Jason Heidemann

Tell us about your current career outside of being a adjunct faculty member at Columbia College.

I currently serve as the Comedy editor at Time Out Chicago, a weekly arts and entertainment magazine that covers the cultural life of the city and also do special projects for the magazine. I also served as Gay & Lesbian editor for 7.5 years. I'm also a busy travel writer and have written dozens of pieces over the past decade including destinations as diverse as Sydney, Australia to the Salton Sea.

What was your first “real-world” job?

The weekend I graduated from the University of Iowa I moved to San Francisco, California where I became production manager for author and artist SARK. It was technically a 9 to 5 job although we were allowed and encouraged to wear pajamas to work so I'm not sure how "real-world" it was.

What are 1-3 professional accomplishments that you’ve achieved over the years?

I have contributed to and co-authored seven guidebooks I'm awfully proud of, have appeared as a series regular on the CBS television program "Evening Magazine" and have written literally hundreds of articles for Time Out Chicago and other publications. I'm also proud to be an adjunct professor at Columbia College.

What drives your professional career?

New challenges. I don't like staying still and I'm happy to say that both teaching and writing are filled with a constant supply of new creative avenues which I love.

Three pieces of advice that would be helpful to any student.

Show up! I've gotten so many interesting jobs because I took risks even though they scared me to death. Whether you think you're qualified or not, just give it a try. Either you'll succeed or you'll have a great learning experience under you belt. Either way it's a win-win. Secondly, don't be afraid to take a job you don't want. Dream jobs don't happen right away and all those jobs you take along the way will be filled with invaluable experiences. Finally, please put your phone away during class. We see you texting! It's distracting to us, it's distracting to your fellow students and it can hurt your grade in the long run

Adjunct Faculty
312-369-7600
jheidemann@colum.edu