Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with winterbreak

Need help finding short-term chem positions.

aleatorictelevision — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:04:33 -0800

So I'm having some difficulty looking for a short-term internship / volunteering position related to my career goals(chemistry) for this coming winter break. I'm a college Junior who is looking to gain some experience in a chemistry field this winter break. My school is on the trimester system so I will have nearly 6 weeks free from the time I leave until when I have to return. I've been looking for options and am not really sure how to approach this. I attend a very small school so it is difficult to arrange research jobs on campus during the school year.

Should I just look up companies and send them emails asking for a volunteer position? Contact University profs whose research I like and ask to volunteer in their lab?

I feel that the short amount of time I have(6 weeks) is just too small to make any position that would be valuable to both me and them impossible. I really need some job experience though as I have very little real-world experience and would like to know what I am getting myself into careerwise.

I've compiled a list of biotech companies and other possible options in Eastern Mass + the Cape which is where I will be living. Is there any way that I can make this seem as beneficial to them as it would be to me or should I just settle for a holiday job at the mall.

Winter trips?

pulled_levers — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 09:56:16 -0800

WinterBreak filter: I am a student on the east coast. What awesome, cheap and educational things can I do this winter break? Big factor: must be somewhere warm down south. I am a landscape architecture student interested in urban design. I was hoping to do a winter study abroad in Mexico, however, they are all prohibitively expensive even with a scholarship. ($4 grand for 1.5 weeks) I was revved up to go to this trip thinking I'd get a hefty scholarship, unfortunately, this was not the case.

I have never been south of Florida and would love to do something like design/build or just educational in general. I don't speak Spanish and I don't have a lot of money but I do have a serious case of the travel bug.

What programs or activities do you recommend? Hopefully it's not too late to apply to some things....

It's all about the Benjamins

thetenthstory — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:32:23 -0800

What can I do over winter break to make some extra money? I will be graduating in May and have taken a job to work in tax for a Big Four firm. The job is in the Tri-State area: New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. This past summer was an excellent experience and I learned more than I could have imagined. More importantly, I made a sufficient amount of money to last me until I start working for them this coming summer. I still dropped hints at the end of my internship after I received my offer that I wanted to come back and work during my winter break. I received positive feedback. I emailed a few people recently, asking in a professional manner if they could use my help over my break. I have yet to receive a response and now I have to make a decision. The market for winter jobs will close quickly after Thanksgiving and I need to lock some sort of job up.

Being that I have an entire month, I want to work a job that will pay ideally between $300 - $900 a week. If they respond to me, great, I’m set. If they don’t, would it be wrong for me to work for another smaller accounting firm? Would it be wrong for me to work for a company with my future employer in the office? If you advise against these, then could the Mefis guide me to a job that would not be of conflict? The hours of the job don’t really matter. I feel that training for certain jobs would be an issue since it’s only for one month. I know catering is a possibility but I’m looking for other options. I am open to anything I could tell my family. (No stripping please)

I've got a month of spare time to kill.

sian — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 14:58:23 -0800

I've got a month of spare time to kill. My semester ends shortly before Christmas and school doesn't start up again until the end of January. I have a work-study job on campus that fills in the blanks during my school week and pays the bills, but I won't be working over break since the school is closed, and there isn't much of a job market here for those who only want to work for four weeks. My live-in boyfriend will be working full-time during the month, so I will be stuck at home. Thusly, I have nothing to do for approximately a month. Normally, I don't have any spare time to myself, so I'm worried that I'll drive myself insane with boredom!

I don't want to travel because the boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Gettysburg for spring break, so I'm trying to save. I was contemplating volunteering over the holidays, but that would require gas money which I won't be earning at that moment. I could also get to work and read a ton of books that I've been saying I would for a long time. I could do a bit of work out of my home from the computer with my bit of tech "skill", if anyone has any suggestions for that. I'm looking for suggestions on fun, fulfilling projects I can do to fill the month while pretty much snowed in and limited to staying in my city.

(Am checking out this link as well)