Megan Wright didn’t know what she wanted to do until she found seasonal work in a national park. I used to go to university and thought I might become a teacher, but I dropped out twice. Now, seasonal work offers variable pay and housing, she says. But let her live in a beautiful place.
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This told essay is based on a conversation with Megan Wright, a 29-year-old Texas native who works seasonal jobs in or near national parks. She travels around the country with her fiance, a seasonal worker. Her job involves hiring through a contractor, not directly from the National Park Service. This story has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider confirmed her employment and salary.
To be honest, I had never even visited a national park before I moved there.
I was living in Texas and struggling to find my passion. Actually, I dropped out of university twice. I went to school to become an elementary school teacher for the first time. After returning to Japan, I studied hospitality.
One of my friends took his friend’s father’s advice: “If you’re lost in life and don’t know what to do, go scoop ice cream in Yellowstone.” She got a job in Yosemite and when she came to visit me, I had never seen her so happy.
I followed her lead, dropped out of school, and got a job as a restaurant host in Death Valley. I was 21 or 22 at the time. Currently I am 29 years old. Since then, I have worked seasonal jobs, mostly as a server in hotels and restaurants. I’ve worked in places like Zion, Glacier, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and now I’m back in Death Valley. I’ve been a server for the past 7 years and I absolutely love it.
I discovered my passion for the outdoors through seasonal work. I love working in hospitality, but for me it’s a means to get where I want to go.
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Seasonal work often requires you to move every four to six months.
I have worked for various companies that operate within the park. Some people stick with one company because of the advantage of being able to easily transfer real estate. And some people simply choose a destination and the person working there ends up being their employer. For the past few years, I have been particular about transferring through the same company, Xanterra.
Most of our contracts are between 4 and 6 months. When a seasonal job starts, I feel like I’ve been bitten by a bug. It’s been 4 months and I’m itching to go somewhere new. A great resource that many of us use to find work is a site called CoolWorks.
Wright has worked in Moab, Utah, near Canyonlands National Park. megan wright
Housing and salary may change
Salaries vary quite widely in the seasonal circuit. I’m a server, so most of my salary comes from tips. Each state also has its own “server wage,” so you might get a pretty good hourly wage in California, but it might be lower in a place like Utah. This extreme change in pay rates also has a huge impact on where I work.
(Editor’s note: According to an employment contract shared with Business Insider, Ms. Wright earned between $10.30 and $16.65 an hour, plus tips at some of her most recent jobs. She earned most of her money in tips. I mentioned that I earn more when I’m busy.
Employer-provided housing is usually provided, but the quality varies. Some people have really nice housing, basically living in a studio apartment with its own bathroom and kitchenette. Some locations resemble college dorms with shared bathrooms in the hallways.
It’s a completely different lifestyle. There is dormitory life. Basically, I live with my colleagues. We meet every day, right? There is no escape. That’s both good and bad.
It’s incredibly easy to make friends at a seasonal job. We are all on this journey together and understand each other deeply. You develop really close friendships. It feels more like family. Everyone comes together and supports us. We always joke that you have to be a little unusual to get a seasonal job.
I know many people who met their partners through seasonal work. I met my fiance at the Grand Canyon, and he also had a seasonal job. Now we are moving to a new place together. It’s nice to have a partner while traveling. Another advantage is that many of these places offer housing for couples.
We also have a community of seasonal workers (we call ourselves ‘Parkies’) who exchange information online about what the housing and food situation is like in different places. I’m doing it.
You may not be able to do seasonal work forever, but it’s great for now.
Some people stay in seasonal jobs forever. Everyone is different. I don’t think I’ll do this forever. My partner and I plan to settle down someday, but we need to decide what that looks like.
Sometimes you think, “Would I be able to get an office job? Could I have a regular 9-to-5 job?” The answer is probably yes, but I need to be close to what I find valuable.
But just recently, my partner and I were driving into town, looking at the mountains and crying as we drove. I always say, “I hope this never gets old. I don’t want to wake up and look outside and think, “Oh, I’ve seen that before.”
