Can you switch gears?

One of the reasons Taos Valley RV Park and Campground wants a Workamper couple is that the local is unable to grasp how an RV park functions and she is stuck doing things the way she has done them in the past.

The fact that you understand how a park works is a big plus. Even more important is the fact that you can switch gears and do things the way the new park wants. That flexibility is a very important characteristic that emloyers desire.

So sell those abilities if you have them. Employers don't want to hear how you did it at the last job. They want you to be able to do the task the way they want you to. Jaimie

For information on Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., see RVBookstore.com.

Walk into a job

When we checked into Taos Valley RV Park and Campground in Taos, NM, we saw a sign "Workampers needed." I asked about it and found that they are looking for a couple to live in their RV in a site in exchange for working a certain number of hours in the park. Extra hours would be paid. They can use someone in the office and someone outside.

Stopping at an RV park can be a good way to check out the park before taking a position. You can get an idea what would be involved in working there, what management is like and what amenities they have. And, sometimes if you talk to the owner or manager about the possibility of working there, you'll be offered a job - now or for a future season. Or, they might even have a sign up and want you to start tomorrow. Jaimie

For information on Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., see RVBookstore.com.

Regional differences

As we've traveled this summer, it's interesting to observe the different sort of jobs advertised in different geographic areas. While truck drivers, nurses and telemarketers are in demand most everywhere, there are some unique jobs.

In Maine a company that makes rope was advertising for machine operators. If you can lift 75 lbs, stand for long periods and word in an industrial environment, you're hired.

In Arkansas poultry processing is big business. Simmons Pet Food Plant has jobs in Oklahoma, MIssouri and Arkansas in all aspects of creating pet food from the feedmill, a hatchery, processing (several levels), a metal container plant and feed ingredients.

A Wal-Mart distribution center near Tulsa, OK is hiring order fillers at pretty good pay.

While these jobs tend to be labor-intensive, they may have enough turnover that a 3-6 month commitment would get you the job. Who knows, one of these might be an interesting experience! Jaimie

You can find many non-traditional Workamping jobs in Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., see RVBookstore.com.

Sounds fishy to me

A free employment newsletter I picked up has an "odd" job corner with excerpts from Odd Jobs by Nancy Rice Schiff. This column was about a fish counter. She works from June through October counting fish every ten minutes at Ballard Locks in WA. The most sockeye she has counted in ten minutes was 450.

W.C. Fields was a professional "drowner." At age 14, he worked in New Jersey as a juggler. He supplemented his income by occasionally pretending to drown and being rescued by the lifeguard. Concessionaires would pay him $10 because a good resuce drew a crowd and the throngs of people would buy food and drinks!

Workampers wouldn't go to this length to earn money but some do find odd or different jobs. One couple who volunteered in a national forest canoed out on lakes in the forest, found campsites, both legal and illegal, and took the GPS reading of each and recorded them. They loved to paddle and got a free RV site so they figured they were paid to paddle!

Another couple volunteered for two weeks in a national wildlife refuge. They were given a vehicle to drive out and record everything in a small test circle, which they found using GPS. It was a hands and knees job. It was actually edged with danger since they were fairly close to the Mexican border. They buried one of their water containers in case the vehicle was broken into.

These unusual jobs can add spice to your working on the RV road life. Keep your eyes and ears open and you might just find something really odd! Jaimie

You can find many non-traditional Workamping jobs in Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., see RVBookstore.com.

Working on the RV road leads to friends

One of the benefits of working on the RV road and of belonging to RV forums on Workamping© is making new friends. We worked near Ron and Val in 1994 and again in 1998 and have been friends ever we first met. Last summer I stopped to see them near Estacada, OR where they were working.


Yesterday George and I met Beverly and Jim who are working at the Expo Square event center in Tulsa, OK. Jim is managing the RV park, which is used primarily for exhibitors. Beverly helps during events when they get busy and in hiring other workers. We didn't have time to go see their park at Expo Square but had a nice get-acquainted visit at a nearby Borders bookstore. I'd met them on the Workamping forum but never in person. I hadn't picked up on Beverly's southern drawl on the forum, so that was a surprise!

We met other workers on the RV road this summer - in California, South Dakota, Maine and Maryland. Friends told us to look up the SD couple who worked in the RV park we stayed at.

When my late husband Bill and I worked in national parks, we had RV friends stop by for a visit. We were able to get to know them better on our time off and they got to see a beautiful area. Often we were able to give them a complimentary place to park their RV. In fact, Beverly and Jim would have done so had we not already been settled elsewhere.


Working and volunteering are ways to build your RV community. Sometimes you find time to meet up. Sometimes they can help in finding or evaluating jobs. But mostly it makes this lifestyle richer and more rewarding. Jaimie

For information on Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., see RVBookstore.com.

