Name: Diana Carden
Position: Travel consultant
Location: Discovery Travel, Cruise and Tour Center
First job: Secretary
Best part: "Getting to explore the world from my desk. One minute I can be looking somewhere in Israel and the next minute I can be looking at beautiful beaches in the Caribbean."
Worst part: "The challenging part of my job is finding the perfect place for someone and making sure the person is going to have the experience they're looking for. Some people think price is the most important thing for them, but when they get there, they don't understand that you get what you pay for."
Best advice: "Any time you're traveling, you have to be prepared for the unexpected. Go knowing that especially in today's world, it can be a challenge. Learn to go with the flow. If (an experience) starts off negatively, you have to adapt your frustration level and make the most of what you have left. Sometimes with air travel, especially, we can have a bad experience, and if you don't shake it off quickly, you can let it set the tone with the entire trip. So just learn to go with the flow when you're traveling."
How to make a career of it: "It's not as easy today as it used to be." As school programs for travel consultants are now few, learning on the job is the best option. Carden recommends doing an internship or even freelancing as a travel consultant from home to get experience and make headway with an agency in hopes of landing a full-time job in the future.