Making Money While RVing
Finding Seasonal Jobs
So, you’ve been out there in your RV boon docking, using your solar panels for power, saving money, and living simply. You haven’t needed much money to live this lifestyle. But the holiday season is approaching, and you could use a little extra cash. Or maybe a trip you want or need to take will cost more than you usually spend. This may be a good time to consider a seasonal job.
A seasonal job at a company that has branch locations nationwide is a great choice for full-time RVers. Seasonal workers usually only work 2-3 months, and the work is usually pretty easy. These jobs typically don’t pay much, but it’s enough to help you with holiday spending or to treat yourself to a little something extra. Plus, once you have worked for a company during a holiday or busy season, you may be able to work for them every year; and if it’s a company with many locations nationwide, you can still travel the country and choose a location where you’d like to work.
I have worked for a holiday season at Kohl’s, which has over 1,100 locations nationwide. They begin hiring in September or October, and the season goes through January 9. I found them to be very flexible with hours, as I could only work evenings and they adjusted the schedule to accommodate that. Note that retail jobs like this one require you to be on your feet for your entire shift, so if you’re not used to that this may be an adjustment. My feet hurt after my first few shifts of this work.
SEASONAL JOBS IN RETAIL
Many retail stores hire seasonal employees, and have store locations nationwide. Hiring for the holiday season begins in the fall, so apply early for these jobs. These jobs aren’t necessarily cashier jobs; stores also hire people for picking and packing online orders, setting up store displays, unpacking trucks, merchandising, etc. Many offer employee perks such as significant employee discounts.
CABELA’S https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/careers-retail
Wages listed at $10-$11/hour
DICK’S SPORTING GOODS https://www.dickssportinggoods.jobs/seasonal/
Wages about $9/hour
BEST BUY https://www.bestbuy-jobs.com/job-family/seasonal-hiring/
Starting wage is $15/hour
KOHL’S https://careers.kohls.com/seasonal
Average pay listed as $9.82/hour
TARGET https://jobs.target.com/seasonal
Wages listed as $15/hour
AMAZON https://www.amazondelivers.jobs/about/culture/.
Wages start at $15/hour.
Amazon of course also has the “Camperforce” seasonal jobs, where RVers can stay at a Camperforce campground, and receive a monthly salary.
LOWE’S https://corporate.lowes.com/careers/search-apply
Wages range from $11-$13/hour
WALMART https://careers.walmart.com
Wages are $15/hour or more
SEASONAL JOBS DURING TAX SEASON
Many tax preparers hire extra help to get them through the busy season, and the IRS also hires temporary workers during this time. Though some of these jobs require tax experience or certifications, there are also data entry and administration jobs. Temporary help is needed from January 1 through April 15, so apply to these several months prior to January. Some companies may require you to complete a course first, so allow time to complete this before tax season begins. The IRS does not require that you take a course; they provide training for seasonal employees.
Large companies that hire seasonal employees:
Intuit (Turbo Tax)
H & R Block
Liberty Tax
Jackson & Hewitt
Internal Revenue Service
JOBS DURING THE HALLOWEEN SEASON
Costume stores and haunted houses, creepy mazes, amusement parks need help in the weeks coming up to Halloween and begin hiring as early as August.
Party City https://partycity.jobs.net
Spirit Halloween https://www.spirithalloween.com/content.jsp?pageName=JoinSpirit
Local Haunted Houses
Amusement Parks
SEASONAL FESTIVAL JOBS
Music, food, beverages, fireworks, amusement rides… what’s not to like? During busy festival seasons, thousands of temporary jobs are available. After work, enjoy the festivities. Festival season varies by state, so keep yourself informed about festivals in your area. Try checking https://www.festivals.com for those upcoming festivals.
SEASONAL FREIGHT COMPANY JOBS
You don’t have to be a driver to work for these companies. There are plenty of other seasonal jobs that need to be filled, such as Package Handler, Warehouse Worker, and administrative jobs. These jobs may pay better than retail, but they may also require harder work; just keep that in mind! While I’m not afraid of hard work, I am getting older and this work has become more difficult.
UPS https://www.jobs-ups.com/category/seasonal-jobs/1187/12811/1
FedEx https://careers.fedex.com/fedex/jobs?keywords=seasonal&sortBy=relevance&page=1
Local freight companies
The key to seasonal work is to be open-minded. Try something new. Part of the fun of a seasonal job is knowing that you will not do this job forever. Remember the low stress of your first jobs you had as a teenager? You knew the job would be temporary, and it was generally low-stress work. If you do take seasonal work, you will most likely be working with teenagers, too! This makes these jobs even more fun.
Comments or other ideas welcomed below!
Thanks for reading.