Time to update your résumé

As you finish up your summer job, take time to review your assignment and update your résumé. Make a list of the tasks you did and skills you used or learned in this job, particularly ones that are different than other jobs on your Workamping© résumé.

Add this assignment to your résumé so it is now current. If your résumé is running more than a page, consider dropping a job that doesn't fit in with the kinds of jobs you are now seeking so you have room for this latest experience.

Before you leave your assignment, ask for a letter of recommendation. You can then copy them and include them with your résumé when you apply for another position, saving the employer the trouble of calling this latest employer. Jaimie

For information on Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., see RVBookstore.com.

3rd keyholder?

As we travel, I pick up the free employment newspapers in newspaper dispensers on street corners and in grocery stores. It gives me information about what's available in an area. Sometimes there's an offbeat job.

Some of you may know this, but when I came across an ad seeking a Keyholder at Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, I had no clue. Specifically they wanted a 3rd Key in their Roanoke, VA store. After an Internet search, I found this definition at Salary.com:

Responsible for opening and closing when the store manager and assistant manager are not present. Responsibilities include sales associate and assistant manager level functions. Must be able to take charge of the store when necessary. Requires a high school diploma or its equivalent and 2-4 years of related experience. Has knowledge of commonly-used concepts, practices, and procedures within a particular field. Relies on instructions and pre-established guidelines to perform the functions of the job. Works under immediate supervision. Typically reports to a supervisor or manager.

Who would have guessed? In that same issue were a couple of ads for tax preparer training. If you think preparing taxes for four intense moths could suit you, now is the time to check into training with HR Block, Liberty Tax Service or others. Jaimie

For information on Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., see RVBookstore.com.

A stop could net a job

We stopped the other night at Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch in Hurricane Ridge, TN and stayed in her RV park. On the grounds were two musuems, several stores and gift shops, the office for check-in, her Plantation House and a replica of her Butcher Holler place. A number of people are employed. Most are locals but the campground host, who had recently left for the season, was from Texas. The woman who checked us in got her job because she had come to the ranch for trail riding events.

When you are staying at an RV park or visiting an attraction, check out job opportunties. The woman in the campground store is hoping this year's host couple will come back but if they don't, there will be an opportunity for another one. You can bet that someone who has talked to her and expressed interest will be at the top of the list.

When we worked in the Grand Tetons, a couple who had worked at Hamilton Stores at Yellowstone National Park back in the '60s visited a fellow worker. The couple drove up to Yellowstone and visited the store, talked to the hiring official and were offered a job on the spot! They could have started the next day.

Not only does meeting in person give you an advantage in the hiring process, it also gives you the opportunity to check out the place of employment. See how the place is run. Is it an area you'd want to spend several months in? How are employees and guests treated? Valuable information when finding not just a good, but a great place to work. Jaimie

For more ideas on finding jobs in places you want to work, see Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., at RVBookstore.com.

Film your trip and you can travel on us!

Marcie Cumberland, RV author of Tree at the Top of the Hill, sent me the link to the ad at the Austin Craigslist. "If you can point a camcorder, share your experience, and have fun doing it... you can be a star on Tripfilms!" Hey, this could be fun!

Checking their website, I see that they feature 20-somethings and mostly clips from other countries. The text, though, says it can be filmed in the U.S. It doesn't have to be a crazy trip, just a unique experience. Apply with a unique idea and, if accepted, you'll get additional guidelines. If published, you can earn $50.

I may give this a whirl. They'll even help with the editing. Now if I can come up with an idea. Let's see, we're heading south into Tennessee....then west.... Jaimie

For more ways to earn money as you travel, check out Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., see RVBookstore.com

We also come to play

We are currently in Paw Paw, West Virginia for a few days. This is beautiful country with lots of outdoor recreation in the area: bicycling, paddling, hiking. The C&O Canal, beginning in Washington, D.C. and terminating in Cumberland, MD, is great for biking, walking and history. Allegany County, right over the line in Maryland from Paw Paw, would be a wonderful place to work if you enjoyed these activities. It has thousands of acres of public land. It's only two hours plus to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, the county seat, has a Super Wal-Mart, a mall and a new Martin's Supermarket that has about everything.

So, if you decided you'd like to work here, how would you find a position? You might spot an ad in Workamper News or post on a working forum for ideas. One of the campground directories might provide RV parks that could hire Workampers.

Your best bet would be to do some research about Allegany County and find potential employers using the listings from the Chamber of Commerce and travel planners. One site listed three larger campgrounds that are possibilities.

Zeroing in on an area and then finding an employer means you must be proactive; search out employers and contact them even if they are not advertising. If you focus on your goal and apply everywhere you can find in your chosen area, there's an excellent chance you'll end up with a job. Jaimie

For more ideas on finding jobs in places you want to work, see Jaimie Hall's recently revised book, Support Your RV LIfestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd ed., at RVBookstore.com.