Table of contents:
A short introduction
The details below are based on our Work & Travel trip to the USA in 2018. We went through a Polish agency, “The Best Way“. Current prices, dates or the specifics of working in Yosemite may have changed, but the general information is still very much up to date. Enjoy the read!
Our whole trip lasted 4.5 months – work in two national parks and a month of travelling – and during that time we covered 17,723 km across the States: 7347 km by car, 6436 km by plane (counting only flights within the USA), 3627 km by train and bus, and 313 km hitchhiking.
Who is eligible?
Anyone taking part in the programme must have student status (bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral studies) and must have completed at least the first semester. Participants must be between 19 and 28 years old. A student of a post-secondary vocational school is also eligible, but the course at such a school must last at least 2 years (full-time).
Which agency to choose?
When choosing, pay attention to:
- Reviews of the agency
- The job offers the agency had in previous years
- How the programme is paid for – some agencies ask for a much smaller programme fee than others, but then, once the participant starts working, the agency deducts part of their pay, which means less money saved for travelling.
The costs of the programme (2018)
In 2018 the programme cost us about €1,900 per person, made up of:
- €210 for the registration fee (because we paid it early, by the end of October, we got a €35 discount, so we paid €175).
- $1010 (~€900) for the programme with the “FULL PLACEMENT” option, with a job offer provided by the foundation, paid in two instalments: first $200, then the rest. There is also a “SELF” option (you find a job offer yourself), with a lower fee of about $600.
- $160 (€145) for the visa.
- €350 per person for the flight from Berlin to Los Angeles (hand and checked luggage included).
- €255 per person for the flight from New York to Berlin (hand and checked luggage included).
- On top of that, add the cost of visa photos, the trip to Warsaw and sending the documents to the agency (about €45).
When to sign up for the programme?
- At The Best Way you could sign up from 26 October.
- The first job offers appeared as early as 6 November.
Do you really need to decide that early?
Getting your preferred position and a good hourly rate together with decent accommodation means following the job offers almost from the moment they appear. The best ones disappear very quickly. But if you don’t manage to get on the list for the offer you wanted, there’s no need to worry. Sometimes completely new offers turn up unexpectedly. And if you decide to sign up after the registration deadline, it doesn’t mean you can’t take part in the programme. There are usually still places left. The choice of job offers will, however, be very limited by then
How good does your English need to be?
Most agencies require a good, communicative command of the language. In practice, though, the language requirement depends on the position. Working with customers requires good English, washing dishes not necessarily. It’s up to you which position you work in. Being able to speak English is certainly useful for sorting out all the necessary formalities on site. However, you can count on help from both the staff and other participants of the programme.
How to choose the right job offer?
When choosing a job, pay particular attention to the following:
Hourly rate
Apart from a good hourly rate, it’s worth checking how any overtime is paid. Under American law, signing a contract that states more than 40 hours means you voluntarily agree to work longer hours, which don’t have to be treated as overtime or paid at a higher rate. American law also sets no limit on the number of hours you can work in a day.
Weekly working hours
With a guaranteed full-time job you won’t have a problem saving money for travelling. Unfortunately, it has happened more than once that participants got too few hours, which forced them to look for an extra job on their own. We found that out ourselves in Yosemite: after the fire broke out, there was no work at all at Yosemite Valley Lodge, where Patrycja worked, and my hours at Half Dome Village were cut. Don’t count on the Polish agency or the sponsor (your contact person in America) sorting it out later.
The work period, including possible start and end dates, and the date of the job interview
The work period has to be coordinated well with your exams. The easiest way is to ask the agency for a certificate confirming your participation in the programme, which lets you apply to take your exams earlier.
The job interview often takes place as early as January and February, less often in March (the interview itself is usually over Skype, and only in some cases at a job fair in a bigger city). That’s also when you have to declare your availability.
Accommodation and meals
Apart from looking for the cheapest possible accommodation in generally good condition, bear in mind that with some job offers the employer won’t provide accommodation, only help in finding it. In such cases it’s hard to say whether you’ll find a cheap and convenient place to live, so it involves a big risk and extra effort of your own to find a flat.
It’s also worth checking whether you can get a room together if you’re going with a friend (especially for mixed couples).
The distance between work and accommodation, and getting to work
Accommodation isn’t always close to the workplace, so to avoid an unpleasant surprise, it’s worth checking this beforehand.
Place of work
Think about what kind of surroundings you want to work in. If you love nature, you’ll obviously choose a national park. But remember the inconveniences that come with it, such as no access to shops with cheap goods and so on. If you love big cities, you’ll choose a larger metropolitan area, where accommodation will most likely be more expensive.
Position
Participants indicate which position they prefer. In our case, positions were assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. So it happened that the person who had the job interview last didn’t get the position they had chosen, because other participants had already taken it.
It's worth writing to participants from previous years
Ask the agency for contacts to participants from previous years. That way you can find out more about specific offers (including things not covered in the employer’s information, such as the actual living conditions or the atmosphere at work).
6:32Working in Yosemite – recommended
Key information
- Start date: 01/06 -30/06
- Hourly rate: $10.50/h
- Accommodation: $40/week
- Positions: dishwasher, roomskeeper, cook’s helper, house person, food service
Accommodation options:
- Tent cabins
- Shared apartment
- Dormitory
It’s worth mentioning that during the season things get pretty chaotic there. The reason is the big influx of workers for whom there aren’t enough places. Because of that, almost every worker was first put in a temporary room (even one for six people), but participants weren’t charged anything for it.
Meals
Employees get a 50% discount on lunches. You can get to a shop with cheap food by signing up for a trip to a town about 40 km away, served by shuttle buses. It takes some juggling to fit it in with your work schedule, though. Restaurant workers (there are three in the park) are in a good position, as they rarely have to worry about food. We especially recommend restaurant positions.
Summary
Because of the good pay, minimal accommodation costs and no food costs, as well as the generally good working conditions and nice atmosphere, we especially recommend the Yosemite offer.
What to watch out for : above all, you need to know that there are fires in California every year, so a fire may lead to the park being temporarily closed or even evacuated! That’s what happened to us in 2018 – after the evacuation from Yosemite we faced tough negotiations with the sponsor about work. It ended with a job in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming – again in food service.
What Work & Travel gave us
First of all, money for travelling. Our earnings were enough for sightseeing – including a month-long trip after the work ended – and on top of that we brought home some electronics, savings and souvenirs. We just had to learn to spend it wisely.
But the trip gave us much more than money. For several months we lived and worked in the States, so we got to know life in America from the inside and learned a lot about the country itself. The evacuation from Yosemite taught us to make important decisions and to cope with stressful situations. We also found out how much people’s hospitality and kindness mean – from our Couchsurfing host in Los Angeles, through the family of Kevin, a colleague from work, who took us in after the evacuation, to a Polish couple near New York who hosted us at the end of the trip.
