The Coolest Seasonal Employment Opportunities

Imagine spending your winters snowboarding in the Rockies and your summers surfing in Costa Rica. What if you were a SCUBA dive instructor in Mexico and a kite surfing instructor in Oregon? Would you enjoy chasing the endless winter or the endless summer? How about leading wilderness trips in Alaska in the fall and forecasting avalanches in Montana during the snowy season? Maybe you want to be a bush pilot in Africa and spend the winter as a heli ski guide in New Zealand? Any of those combinations are pretty amazing.

 

Seasonal jobs are jobs that are only available for part of the year and they are often the coolest jobs available. A season can last a winter, a summer, or a holiday break.

 

Cool seasonal jobs offer an amazing quality of life where you get to chase your passions. It is often a juggling act to stay gainfully employed year round, but with some practice, research, and motivation it is easy to lock down a career doing seasonal work and actually make a decent living.

 

It takes a certain person to work the seasons - someone who is motivated, laid back, and loves life. You'll know you're doing something right when you spend 100+ days a year skiing and 150+ days a year sailing. Your office can be the open ocean, the middle of the wilderness, above a coral reef, or on top of a mountain. Luckily, there are lots of temporary, seasonal jobs available and employers are always looking for people to fill these jobs. They will always rehire a trusted, hard worker than deal with a newbie, but there are plenty of jobs for newbies too. The key is to follow the work.

 

The hardest part of the seasonal job is that it is short term employment. If you work a ski season, what will you do in the summer? If you lead summer bike tours, where will your income come from in the winter? Seasonal work can be challenging, until you solve the puzzle of how you'll work the entire year. Sometimes seasonal work can also lead to permanent positions.

 

Did you know? The Federal Government is a great source of seasonal work.

Seasonal workers often work in industries like recreation, education, or retail. Listed below are some of the coolest seasonal jobs. See if any of these gigs appeal to you…

• Ski Instructor - Ski instructing is a great way to spend every day on the snow teaching others how to do what you love. If you're good, it's easy to milk this career into an endless winter by bouncing between the northern and southern hemispheres.
• Wilderness Leader - Humans rarely see the wildernesses of the world. As a wilderness leader you get to explore the backcountry on backpacking, kayaking, mountaineering, rock climbing, skiing, and other outdoor trips.
• Crop Duster - Have you ever wanted to fly close to the ground and spray crops with a specially rigged airplane to ensure that farmers have a healthy harvest?
• Surf Instructor - There are countless beaches and tons of surf shops that will pay good money for an instructor to teach people how to surf the waves.
• Sailor - There are lots of cool job options for qualified sailors - yacht delivery, sailing instructor, summer camps, charter boats, and many others.
• Raft Guide - There is no better way to cool off during the summer than to take a whitewater raft down some wild rivers.
• SCUBA Divemaster - After your first dive, you'll understand why taking people into the underwater world to explore wrecks, cruise over reefs, and swim with the fishes would be a totally rad gig.
• Sports Mascot - Every quality sports team employs someone to run around and entertain the fans at sporting events. That mascot could be you.
• Wildland Firefighter/Smokejumpers - When the wilderness catches fire, someone has to go out there and fight the fire before the flames rage out of control.
• Delivery Driver - Companies like UPS and FedEx can't hire enough delivery drivers during the holidays.
• Fruit Picker - No one can enjoy blueberries on their cereal or apples with their lunches without someone picking the fruit.
• Camp Counselor - Working at an overnight or day camp can be an exciting and fun way to spend the summer.
• Ice Cream Man - It's easy to start your own successful and tasty ice cream business during the hot summer months.
• Snowplow Driver - Without the hard work of a snowplow driver, it would be hard to travel during the winter. If driving a big plow to keep the roads of the world open sounds fun, then sign up today
• Landscaper - Spending your days outside in the fresh air planting flowers, trimming trees, and maintaining grasses is a relaxing way to spend the summer.
• Bike Mechanic - Bikes are the ultimate in human powered transportation, but in order for a bike to function efficiently it needs to be tuned up regularly by a bike mechanic.
• English Teacher - Teaching English abroad is a wonderful way to travel the globe and work in foreign countries.
• Bike Tour Guide - Guided bike tours happen in all major cities and countries. It's a great way to see the world up close.

The coolest thing about seasonal jobs is that there are so many opportunities. Do you see any jobs that you'd be thrilled to do? It would be impossible to list all the cool jobs here, but this list gives you a glimpse into the seasonal job market.

 

Chasing the seasons is one of the most exciting career paths you can choose. When it comes to quality of life, no other jobs compare. If you've ever thought about working a cool seasonal job, do it. It's life changing.

 

Did You Know? Retailers increase their workforce by about 4% during the holiday times.

If you're worried about chasing seasonal work, you might be better suited for a cool career. The next section explores the coolest careers...

 

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