Summer Jobs: Get Them While They're Hot
By Margaret Hansen, JobsInRI.com
Who's creating summer jobs and where can you find one? Here are four possibilities that have a healthy outlook:
1. Construction Flagger
Do you love being outside in the summer? A flagging job pays well and keeps you outside on those bright, sunny days. Unfortunately, you're outside on rainy days, too. But you'll stay busy and make some good money as the time flies. Experience pays: if you've done this type of work in summers past, you'll advance to leadership, which means more money. Construction jobs often move around the state and into other states, so they typically don't reside in one location or zip code. Try a few keyword searches for "flagger," "construction," and "traffic" (above in the Search bar) to pull up the most positions. Note: Be sure to uncheck "Exclude Locationless Jobs" and click "Update" from the top of your search results page.
Pay: The pay varies but on average, laborers with one year of experience make about $11.12 per hour*; managers with one year of experience plus project management and computer skills make about $16.51 per hour*.
2. Waitress or Waiter
The National Restaurant Association (NRA) projects that the food service industry will add 428,000 jobs this summer. Ranking only behind the construction industry, restaurants are among the biggest summer job creators. Although heavily populated states offer the most restaurant jobs in number, the NRA predicts that the state with the largest proportional employment increase over the summer is Maine at 30.9 percent.
Pay: Wait staff pay depends on many factors. Although you'll earn a small hourly wage, pay is mostly about tips. If you work for an inexpensive chain restaurant, you'll make much less than if you work for a fine dining establishment. Working a dinner shift for a popular, upscale restaurant will earn you the most money.
3. CNA
Traditionally not thought of as a "summer" job, Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) are in high demand and healthcare organizations want to hire them - even if it's only for the summer. Many nurses start out as CNA's and move up the educational and workplace ladders. All Allied Health Schools offers information about CNA certification and its general career outlook. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, Maine and Rhode Island are among the top five states in the country with the highest concentrations of CNA workers.
Pay: The Occupational Outlook Handbook states that psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals pay their CNA's the most at $13.43 per hour.
4. Bank Teller
Picture a cool, air-conditioned setting that's fairly quiet and customer-friendly. If you have a knack for numbers, working summers at your local financial institution is a nice option. A high school education and a background check is typically required, but most of the training is on-the-job. Job growth is pretty healthy: many tellers advance to higher positions, opening up entry-level jobs for others. More convenient branch locations and longer hours to suit customers' needs equal more part-time jobs - including summer ones.
Pay: As the Occupational Outlook Handbook states, you can expect to make about $11.35 per hour, but this varies with the location and the size of the financial institution.
*These figures are an average hourly rate across four locations: Portland, ME, Burlington, VT, Providence, RI and Concord, NH. Source: Payscale.com