Where/how/what do I do to earn big bucks this summer?

March 1, 2005 11:25 PM

I just got accepted into a graduate school program in Manhattan, which is great, but I'm going to need A LOT of money. I have one summer to earn money before going back to school. Where/how/what do I do to earn big bucks this summer?

I just need a short term job to earn a lot of money. I'd prefer something that isn't totally morally reprehensensible, but beggars can't be choosers.

I can't get any money from the school. I have pay for everything for the first year, but the second year they will pay for half my tuition, and the last year is free.
I'll probably end up taking out some loans, and things don't look good in terms of government financial aid. I'll be finishing my undergrad degree this year, and I'll just have this one summer to earn money for grad school.
I'll be graduating my well-regarded small liberal arts school with a degree in American Studies and Theater, and I'm pretty good with computers and my hands. I don't care about hard labor or mind-numbing work, as long as I'll be able to get enough money to help pay for these massive expenses of living in Manhattan.
Location doesn't matter, I'll travel anywhere, I was considering working in Alaska, though my friends tell me that 1 in 10 people die working on the boats, so I'd also prefer a job that will leave me alive and with all my limbs.

posted by geryon to Work & Money (14 answers total)

People earn a lot of money in canneries, which would probably not require time on a boat. But it might put your limbs at risk.
posted by AlexReynolds at 11:40 PM on March 1, 2005

Second the cannery, depending on taxes, and what kind of season it is, you can walk away after eight weeks with 7,000+

Plus it looks like this.
posted by airguitar at 11:49 PM on March 1, 2005

long hours though. 100+ every week. maybe bring a foot masseuse.
posted by airguitar at 11:52 PM on March 1, 2005

If you're good at it (read: fast), tree planting can be pretty lucrative. It's in Canada, but if location's not a problem...

I spent my summers as a lifeguard at a hotel resort pool and while it's not that lucrative, it's a lot of fun if you can get past the fat men in Speedo's.
posted by aedra at 11:54 PM on March 1, 2005

How come everyone at the cannery looks kinda cool, hip, and white? Is this some sort of upper-crust menial job?
posted by rolypolyman at 12:02 AM on March 2, 2005

How come everyone at the cannery looks kinda cool, hip, and white?

I'll take stereotyping for 200... Most of the people in the cannery pictures are from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, the Ukraine, Belarus, Russia... Eastern Europe. What you're not seeing are the Philipinos, Koreans, Japanese, Dominicans, Mexicans, Californians, Irish, Puerto Ricans, Quebecers, Vietnamese, Jamaicans, Turks, Inuit, and everybody else.

The explanation has something to do with exchange rates, work/travel student visas, and Alaska being a kick-ass place to spend the summer.

You can email me if you have more questions.
posted by airguitar at 12:34 AM on March 2, 2005

If you explore the cannery route just make sure to talk to people who have done and get walked into a place. I have not worked in canneries but living in Seattle I know many people who went to Alaska to make a pile of dough over the summer. Some did OK but over half the stories I hear are hellacious tales of woe that didn't pan out as expected or promised. A word to the wise.
posted by donovan at 2:50 AM on March 2, 2005

I think going to the canneries is a pretty extreme route (though cool). I'd recommend working hard now to find a good bartending gig in a beach town somewhere. You can clear $7K in seven weeks bartending easily.

The tricky bit is to find a dirt-cheap place to live - someone you can crash with for nothing, a campground, a sh*thole apartment with a lot of roomies - you know what I'm saying. If you waste your earnings in rent, what;s the point? Almost any beach community on the East coast should work for this, but for the best money, stay away from places that attract young crowds, college-age and young professionals. Go for the resorts that attract gay couples and rich boomers for the highest tickets, best tips, and most immediate reward for service. Cape Cod, Ogunquit Maine, Nantucket, Block Island, Long Island, etc. If you line up a hotel or inn bartending gig, you might even be able to negotiate for housing.
posted by Miko at 6:14 AM on March 2, 2005

A friend of mine is currently taking her clothes off for money (ie, she's a stripper) for exactly this same reason. She's making out like mad. I don't know if this falls under "morally reprehensible" for you, but if not, it's lucrative.
posted by Medieval Maven at 7:26 AM on March 2, 2005

I'll probably end up taking out some loans, and things don't look good in terms of government financial aid. I'll be finishing my undergrad degree this year, and I'll just have this one summer to earn money for grad school.

Keep in mind that student loans stay deferred while you're a grad student, and that you can file (or are close to being able to file) as a non-dependent on your tax returns, so financial aid could be better than you think. I'd personally go those routes as far as possible before the canneries/stripping/etc.
posted by advil at 8:27 AM on March 2, 2005

The people I know who have earned a lot of money over the summer in the past all did manual labour. Since they were from the Fort Saint John area in British Columbia, this meant oil field grunt work. Long, tedious hours, but a lot of money.

I'll parrot Miko about the cheap living, too. That can often be what breaks students-- apartments are never cheap, and there are always a fair deal of associated expenses that make the money come in that much slower.
posted by synecdoche at 8:40 AM on March 2, 2005

I've heard from several people that wildfire fighting is very lucrative. You have to be able to pass the physical tests and also not mind spending the summer in the middle of nowhere fighting fires. I think the jobs are listed on the Forest Service Section of the USAjobs site.
posted by librarina at 9:07 AM on March 2, 2005

depending on your skills - friends of mine have a made a good deal of loot doing grunt work for the NSF in antarctica...? but i think that would be next winter...? if you need to push things off.

:)
posted by specialk420 at 1:57 PM on March 2, 2005

If you do think about the cannery thing, you may enjoy this book.
posted by babar at 5:51 PM on March 2, 2005