Finding Part-Time Work
(Page 2 of 4)
September/October 1973
By Dan Bentley
Another tip: All the divisions of my state's Department of Natural Resources are allocated funds for various projects such as campground construction, forest development, etc. The bureaus sometimes use their own personnel for this work but generally hire laborers to help.
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When you're job hunting, don't neglect your region's specialties. Every part of the country has some economic factor which furnishes part-time work. In our area, that business is summer recreation. The county in which I live—alone—has over 600 lakes, and just about every one is bordered with resorts and vacation homes.
The larger resorts hire men to do general yard work and take care of the boats, bait, etc. Women, too, are employed as waitresses and to clean cabins. The work is short-term—three months or so in the summer—but generally pays well.
You can also make pretty good wages up here by taking care of four or five summer homes every year. You'll be required to keep up the lawn, put out and take in the boats and docks and do minor repairs and maintenance on the buildings. The season for this work—at least in Minnesota—lasts from May to October and offers steady part-time employment. I've found that it's best to furnish your own tools and equipment and charge a flat rate that includes depreciation. For example, if you decide to ask $2.50 per hour, add on an extra 50 cents for the articles you supply. You can usually get by with a good lawn mower, your garden tools, general carpentry items and a chain saw (or, lacking that, a sturdy bow saw).
In return for a minimum amount of care you can generally expect to realize at least $100 per cabin per year and often more—doing this caretaking. I've found that four or five homes will keep you quite busy in your spare time, but you could handle quite a few more working full time with better equipment.
Besides predictable opportunities like the ones I've already mentioned, there are unforeseen windfalls. Just being in the right place at the right time can lead to unexpected jobs.
One day, for example, when I walked down to get the mail, I started visiting with our deliveryman. During the talk he asked me if I had any free time during the winter, and whether I'd be interested in acting as his substitute. I jumped at the chance, and worked whenever he was sick or on vacation. Later I turned the job over to Shona, who still serves as a stand-in rural carrier. The position pays well and furnishes us with enough money to pay for our transportation (a decent sedan and a four-wheel-drive Bronco).
