Summer Jobs - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Savvy27 · 05-15-2010, 04:44 PM

What are some of the best summer jobs for post-secondary students? I painted houses last summer and worked as both a house framer and a waiter the summer before.

I was hoping to get a few recommendations on decent summer jobs and perhaps a caution or two about jobs to avoid.

Did/does anyone have any really good or terribly awful summer job experiences?

As for me:
Favourite summer job: Hockey school instructor, depending on the group of kids this can be pretty enjoyable and the pay is usually good.

Worst summer job: retail... I've worked at a sporting goods store and a book store, both jobs were terrible for me.

chid · 05-15-2010, 04:50 PM

I really enjoy working summer camps with kids - again depends on the group of kids, but its a great opportunity to be goofy and get some sun and play games.
Obviously this job could be hell for some people, depending on their love/hate for children.

I agree with retail, being a crappy summer job - indoors, boring, low wage.. blech.

ricoFlame · 05-15-2010, 05:50 PM

turf care at a golf course. good times, golf, outside, working with other students it's grea seasonal work.

wooohooo · 05-15-2010, 08:07 PM

I was considering working at a golf course... but the hours are brutal aren't they?

wooohooo · 05-15-2010, 08:08 PM

My best job was working at a big bank in an office. Got paid good $$, got to chat a lot, surf a lot and had work I had to do. Most excellent job I had.

ricoFlame · 05-15-2010, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wooohooo

I was considering working at a golf course... but the hours are brutal aren't they?

yeah, if you're a puss.

KTrain · 05-15-2010, 08:50 PM

Why not try to find something to do with your schooling? Something that might look good on a resume when you're looking for your first career related job.

Flames0910 · 05-15-2010, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KTrain

Why not try to find something to with your schooling? Something that might look good on a resume when you're looking for your first career related job.

yeah, do this (if you can). i convocate in november and can't find anything in my field -_-

Mightyfire89 · 05-15-2010, 09:11 PM

Join the Reserves.

http://www.forces.ca/html/index.aspx?lang=en

Trust me, there are few better "summer jobs", when all is said and done.

Wookie · 05-15-2010, 09:50 PM

Loved working at a Golf Course. Got up at 5:45 6 days. Done work by 2:00pm. Pretty much have a full day still. Spend your working hours outside and get off early enough to enjoy the summer outside still.

I got into a routine, would finish work, go to the gym, that would wake me up and I'd be good until 10:00pm. Get 6 - 7 hours sleep most nights. Weekends wouldn't be too bad if you went out. You could always recover on the days off. Being outside made it easy to stay awake. Girls work in your crew.

wooohooo · 05-15-2010, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wookie

Loved working at a Golf Course. Got up at 5:45 6 days. Done work by 2:00pm. Pretty much have a full day still. Spend your working hours outside and get off early enough to enjoy the summer outside still.

I got into a routine, would finish work, go to the gym, that would wake me up and I'd be good until 10:00pm. Get 6 - 7 hours sleep most nights. Weekends wouldn't be too bad if you went out. You could always recover on the days off. Being outside made it easy to stay awake. Girls work in your crew.

In terms of that it's nice. But if you want to hang out with friends and what not that makes it pretty difficult. Maybe it's just my group of friends but we usually hang out pretty late. Even when I had to wake up at 7 am I found it hard.

And yeah, I am a puss when it comes to waking up early. Having the earliest classes at 10 AM in my 4 yours of University will do that

I do not know how I am going to join the workforce.

Sliver · 05-16-2010, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wooohooo

In terms of that it's nice. But if you want to hang out with friends and what not that makes it pretty difficult. Maybe it's just my group of friends but we usually hang out pretty late. Even when I had to wake up at 7 am I found it hard.

And yeah, I am a puss when it comes to waking up early. Having the earliest classes at 10 AM in my 4 yours of University will do that

I do not know how I am going to join the workforce.

I've been in the workforce for 10 years now and I'm late pretty much every day lol.

Ktrain's advice is good though. I wish I had done summer work more related to my degree instead of landscaping...maybe it wouldn't have been so hard to land my first job if I had.

Redliner · 05-16-2010, 07:57 AM

Worst summer job? It's a tie between midnights on an asbestos removal crew and pouring concrete for a homebuilder. The pay on the asbestos crew was out of this world, but spending 12 hours a night sweating in a respirator and tyvek suit only to have to brave decontamination showers in front of a dozen other sweaty guys really wasn't for me. That one lasted all of about 3 weeks. The concrete work wouldn't have been that bad if I didn't end up doing 90% alone and working under a foreman who had a death wish. Swinging gang forms off a crane in 100 Km/h winds and trying to hold them on the footing by myself was beyond stupid.

I really enjoyed landscaping, but it's long hours & physical work. I also managed a campground for a couple of summers, and that was awesome.

Jayems · 05-16-2010, 09:50 AM

Golf course has always been one of the funnest jobs ever. Did it out at Wintergreen when I was 15 and 16 each summer.

Irrigation I did while I went through college. If you get with a good bunch of guys, the work isn't that bad. Lay some pipe, connect it, slap on a sprinkler head, move on to the next one. Once you do it for a while, I'm sure they'll teach you the inside plumbing and electrical controller components (which are dead easy and a nice break from grunt work).

Worked for Telus as 411 before I went back to school. It's fairly chill, but goddamn, if you take a crunch and are away from your computer for 5 minutes, they know. And they will talk to you about it the next day. The call load is constant. So you never just sit there waiting for the next call.

Sainters7 · 05-16-2010, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wookie

Loved working at a Golf Course. Got up at 5:45 6 days. Done work by 2:00pm. Pretty much have a full day still. Spend your working hours outside and get off early enough to enjoy the summer outside still.

I got into a routine, would finish work, go to the gym, that would wake me up and I'd be good until 10:00pm. Get 6 - 7 hours sleep most nights. Weekends wouldn't be too bad if you went out. You could always recover on the days off. Being outside made it easy to stay awake. Girls work in your crew.

My dad's a superintendent at a golf course so I always did the summer GC thing, probably did it 6 years in total. In all that time, I don't think there was ever one remotely decent-looking girl in the crew, the select few we had were the type that carried themselves like they had a bigger penis than me. The clubhouse/pro shop girls are worth it alone though, good God.

Ya golf course is a sweet, sweet summer gig. As mentioned before, the only prob is the hours, as having to get up at 5am every day usually means you're in bed between 9-10pm during the summer, not exactly ideal, especially if you're the nighthawk type like me. But being out in nature, riding a machine and working on your tan all summer is tough to argue with.

Savvy27 · 05-16-2010, 07:59 PM

Thanks for the replies everyone. Seems like there is a near consensus in favour of the golf course route.

Jimmy Krack Korn: what is an average day like in the reserves? Why do you say there are few better summer jobs?

KTrain: I'm trying to get into law school, so next year I'll be looking into jobs with law firms or the CCLA, unfortunately, those positions seem to disappear pretty early in the year.