These are a bunch of the cons that tipped the scale
- I'd need to pay for a visa ($585 CAN for the summer, plus a $180US SEVIS fee...whatever that is) because I guess it's harder to work illegally in the US than it is in Thailand ("What? Who said that! *looks around*)
- None of the jobs will pay for me to get to anchorage, which means I get to shoulder the plane ticket on top of my visa (some of the companies were generous enough to offer to take the cost of your plane ticket out of your wages over time so you didn't have to pay it up front, but that was the best they offered)
- Minimum wage in Alaska is $US7.15/hour, which is what I'd likely be getting as a first year worker at an entry level position. This means on a 40 hour work week, working ALL summer I would gross $4195 CAD. Then we subtract taxes, plane and visa costs, potentially food and rent as well and I'm left with like 85 cents. Thanks Alaska.
- If I'm somewhere remote, food isn't always provided with all of the jobs (and if my experiences last summer working in remote Northern Ontario were any indication, that's going to mean some hefty food bills)
- Housing in Anchorage is expensive
- A lot of the jobs require you to be a US citizen to apply
- A lot of the ones that don't are already filled
- I will be able to get there at the beginning of June at the earliest (and that's still with less than 2 weeks turn-around time) and would have to be back at the beginning of September to get back to things school-wise which would mean I didn't qualify for any of the "End of Season Bonuses" many of the jobs offer to reward people for staying for the full season.
Pro
- SUMMER IN THE CITY (back of my neck gettin' dirty and gritty)
Now I've got to go eat a sandwich and study Thai before my Thai teacher gets here in an hour (her new apartment doesn't allow any foreigners (racism much?) so she's begun making house calls)
3 comments:
Hey Leslie,
Interesting post. I love hearing about/talking about people's summer plans. It's such a magical time of opportunity :)
Ahem, anyway. Yes, it looks like you've done all your research, but should you have any doubts leftover, I'd like to put you in touch with my cousin Ida. She was just in Alaska for half a year doing odd jobs/hiking. She loved it and it sounds like she did alright for the moolah too.
Also, if you don't find anything in Markham, have you heard of treeplanting? It's hard work but you could make some mad cash. You can't stay in the city though. Um ya, drop me a line if you're interested and I'll stop spamming your blog now...
Suppose I should have read ahead, lol. Yay for being in TO! You should come see me in Ottawa. I have the comfiest pull out couch ever. It's IKEA and has the most expensive mattress they sell! Super comfy stuff. And I'll be in TO bunches in the summer to come bug everybody!
Well, personally we're all delighted you're staying in Markham for the summer! I would NOT have liked to tell my gang they'd be missing you for a second year in a row! So look on the bright side. I feel very sure that you will see/work/travel in Alaska someday. I think that you may be in a better place to experience the ways in which Alaska is "different", though, if you're not still getting over the ways in which Thailand and Markham are different.
Please pull me in to help with whatever culture shock you care to share. I've done some.... not like you'll be doing, obviously, but still, use me whenever you like.
Love Mary
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