Guest Author - Evanne Schmarder

Camping and working. Working and camping. If you’re interested in staying in a particular area for anywhere from a month to a season, meeting new friends and helping other campers, workamping may be just the thing you are looking for.

With a variety of jobs, compensation arrangements, term commitments, site situations and locations RVers can find the perfect fit. A great place to start is Workamper News – known as THE journal for matching campers and campgrounds. Available by subscription, Workamper News breaks down job opportunities by state. They publish ads for campgrounds, state and federal park volunteer positions, amusement parks, retail outlets, Christmas tree and pumpkin lots – even NASCAR. Here are a couple ads that recently ran in Workamper News:

Rocky Mountain Guest Ranch! Guest ranch seeking friendly, dependable couple with own RV for summer season, to assist with all phases of campground operations, including light maintenance, housekeeping, cooking, etc. We provide RV space - full hookup and hourly wage. Days off offer fishing, horseback riding, hiking and the Rocky Mountains! Visit our website ______________.

MILLENIUM SUMMER openings in clean, green Oregon Cascade Mtns., at Oregon's premier Vacation Cottage and RV resort. Join our Workamper team, May 1 thru Sept. Variety of position opportunities: groundskeeping, catering, mini-mart (store/fuel depot), reservations, and more. Free site with full hookup for 20 hrs of work per week (includes cable TV). Hourly wage for extra hours as available ($6.75 - $7.75/hr). Send recent photo (including rig) and resumé to _______________________.

If the idea of workamping tickles your fancy I suggest you first consider what area of the country you’d like to visit and when you’d like to be there. Expect two distinct seasons – summer, full of families, warm weather and freedom to go anywhere in the USA - offering the most workamping jobs. Employers look to fill summer positions by January – February at the latest. Winter is snowbird time with many up-north parks closed for the season or running with a skeleton crew. These jobs are fewer thus require more advanced planning – depending on what you desire and where you are looking.

Next you’ll need to determine what’s most important to you – hours, pay, job duties, time commitment, a highly-rated park, etc. Browse the pages of Workamper News to get an idea of what’s available in your area of choice. Once I choose the part of the country I want to be in I look for the highest rated parks – cross referencing the ads with my Trailer Life Directory. That’s important to me – might not be to you.

It’s important to note that some jobs are what you might call “summer jobs” – full of days off and good times. Others might be labeled “jobs for the summer” – still lots of fun but certainly considered a job – 40 hours a week of sometime tough, sometimes crazy busy work. Make sure you know which you are interested in and understand what is expected of you in any position you apply for. No matter how you go, please be prepared to be flexible, give 110%, and live up to your commitment.

Every workamping situation is unique and requires specific research and understanding of the all the particulars. When you find a job that you are interested in applying for don’t be surprised if they ask for a recent photo of you and your RV. That’s standard operating procedure. Most likely there will also be a brief application and a telephone interview. Workamper employers are interested in what you can bring to the table – just as you’re interested in what the job is all about and how it will benefit you.

Pay typically ranges from a free site in exchange for 15 hours a week to an hourly with a minimal site fee to an hourly plus free site. There are many compensation packages. Some employers will offer an end of season bonus once you fulfill your commitment. A great way to gauge if you are being fairly compensated with a site exchange is to know how much a monthly or seasonal site runs (providing you are staying a month or longer) and divide that dollar amount by the number of hours required. That is your hourly. Only you can decide if it’s acceptable. Perhaps there will be other perks, etc. that you’ll want to take into consideration when thinking about compensation. Again, what you agree to is completely up to you.

Before you accept a job make sure you know exactly what to expect when you arrive. Ask questions – What is the specific job you’ll be performing? How will you be paid? How many days off will you have and will they be with your spouse/partner? How far is the local grocery? Will you be permitted to use the facilities (pool, hot tub, etc.) during your off hours? Are you permitted overnight or daily guests? Are uniforms provided or what’s the dress code? Be specific here. These things may seem obvious but they differ in every situation. There’s nothing worse that arriving at a job and discovering you didn’t understand what was required of you and now here you are, in a pickle – probably far from where you started and lighter in the pocket after your travel expenses.

In many instances, the employer will ask you to sign an agreement. Do so but make sure it covers everything important to you as well such as days off, position you’ll be working, number of hours required, compensation, training, and your start and stop dates.

Workamping – whether it is a full-time paid position or a volunteer position at a state or national park – will wow you with its variety, freedom, the friendships you’ll make, and the local “gems’ you’ll discover. If you are looking to do a bit more than tour during your RV camping trip workamping might be right up your alley.