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I work in a seasonal industry.
Seasonal Work
By Maureen Latta Tuesday, May 22, 2012Seasonal work is a fact of life for many British Columbians. Whether you are prawn fishing in the Malaspina Strait, cooking meals in a northern lodge, caretaking a regional park, planting trees in the Interior, picking berries in the Okanagan, or harvesting salal around Powell River, seasonal jobs have a lot of advantages. In regular jobs, everyday life can be pretty monotonous. You go to work, come home, have dinner and go to sleep, only to do the same thing the next day. The years go by… not much changes. At least, that's the way it appears to those hardy souls who choose the seasonal lifestyle where, good or bad, the surroundings and the people you meet are always new and interesting.
Heading off for the season can feel like an adventure. You never know exactly what awaits you. How much money will you make this season? Who will you meet? What stories will you share with friends and family when you return?
Seasonal workers typically expect to put away a lot of savings during the season. That's why they are willing to work hard at some of the most physically demanding jobs out there. Experienced tree planters, for example, can make up to $20,000 in one season, but first-timers may only earn around $6,000, if they can endure the cold, heat, wind, rain, mosquitoes, black flies, horse flies, muscle cramps, and so on. Another positive aspect to seasonal work is that employers tend to want to hire you back in subsequent years if you've done a good job, and the likelihood of making more money increases with experience.
But what about the time between seasons? The majority of seasonal jobs are summer jobs, because they are in industries that are dependent on the weather, such as construction, tourism, and agriculture. While some seasonal workers rely on Employment Insurance to bridge the gap between work seasons, the Canadian government expects workers to be looking for employment while they are receiving EI benefits. However, finding a job between seasonal cycles can be challenging if prospective employers realize that they will lose you as soon as the season starts up again.
Seasonal work is also dependent on the health and needs of the particular sector. For example, the silviculture sector is beginning to have problems recruiting and retaining workers, which means more jobs available. The agriculture sector has been employing migrant workers from Mexico and Guatemala due to the difficulty of filling positions with Canadian labour. The unregulated harvesting of non-timber forest products, such as wild mushrooms and herbs, is causing problems with overharvesting in some areas, which may lead to changes in that sector. It is a good idea to thoroughly research the pros and cons of the particular seasonal work you are considering. There are plenty of online forums where former and current seasonal workers share their tales of adventure, and sometimes woe, working in seasonal jobs.
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seo tools - 2012-06-12
Congratulations on having one of the most sophisticated blogs I've came across in some time! Its just incredible how much you can take away from something simply because of how visually beautiful it is. Youve put together a great blog space great graphics, videos, layout. www.careerlinkbc.com is definitely a must-see blog!