Temp Work as a Career?

Anything to do with the traditional world of get a degree, get a job as well as its alternatives
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TopHatFox
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Location: FL; 25

Temp Work as a Career?

Post by TopHatFox »

Hah, I came across this idea recently. What if instead of having a 9-5 career year after year, you instead were a professional temporary worker?

Your positions would constantly be interesting, new, and short. I find I can do anything for a few weeks. Once I get past about 5 weeks, I've tended to hate being there. It'd also be useful for becoming a fast learner, a skill that would serve in bulk when traveling the world.

Of course, you'd probably take a huge haircut in benefits and pay. But then, you'd get huge exposure into different working environments and types of work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporary_work

distracted_at_work
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by distracted_at_work »

What kind of temp work did you have in mind? Season labor? I.e tree-planting slash snow plowing etc? Or contract professional work? Typically with the later you need a built up reputation, professional designation and solid contacts to get those roles. These will last over the duration of a large project with the end-date set. With the former you need a warm body and the ability to work the entirety of the season, probably with overtime.

I've never heard of a 5 week temp role.

OTCW
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by OTCW »

Maybe consider National Guard or reserves as well if you want only want to work part of the year.

Scott 2
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by Scott 2 »

Temps get the crap work, and often supervisors. This would be awful.

thrifty++
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by thrifty++ »

I have worked with many temp workers. Most of them work in admin type jobs. Cruisy low stress jobs. And they dont get paid too bad either it seems. Like $25 an hour or so. They also get lots of mini retirements between jobs, often by choice as they seem to keep getting offered things if they want. They never seem to end up getting very high end work though so its never something likely to result in a high income. Just an ok income. But certainly seems something amenable to an ERE person who is capable of maximising the utility of such income.
I have noticed that mostly these people have been women. So I do wonder if there is gender discrimination if men try to get these types of jobs.

Kriegsspiel
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

There are some seasonal jobs that you can hold on a permanent basis. Wildland fire fighting, jobs in Antarctica, substitute teaching, etc.

JuliusFC
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by JuliusFC »

So I do wonder if there is gender discrimination if men try to get these types of jobs.
I used to work for an admin roles-type employment agency (as a temp and then as an employee of the agency doing the actual placements). My experience, at least, showed the opposite. Male applicants had no problem getting work (temp or permanent) and I think their uniqueness gender-wise gave them an edge for being remembered. There were even times when HR bluntly told us they were choosing the (not as qualified) male applicant simply because they had all women in similar roles and they wanted to mix it up. Anecdotal of course, but if you have the required admin skills your gender probably won't be an issue and might even help you.

George the original one
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by George the original one »

Government often has temp openings or "term appointments". These will pay going rates, as good as the permanents get, but the benefits are non-existent (no healthcare, no retirement, limited vacation or sick leave). They are often used to bridge the employee gap when programs are temporary (e.g. construction project) or during a program startup which then gets handed over to the primary organization. They often require specialized knowledge, though an enthusiastic person can get themselves moved to the head of the line because usually there are few applicants for a position known to be non-permanent.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

@THF: I like temp work for the same reasons you mentioned, but I would note that "Temp work as career" is bit of an oxymoron. One of the problems I have experienced with temp work is that if you exhibit even moderate level of competence, you may find yourself roped into some sort of worst-of-both-worlds permanent temporary worker status. Kind of like when a man I used to date told me he wanted to be my "forever boyfriend." So, if you are a person, like me, who has some difficulty with just saying "No", you may need to invent, exaggerate or actuate some other commitments or activities in order to boundary your desired temp status.

It is also true that when you are showing up at short notice in some setting where nobody knows anything about you, it is more likely you will be type-cast. For instance, I look kind of like Mrs. Santa Claus, so I am frequently immediately assigned or transferred to teach kindergarten when there are many open assignments, although I am more qualified to teach math.

OTOH, my longest stint as a corporate employee was the result of what I intended to just be a temporary job to help with cash flow during a major home renovation project, and I was being primped for a position with some prestige (not much money-lol) by the end of that gig. So, temp-to-career is a very good possibility.

@GTOO

Where would temporary government vacancies best be found? That sounds like an interesting possibility for me.

Kriegsspiel
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

7Wannabe5 wrote:
Fri Nov 03, 2017 4:11 am
@GTOO

Where would temporary government vacancies best be found? That sounds like an interesting possibility for me.
www.usajobs.gov

James_0011
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by James_0011 »

What about consulting?

My roomate does temp work in IT and he says he makes more than the regular employees, but doesn’t get all the benefits.

George the original one
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by George the original one »

7Wannabe5 wrote:
Fri Nov 03, 2017 4:11 am
@GTOO

Where would temporary government vacancies best be found? That sounds like an interesting possibility for me.
https://www.governmentjobs.com/ looks like it searches the many neogov subsites. Use "term" in the keyword search.

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Lillailler
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Re: Temp Work as a Career?

Post by Lillailler »

I know a lot of people in technical professions work as temps or contractors. There is lots of scope in IT, engineering, project management, etc. One of my old friends worked for years doing 6 months or so at a time, then travelling for a few months, then taking another six-month contract. You need solid specialist skills and experience in something, usually acquired working as an employee in the same field, resulting in a CV that agencies can sell to companies desperate to fill a gap. You also need good enough social skills to walk into a team of strangers and start to contribute from day one, and psychological resilience to handle the irregular gaps between jobs. Pay is usually a lot better than employee pay, and you have more control over what you do when, and where, but you also have more responsibility with no paternalistic employer looking after you.

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