Jason and all others in a similar "predicament":
In 1960 I quit a job paying $1,000 a month and took a seasonal GS-4 job
paying $4,440 per year doing white-pine delineation (survey) work. I was
soon promoted to GS-5. It was the best job I ever had, and I still use what
I learned on it every day. I drew unemployment one winter (I worked from
thaw-up until the snow got too deep), worked in the hardware department of a
"discount" store for a couple of bucks an hour another winter, and stuck
with it until the draft was breathing down my neck and joined the Air Force,
which shipped me off to Turkey, where I spent my time off traveling around
its super-degraded landscapes and flying all over Europe for free when I had
enough leave. After getting out I went to school again and split 18 units
with another $2 an hour job, working well over 40 hours a week. Then I went
back to the woods and dug cesspools and other odd jobs while squatting in an
abandoned line-shack. Those were good times too, eating what I could forage.
It all depends on what you're willing to do. Every job, every way of making
do, has dignity.
The best of life to you,
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jason Hernandez" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2011 4:29 PM
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] What do technicians do in the "off" season?
I see that the surge of recruiting announcements for the seasonal technician
jobs is underway. It looks like a lot of important and exciting projects, as
I would expect. But it is impossible not to notice the time frame: usually
just spring and summer, some only spring or summer.
I cannot really complain; I am fortunate in that my current job began in
January, instead of having to wait for April or May. Still, it does end in
July, about the time so many other jobs are also ending. This means I will
have to compete with all those other temporary and seasonal technicians for
my next job.
Which brings me to my question: what does someone like me do in fall and
winter? Granted, based on my current qualifications, someone I work with
predicts I could have a permanent position "within two years." But I must
still make a living DURING those two years. What should I be looking at now
to maximize my chance of being employed come this fall and next winter?
Jason Hernandez
Biological Science Technician, USDA Forest Service
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