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The qualifications are simple: A valid driver’s license, a bachelor’s degree by June 1 and an appetite for adventure. But this isn’t your average job. Only a lucky few will get the chance to drive the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile across the country and earn the title of “Hotdogger.”

“More people have been to space than driven the Wienermobile,” Kaitlyn Goldstein, a member of this small squad, said. “So it’s a special set of people.”

Goldstein and Akira Potts, known respectively as @om_corndogkait and @om_aioliakira on Instagram, visited Syracuse University’s campus last week in their hot dog-shaped vehicle. Their mission? To help recruit the next class of Hotdoggers. There’s no better advertising for the Oscar Mayer brand than the 27-foot long hot dog that transports Hotdoggers to roughly 200 cities each year.

Hotdoggers hold their position for a year, usually right after they graduate from college. There are only 12 in the nation, two for each of the six Wienermobiles, each with a unique name denoted on the license plate — the one that visited SU was named “OUR DOG.”

The Wienermobile doesn’t sell anything. It’s an extension of Oscar Mayer, which is a branch of the food brand Kraft-Heinz. It exists purely because of the effect it has on people — Goldstein called it “the blueprint for all experiential marketing.” The Wienermobile started in 1936, amid the Great Depression, as an effort to lift spirits during a difficult time, Potts said.

When SU junior Megan Radakovich saw the Wienermobile for the first time on campus, it caught her eye, but it drove away before she had a chance to learn more. That motivated her to seek out the Hotdoggers another day and attend their information session.

The next day, she was able to do so. Radakovich was drawn in by how passionate the Hotdoggers seemed about their work. She’s been thinking a lot about what to do after graduation, and amid her internship search, she said this job stood out.

“This kind of seemed like a fun way to meet a lot of people, get a network started and also get to see the country and travel around,” Radakovich said.

The information session she attended was packed with eligible seniors, all hoping for a chance to earn their opportunity to sit in the coveted driver’s seat of a Wienermobile.

There are a few essential qualities to land this job. A Hotdogger has a “big personality,” and a great outlook on life, Goldstein said. According to Molle Twing, the head of the Wienermobile program, if you’re a shy introvert, you probably won’t “cut the mustard” for the job. Goldstein said Hotdoggers also need to be responsible, because they independently represent the image of a multi-billion dollar brand, not to mention the pricey company car.

The job is certainly an unconventional way to kickstart your career after college. Interested SU seniors at the information session joked that this may not have been what their parents pictured when they told their students to look for jobs.

With a base salary of $35,600, Hotdogging may not be the most lucrative pursuit. The job is all travel, requiring the Hotdoggers to live out of hotels for a year, and spend anywhere from 4 to 10 hours a week driving to new cities. So what is it that gets these 12 young adults behind the wheel of the Wienermobile?

“I’ve always loved travel, and then what really drew me to this position was I could get paid to travel while making so many people happy,” Goldstein said. “The whole point of the Wienermobile is to make magic and spark smiles.”

Similarly, Potts said she didn’t want a traditional desk job after college, and liked that the Hotdogger position was very social. She’s on her feet all the time, moving and talking to people. The Hotdogger position also boasts a laundry list of resume-building skills, Twing said. She described Hotdogging as being in charge of your own traveling public relations firm. Hotdoggers pitch local media, create social media content, plan events, report consumer feedback and keep the vehicle in good condition.

Solange Jain | Photo Editor

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile came to Syracuse University’s campus last week to recruit its next class of Hotdoggers. They can hold this job for a year, usually after they graduate from college.

When two Hotdoggers arrive in a new city, they have an intimidating job in front of them: finding a way to get the word out about the Wienermobile and choosing the best events to promote the Oscar Mayer brand at. Goldstein said she was very nervous for her first day on the road.

“I was sitting there like, ‘It’s really just us in this giant Wienermobile on the road now,’” Goldstein said. “But it was very exciting, very liberating.”

Goldstein said as soon as she got on the road, she became more comfortable and remembered she was well-trained for this. Hotdoggers are prepared during their two weeks in Hot Dog High, Oscar Mayer’s Wienermobile training program.

One moment that stood out to Goldstein was when the Hotdoggers made an appearance at a dachshund walk in Greenville, South Carolina. The hundreds of wiener dogs mirrored their own ride. Goldstein said the event had a high turnout because people knew the Wienermobile would be there.

“It was a great way to bring these people together, because a lot of them were strangers who have the same dog, and they got to talking,” Goldstein said. “I watched a group of people make their dinner plans for after the walk.”

Though the level of independence can be daunting, part of what Potts loves about the job is that no two days are the same. The Wienermobile focuses on lighthearted interactions, but one of her favorite memories was of a family whose niece had recently passed away. The family shared that their niece hated taking pictures, but loved the Wienermobile.

“And so one of the only pictures they had of her standing there and smiling and looking like this happy, cute kid that she was, was of her in front of the Wienermobile,” Potts said.

Solange Jain | Photo Editor

There are only 12 Hotdoggers in the nation, two for each of the six Wienermobiles. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile that visited Syracuse University featured “OUR DOG” on its license plate.

Amid traveling to a new city every week and making appearances at grocery stores, charity events and sports games, Goldstein and Potts still find time for self care, because “a happy Hotdogger is a good Hotdogger,” as Goldstein puts it. The pair have a few days off every week to explore the city they’re visiting and do all the tourist activities on their bucket lists.

Goldstein said the experience of being a Hotdogger doesn’t end when the 12 drivers park the Wienermobile for the last time. There have been 37 classes of Hotdoggers since the Wienermobile’s conception. Goldstein described them as a tight-knit group that keeps in touch and helps each other network. She often runs into former Hotdoggers on trips, some from as early as the seventh class.

Goldstein said she wasn’t sure yet what her next step was after Hotdogging, but whatever her path is, she’ll take the Wienermobile’s lessons with her.

“I think there’s a lot of challenges in the world, it’s really easy to beat yourself up about things,” Goldstein said. “But this job has shown me how good people can be and how positive situations can be.”

Published on February 9, 2025 at 11:17 pm

Contact Charlotte: cprice04@syr.edu