Decision?

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Permalink Reply by Stir on July 21, 2008 at 2:20pm

Hi,

I'm also toying with the idea of going into the seasonal work force when I retire, and some of your questions have also crossed my mind.

First, I would try life as a seasonal worker on a trial basis (probably a summer). I would not sell or store anything, but hopefully find a responsible house sitter.

The money is not going to be my motivator, I guess if I could break even I'd be happy.

I would try the dorm route for a season, if it didn't work to my liking, I would look for alternatives.

Three times in my life I've had the opportunity to work summers at tourist oriented jobs. All three paid very low and didn't have the best of hours. Two years I dealt directly with the public, and that can wear one down by about the third week in July.

Lower level managers may not possess the best management skills, and could also be much younger than a senior worker. A newly retired worker could be coming from a very viable and dynamic career, and now be asked to join the rank and file.

On balance, I value my experiences as a seasonal worker, and I'm glad I had the chance to do those jobs. I'm pretty sure I can handle it again, and look forward to the next phase of my working career.

Regards,

Stir

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Permalink Reply by Charlene Courtemanche on July 25, 2008 at 11:12am

Thanks for your thoughts and input. In my current position, I deal with the tourist inquires by phone and also as a volunteer in a welcome center. Both experiences have been wonderful. BUT, patience is absolutely necessary.

I will keep reading the input from others - it is a great barometer to see how things actually work out in the "real world of seasonal" work.

I'm definitely not the dorm type - RV would be my first alternative but there seems to be limitations on when and where you can have them. Also, some have private rooms - it is rare.

Thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Keith Larson on August 15, 2008 at 6:35pm

Hi Stir,
Breaking even is my goal when, and if, I ever do another ski resort. I came very close to it at the one season I did try. A lot of that had to do with mother nature not being the most cooperative. I'm not sure if it's true, but I think I have noticed that the larger the operational area the lower the overall wages.

One place I was at I was twice the age of my immediate supervisor, much older than our manager, older than her boss, and older than his boss...and I'm only 46. I'm not really bothered by any of it. I kind of treat my jobs almost like an independent contractor would. I get in on time...sometimes a bit early...do very well at my job, and I think it's because I know I'm only there for the season their actual management comes down to someone to talk with in the case something is off on my check. I don't really think about any of the other things that I did in the real world.

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Permalink Reply by Stir on August 16, 2008 at 8:31am

Keith;

I think you're exactly right in thinking of yourself as a independent contractor. These jobs are not careers, they are the icing on the working career cake, so to speak.

Being older, I think I could endure a season working anywhere at most anything. If the job didn't suit me, I wouldn't re-up for another season.

After being in management for much of my working career (I currently am not a manager), I tend to be a bit critical of poor management. As a younger person, I was probably a poor manager, as I think about it, but I did improve with time. For a short time, seasonal position I would prepare for the worst, but be elated if management was good.

Stir

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Permalink Reply by Charlene Courtemanche on August 18, 2008 at 7:57am

Stir - From what I hear from my children (in many different fields of work) that younger managers tend to be quite bad. Not sure if any college really teaches management skills or even high school when you think about it! So, I would think that hiring an older staff to oversee work would be a huge benefit to many of these organizations. But, I fear they hire and a warm body and hope for the best. Usually doesn't work. Charlene

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Permalink Reply by Stir on August 18, 2008 at 8:02pm

Charlene;

I suspect younger managers come a bit cheaper and have better computer skills, not to mention seemingly boundless energy.

We older folks have the experience and are probably better at self motivation. We also are more set in our ways and sometimes too methodical.

When in doubt, take old age and treachery over youth and enthusiasm!!! LOL!

Stir

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Permalink Reply by Ron Wheatley on July 28, 2008 at 11:49am

Hi Charlene,

I'll be retiring in the next few months to a year and I'm looking forward to the opportunity of working in one of the national parks. My wife will still be working so I hope to find a job close - within a 1-2 hour drive - so she can join me on weekends.

I believe the best housing for me will be the RV route. I've already found the one I want on e-bay, but I'm waiting until next spring to buy one. The
RV I'm looking at is a 35 foot, 5th wheel, toy box trailer so I'll be able to take my motorcycle with me. I love the outdoors and riding my M-Cycle. The seasonal park jobs really fill the bill. My whole reason for looking at these jobs is for the opportunity to stay in the park for the whole season. I'm currently working for a police department in the Homeland Security Bureau and have been in this business for 33 years. My only fear in the seasonal work is that future employers will want to put me into a security job; not my first choice. If I wanted to keep doing the same thing I'd stay where I am and make substantially more money.

I, like you, don't think the dorm life would work for me. I've gotten too used to some level of solitude - at least since the kids have gone out on their own.

I wish some of the "Older/Bolder" crowd would let us know a bit about their experiences both from a rookie perspective and a seasoned veteran.

I wish you well in your pursuit. Who knows, it may work out for all of us at some point. ...Ron

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Permalink Reply by Charlene Courtemanche on July 29, 2008 at 8:13am

Ron - thank you for your note and letting me know how your plans may or may not work out. I too wish others would contribute their experiences. The few who have are rather mixed.

I am quite away from retiring on my own terms (5- 10 yrs) but am living a reorganization - code for "get ready"! So, I'm doing alot of research in hopes of having some control of my life. I love my job but who knew!

