I am looking for any kind of summer employment, preferrably outdoors. I was raised on a farm all of my life and am currently majoring in business with an agriculture emphasis at a small Midwest college. I am a hard worker and will go anywhere. I would like housing provided, but it isn't necessary. If anyone has any ideas or jobs to offer, I would sure appreciate the information. If you would like a reseme, please e-mail and I will be glad to send one. Thanks in advance. James in SD

-- James (jakonech@dwu.edu), March 25, 2002

Answers

Might look at: ATTRA Farming Internships & Apprenticeships, http://www.attra.org/attra-rl/index.html

Sustainable Farming Internships & Apprenticeships (also in PDF) Updated for 2002!

For more than a decade, this one-of-a-kind resource has helped hundreds of family farms find interns and apprentices. The listing is free, and includes contact information and detailed descriptions of the farm, room and board arrangements, timeframes, etc. The list is updated at the beginning of each year. If you would like to list your farm in the next update, contact Katherine Adam at NCAT/ATTRA, P.O. Box 3657, Fayetteville, AR 72702, 800-346-9140 kadam@ncat.org

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 25, 2002.

check out the state parks. Alaska has tons of positions available which include room and board. beautiful areas too.

-- Najia (najia274@yahoo.com), March 25, 2002.

Hello James,

If you are still under 21 years of age you may qualify to work in the forestry field as a summer job. Check with your nearest Forestry Department.

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

If f you can get ahold of some recent issues of Acres USA (the organic farms are gearing up now, so ther were alot in the March 2002 issue), there are usually several pages of available farm/garden/nursery internships available, nearly all with housing and pay or stipend.

Andrea

-- Andrea Gauland (andreagee@aol.com), March 26, 2002.

James, A good deal is going to depend on what your goals are. If it's just a summer job thats easy. If you need to make a considerable amount of money to help you through school it may be a little trickier. Internships are great ways to get hands on experience in an area of interest but don't expect to make much money. It's the price you pay for the knowledge you gain. Be careful, some places will actually train you and at others you're nothing more than a rented mule. I did it one summer when I was in college. There were guys on chain gangs that had better days than I did. 3:45AM to 7;30PM with every other sunday off. Got $30.00 a week plus room and board, the mattress was lumpy and the food was scarce. Very educational. I'd like to suggest my field as a possible summer job. We are in the landscape/growing business and contractors all over rely on summer help. The room and board thing may not be readily available, I don't know how important that is to you. With your interest in business, agriculture and the outdoors it pretty much covers all the bases. Our area is pretty depressed economically but contractors are advertising for help at $8-10/hr. to start. Depending on where you are it could be better. If you hook up with the right company you could make some fair money and learn a lot too. Good luck.

-- JJ Grandits (jjgbdf@AOL.COM), March 26, 2002.