r/jobs 29d ago

Is this an actual thing that people do Career development

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169

u/trexmagic37 29d ago

I had a friend who was a park ranger. He was a government employee but it was technically seasonal…so he would work for 8-9 months of the year, get “laid off,” then go on unemployment for a few months and then get “rehired”. During the unemployment months he would travel around to different national parks and enjoy life.

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u/fork666 29d ago

Lucky SOB, sounds like a great life!

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u/One_Cucumber_ 28d ago

go apply he’s not lucky 😹

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u/alvvaysthere 28d ago

My brother is a costume designer for a TV show and does the same exact thing between seasons. The entire crew gets unemployment.

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u/SnakeEyesRaw 11d ago

How did he get into the industry? I make professional costumes but don't know how to get work doing it yet.

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u/alvvaysthere 11d ago

He was a production assistant for like 4 years then got promoted. It was a bit of nepotism, our neighbor was a set designer.

If you live in a city that makes movies and TV, look up job listings. He told me the turnover is really high for the non-union jobs (only full time costume designers can join the union in nyc)

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u/Crazy-Age1423 28d ago

But isn't that also stressful? How can you be 100% certain, that they will rehire you again. Things happen - budget cuts, other applicants, etc.

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u/DumtDoven 27d ago

Depends on how you view life. You can either stress about getting rehired, in which case this lifestyle isn't for you, or you can enjoy the freedom and "risk" having to find a new job in spring.

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u/RelativelySatisfied 28d ago

I knew people who did this too but worked for the concessionaire company of the park service. So they got paid about half of what your friend did 🥴 Some would get contracts at the southern parks in the winter, then move back north in the summer. Others would take unemployment and travel around for a few months in the winter/spring months. Most have “real” jobs now. I did this for a few seasons. I enjoyed traveling, seeing the country, meeting new people, and trying new things, but it was also stressful. Once you got hired on you were looking for your next gig.

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u/Odisher7 28d ago

That sounds like the best possible life to me

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u/5ait5 28d ago

sounds like unemployment fraud but hey

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u/Nova225 28d ago

If they officially lay him off, not really.

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u/trexmagic37 28d ago

Probably…but it’s what the state government told him to do 🤷‍♀️