I love travel and haven't been able to experience alot of it BUT now I'm hoping to try my wings. I am single which holds some challenges and it is very interesting to hear my children speak of their concerns. Role reversal isn't easy!

I'm not a real outdoor person but have worked in the Tourism field for over 15 years. Meeting new people and helping them enjoy their travel adventure is what I am hoping for! And, being outside is the best! But, I'm not a mountain climber.

Thanks for the input. Would appreciate any information you learn along the way. If this reorganization doesn't work, it will be an RV and the road! What is the saying - when one door closes another opens - just may be the RV door! Thanks. Keep in touch. Charlene

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Permalink Reply by Keith Larson on August 15, 2008 at 7:07pm

I'm not sure if the parks you are looking at have the positions, but when I read your posts I see the perfect candidate to work in the campground areas. There is a slight security angle. Well, the park rangers handle any of the security issues you'd be dealing with on your current job. There are a ton of campers though that for some reason think that if there are fire restrictions in the area that they'll be careful so it doesn't really apply to them. There are also those that will claim that they only left their food out in the open for an hour...in bear country. But most of the time it's outdoors (some of it will bound to be heavy) and being pleasant to all the people that you will meet that will be jealous of your summer.

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Permalink Reply by Sue Puddy on August 6, 2008 at 6:18pm

How warm and comfortable an RV is depends a lot on what you get, they can be very warm and comfortable. or not. we have an 86 jayco 5th wheel that we were at 27 below one night and the entire week never got above freezing and were very comfortable, even if I did have to put a heating pad on the propane tanks to keep them working correctly. but it is heavy to pull. pull trailers will be lighter than many well built 5th wheels, this is in general, but pull trailers are not as well built or well insulated. if you plan on being in cold places be sure to get enclosed tanks. double floors. if you are going to follow the warm weather it doesn't much matter. then you need a lower geared vehicle that can pull it. expando sections really improve livability. but also increase weight. and surprisingly may decrease storage which can be a factor for full timers. what I am trying to say is there are trade offs to everything, and just trying to point out some of them.
sue

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Permalink Reply by Charlene Courtemanche on August 7, 2008 at 6:17am

Many thanks! For those of us just venturing into RV'ing there is nothing like hearing from those who are experiencing actually living in them for a long period of time (either hot or cold weather) Charlene

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Permalink Reply by Keith Larson on August 7, 2008 at 5:41pm

A lot of questions, Charlene, I'll try to answer some.

First of all, myself. I'm only 46, but in this world 'older' is anything over 30. I was originally planning on travelling after I retired, but I had a couple of life-changing moments. I decided not to wait and started seasonal work in the spring of 2006.

I was renting, and my lease was just about over, so that decision was easy for me. I had applied for a job, interviewed and accepted it that same day, and was to start in 10 days. I didn't really have a lot of time to decide what to do with all my 'stuff.' I thought about storing most, but decided if I was going to do this, that I was going to do this and not back out. Picked up a couple of large backpacks and packed. What was left...many choices were made just on size and weight...went to friends and family and the Salvation Army and Goodwill also had some large donations. It was actually very liberating.

Year round: I do this work all year. I like leaving a week or two between jobs, if I can. It's nice to have some time, but too much can become well, too much.

You might not want to do that though.

Dorm, RV: I live in employee housing. It's not THAT bad actually. A couple of the places I've been it's been singles for the older more experienced people anyway. Usually in quieter housing also. But those places that weren't they try to room you with some other person close to your age. Dorm life is not easy for anyone. Those that are of college age might be somewhat more used to it, but not always. The people that I've seen have the hardest time adjusting are only children on their first away from home experience.

RV--I'm not sure how comfortable, etc. I'm thinking it varies tremendously on how much you want to spend on one. You are also probably limiting yourself to most of the parks in the west. Not all of them have spots and not all of the rest have many spots. I have not seen any place outside a park or in the east that have any spots with RV connections. That also means that there's really only a handful of places in the winter, so RVing might be difficult. The only places I've seen with winter RV spots right on the property are the parks in the Sierras, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon. You might be able to find a separate RV park, but I have no idea of how much they cost to park for the season.

Insurance: I have not found one yet that is worth much. I haven't really put too much consideration into those policies that are more than $300/month, so there might be something out there that doesn't have my main stumbling blocks:
1) Primary care is only covered for the state in which you buy the policy. That's even the supposed big national companies. It's not just Blue Cross, for example...it's really Blue Cross of (name of state). If you move like I do, that means a new policy every 3-8 months.
2) Anything at that level is going to have a pre-existing conditions exclusion for anywhere between 6 months and a year depending on the specific policy. I would never escape that clause. One time, in the 'real world' experience when I changed jobs and had a new insurance. I sprained my ankle really bad. The insurance company claimed it was a pre-existing condition for many weeks, and several letters and phone calls from the physician. I am not sure how I would prove a non-traumatic condition was not pre-existing.
3) With age, if the premiums do not rise significantly, the deductible does. My latest look, about a month ago...the $300 policies were somewhere in the $1500-2500 range. The lower the deductible, the higher the co-pay. I did find one policy that was $100/month, but that deductible was $10,000. At a certain point, if I'm spending THAT much on health care, I probably can't be doing my job, which means I'm also out of housing within that state and I'm not sure how I would continue to pay the premium without income also.

I think I've touched on your questions, if I left something out, I'll try to get back.

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