Alpharetta Woman Can Win 'Best Job in the World'

A 23-year-old Alpharetta resident is one of 25 people around the world being considered for one of the "Best Jobs in the World," but she needs help to win the competition.

Schirmer is running a campaign through Facebook to find supporters from all 50 statesa and from 15 different countries. She's hit her target for countries, reaching 17 already. But she needs 18 more states as of Wednesday.

Jaime Schirmer, who works as a freelance videographer and photographer in the Alpharetta-Johns Creek area, had seen ads for the Tourism Australia contest online. She loves to travel, so it was an easy decision to apply when the winner would have a six-month job in Melbourne, Australia as  lifestyle photographer.

She had to create 30-second video that shows her love for film and photography. Filming a Grand Canyon sunset, horse training in Kentucky and vintage fashion shots showcase her interests and skills.

Schirmer was one of more than 45,000 applicants from 196 different countries in Tourism Australia's "Best Jobs in the World" competition, and she was short-listed in the top 25 for a lifestyle photographer job in Melbourne, Australia.

In June, 18 finalists (3 for each job listing) will be flown to Australia to pick the winners, who will be announced June 21. Those winners will live in Australia for 6 months working their dream job and earning a salary worth $100,000.

Schirmer has been making movies since high school when her dad gave her a simple video camera.

"I was constantly making movies of my brothers and sisters," she said.

While she grew up in Denver, she's lived in Alpharetta for the past four years. She went to school at the Savannah College of Art and Design, moving to Alpharetta once she earned her degree in film.

"Shooting film always was my passion," she said.

Schirmer picked Alpharetta because she has family here and is attracted to the Atlanta area because of all the film work that is going on in the area.

She saw Tourism Australia's ads all over the Internet about the Best Jobs in the World competition, noting that it included a photography job. So she put together that 30-second video and just a few days ago she found out she was in the top 25 for that position.

The idea that she might have a chance to win didn't sink in for a couple of days.

"Even if I don't get to go further that that, I'm really happy to have gone this far," Schirmer said.

"I want to see Australia just because it seems like it's a beautiful country with amazing wildlife that we don't even have in the U.S., and I've never seen," she said.

She hopes to photograph landscapes and film the fashion scene in Melbourne.

Her chances to make it to the top three will be based on what she's already submitted in her video, how much publicity she can generate for her campaign and what people she can get to endorse her. She's been contacting friends, employers, past teachers and professors, plus the general public, to put her over the top.

Schirmer said the easiest way for people to help her out is to go to her Facebook page and like it. In the next few days she's trying to get as many people coming to it as possible. The deadline for her is May 7.