/03/24 • 35 min

Send us a text

On this week's episode of Real Work, Real Life, I’m talking with Charles Read. Charles is a CPA and the CEO of Get Payroll, which provides payroll services for companies across the country. Becoming a certified public accountant today requires a master’s degree and an incredibly challenging three day exam, but it’s a field that is in high demand with tons of potential if you’re well-suited to the work. We cover so much much in this interview, from good business practice advice for any entrepreneur, to the joys and challenges of running a business with your spouse, to knowing when to delegate aspects of your business, to how your role changes as you progress in your career.

Also, if you’re considering a career in accounting, you might go back and listen to my very first interview, with Steph, a tax CPA that worked for a major firm. You can find it here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/certified-public-accountant-tax/id1673653251?i=1000602280682

Links to find out more about Charles’s work:

Software and Farming Life

Real Work, Real Life

02/21/24 • 46 min

Send us a text

On this week's episode of Real Work, Real Life, I’m talking with Caite, who works remotely full time for a software company, hosts a podcast called Barnyard Language, and raises beef cattle and sheep with her husband on their farm. The work that Caite does in the software field is really interesting, essentially preventing abuse of the software, and would be a great option for nonlinear, creative thinkers, even if they don’t have the skills you might typically associate with someone working at a software company. We talk about the value of growth in remote work for farming families and others in rural areas, about the support and inclusion for neurodivergent folks in the tech field, balancing life as a working parent, just about everything in between. I had so much fun talking with Caite and I know you’ll enjoy this episode too.

If you’re interested in hearing more about remote work in the tech space, you can listen back to my episode with Jake, a Software Engineer or Rachel, a Creative Director in User Experience:

Creative Director in User Experience: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/user-experience/id1673653251?i=1000630159382
Software Engineer: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/software-engineer/id1673653251?i=1000604294924

To hear more from Caite and her cohost Arlene:

Barnyard Language Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/barnyard-language/id1581475809
Barnyard Language Instagram: @barnyardlanguage
Barnyard Language Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BarnyardLanguage
I mentioned the Barnyard Language podcast episode with Jacob Beaton, you can find it here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-skills-homeschooling-and-indigenous/id1581475809?i=1000640534350

Show more best episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Real Work, Real Life have?

Real Work, Real Life currently has 66 episodes available.

What topics does Real Work, Real Life cover?

The podcast is about Management, Career, Equity, Entrepreneurship, Work, Development, Podcasts, Education, Job, Business, Careers and Career Change.

What is the most popular episode on Real Work, Real Life?

The episode title 'Software Engineer' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Real Work, Real Life?

The average episode length on Real Work, Real Life is 39 minutes.

How often are episodes of Real Work, Real Life released?

Episodes of Real Work, Real Life are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Real Work, Real Life?

The first episode of Real Work, Real Life was released on Feb 22, 2023.

Show more FAQ

Real Work, Real Life

Emily Sampson

Top 10 Real Work, Real Life Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Real Work, Real Life have?

What topics does Real Work, Real Life cover?

What is the most popular episode on Real Work, Real Life?

What is the average episode length on Real Work, Real Life?

How often are episodes of Real Work, Real Life released?

When was the first episode of Real Work, Real Life?

Comments