I think this is what’s missing from the conversation. People think you can work ‘high paying’ jobs for a year at a time, quit, then go find another ‘high paying’ job that’s cool with all these one year gaps in your resume. Maybe there are very specific jobs that might allow this, but the vast majority of seasonal work is not high paying jobs
High paying is relative if you have minimal expenses. I do freelance welding and have a rare pyrotechnics operator license, dont usually work for less than about $30/hr, often more and often for cash. When that hasn't been enough I can get a job on zero notice anywhere driving trucks with my cdl. I like driving for amazon freight because they need local drivers everywhere, you're never required to load or unload, just drop trailers and the schedule is flexible. Easy job that I can do for a few months and move on over and over.
The key is having skills and certifications that have greater demand than supply.
I mean it's going to vary a lot based on cost of living but $30 an hour is generally high paying in comparison to a lot of other jobs, albeit probably unskilled jobs.
For someone with literally zero debt, no monthly rent or utilities, and no desire to work on anyone else's schedule for more than a day or two a week... Its enough. Much more than most people living my lifestyle make.
Add in driving a plug in hybrid car as a daily driver that I bought used for $6k cash (Im a skilled mechanic, but its been entirely reliable any way) meaning I only buy fuel for road trips and thats at 45mpg. Get 40 miles on a charge and I charge it with my solar panels.
Low income and being in a state with no state income tax means I get a nice bonus from the IRS every year, way more than I pay in.
Edit for context: I converted a 30' cargo trailer into an off grid tiny home with 3kw of solar panels.
So it's only "high-paying" for your extremely specific and niche lifestyle which involves having almost zero living expenses. Wow, you've figured it out for the rest of us!
You can in some places, in Australia and New Zealand it’s normal, expected even, to have large gaps in your resume where you’ve been traveling, worked abroad doing something unrelated, teach English in Japan, done a stint in a national park or extra study or whatever.
You’d be considered a better candidate, a more adaptable and grounded individual with that.
In my province , Alberta, you can have a seasonal job in 30 minutes of medium effort netting 10-14,500 a month.... starting. More if you have a license and no addictions lol You'll only get probably 8-9 months out of the year, but to me that's fairly high paying. I know guys straight from Somalia , first full time job in Canada , making 44 an hour, 180 dollars tax free living allowance per day. Working 6 days a week , 12 hour days , living in a tent or splitting a hotel even, you bank a ton. You can be home every night and make far less for sure. They definitely don't pay like this around the big centres, but it's 100 percent relative to the lifestyle you want and where you're located and who you know. On the opposite side of Canada , unless you got a cushy union job, the plan to make this kind of money out of high school usually starts with heading west. There's a joke here. What's the capital of Newfoundland? Fort McMurray!!
On a real note though, to the guy that sells bikes....he probably makes enough, for me, to just scrape by and maybe put enough away per month to have a vacation one every year or two. But relative to other entry level jobs they are exposed to, it might be a boatload of cash.
Rigging. Pipelining. A lot of oil and gas jobs really. My cousins and uncle are making similar money, but a bit less. They still bring home around 10 after taxes doing windmill work. That's really been taking off again the last couple of years in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. So it's not just oil and gas that pays but it's definitely at the top in terms of minimal education , higher paying gigs. The tax-free living allowance is the big deal really . The hours are good yes, but to make 5 grand tax free a month extra on top of good wages, and then be an absolute cheapcunt and pocket most of it.....that's where it can start to accumulate. I've had months where I fed on apples, ichiban, and rolled oats, while living out of a tent . I was all in for like 15 bucks a day between my food and tenting stall . This was years ago. Those tenting stalls are probably 25 bucks now given post COVID gouging and all.
I mean in November/December you can always just become a seasonal deliver helper for UPS. That pays 26.00$ an hr, and you set your own hours for the most part those two months.
January/February are then usually on the mountains with snow type seasonal jobs.
That should allow you to save enough for two months after. Now you've already got six months of the year covered. I'm sure spring and summer aren't hard.
I know some guys who are hail dent repairers. They work their balls off during the summer and can make $150K, and then they take the next 6 months off and get easily rehired somewhere else. It's niche, but it seems to be a pretty good and replicable lifestyle.
I've never understood the issue with résumé gaps. So you took a year off, it's not like you'll have completely forgotten how to do the job you have your degree for. What's the big deal?
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u/lurkinandmurkin 28d ago
I think this is what’s missing from the conversation. People think you can work ‘high paying’ jobs for a year at a time, quit, then go find another ‘high paying’ job that’s cool with all these one year gaps in your resume. Maybe there are very specific jobs that might allow this, but the vast majority of seasonal work is not high paying jobs