For work and travel, I have chosen Jenkinson's South in Point Pleasant, New Jersey as my employer. Jenkinson's neighbourhood is peaceful and there are only a few streets of shops in the town. Therefore, for movies, food and entertainment, people usually go to the next town, Brick.
The very key reason of me choosing this employer is because it is 2.5 hours away from New York by train (1 hour by working period . So there we go, flying to JFK airport :)
Before sharing my working experience, I would like to share my ultimate goals of this program as that would direct my working experience, travelling and living style in the US. Besides working, travelling and enjoying myself, I aimed to:
#1 Recover the initial costs spent (RM12k - USD 3,000)
#2 Enjoy & travel to the maximum utilization (Around USD3, 000)
#3 Bring home extra earnings (Surplus from #1 & #2)
After setting expectations, here comes the working adventure in New Jersey!
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| Point Pleasant Beach |
For job position, I chose Food and Beverage in the beginning. Most of the jobs offered are of minimum wage in New Jersey - USD 8.38/ hour. The employer - Jenkinson's South has very little of cultural and bonding activities. You work independently and report to your assigned shop manager - gift shop manager, food store manager etc. Thus far, the activities they prepared were only trip to Liberty Island *Didnt manage to go as they only brought those who arrived before May 30, not after : (* and free entrance to Seaside theme park (another theme park owned by Jenkinson's) if you want to. The socialization and working depends very much on your own initiatives.
In the first two weeks of June, I worked at the Bar and Grill as a kitchen assistant. Most of the time, kitchen helpers prepared salad, serving seafood by opening clams and oysters, stocked up ingredients and meats and other similar jobs. As usual, meals weren't an issue and you just need to tell the chefs about what you wanna eat, and they would cook for you.
The first challenge I faced was that I didnt have enough working hours in the Bar & Grill, working less than 40 hours a week. By the US law, when you work more than 40 hours, you are entitled to Overtime Pay -1.5 times higher than your normal pay for the extra hours after 40 hours. I was slow in opening shelled seafood and not as strenuous to move the goods around. If the restaurant was too empty, I was the first to leave work and go home. The manager mentioned that my hours would be increased once the kids are out of the school (Mid June). Clearly, if I were to work that hours for the rest of the summer, earning around USD 200 per week after tax and housing costs, I would have never achieved my goals.
After some time, the job sponsor visited us, and I raised the issue with them. Immediately, the next day, my position was swapped with a guy who worked at a gift shop. I started to work in the gift shop for the rest of the summer. The exact reasons of me getting positions changed were not explained, in which I was not happy about. Neither did Jenkinson's ask for our opinions for the decision made, and this isn't an act of employer putting people first.
Although getting job changed is unpredictable, getting more friends and cultural experience at the gift shop was also out of my expectations. Working in the gift shop makes me feel more connected to locals, as you talked to the high school students in the house, customers and more. Initially, the working hours weren't consistent, and I always requested from the manager to work extra to 6 days a week. Eventually, things got smoother and more laughter in the shop. :)
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| You can find almost everything you need for daily life in the shop, a mini supermarket indeed! |
Photo taken when the manager was not in, and it was a Hot Christmas celebration. XD
After I have settled down in the gift shop, my second challenge is how to increase income to achieve goal #2 and utilizing all the time I have. My working hours are 48 hours, 6 days a week. It means I am pretty free for another half of the day. Therefore, I found a second job - housekeeping.
To be honest, when I first joined this program and checked out the employer list, housekeeping is the first to eliminate. No matter how attractive the location and pay, I would never choose this as my job in the USA. But things changed. Housekeeping was the best second job alternative. So, for the first half of the day, I went for housekeeping job and then gift shop employee for the second half.
Working as a housekeeper wasn't as unglamorous. In the US, people do respect all jobs and every position is admirable. At the beginning, I had some hard time as the job was physically challenging and energy consuming. It took some time to get used to the dirt and garbage of the guests when you first cleaned the room. Work place's relationship wise, it was full of politics because of tips and the managers had the power of deciding your teammates and building to be cleaned. I was being complaint for I don't know how many times for being slow, inefficient, not cleaning thoroughly etc. And I told myself, if I dont do this job now then when? If I can conquer this job, nothing else would be as difficult in future too.
So, I was thick face enough to do this job for 2.5 months, utilizing all the day time I have and getting sufficient side income. I work more than 12 hours every day, 6 days a week for both jobs. I have become much faster than I first started. There are some cleaning techniques learnt along the way as well, with a mind not to be too sloppy, neither too OCD for cleanliness. I am proud of myself that I did not give up, and I did the thing that I thought I would never do in life.In fact, I am beyond grateful to have taken up this job, as I would have earned enough to travel and save some money back to home country. There are two sides to a coin and definitely, working in the resort exposed me to the back side of US. I am truly thankful to have friends supporting me, giving me helping hands when I had critical moments at both jobs.
Last day of work :')
If I were to join this program again, I would not go for Jenkinson's. Everyone has different expectations. I personally love an employer who treats employees like a big family. National parks, islands and the more secluded areas would have this as everyone stays together in the camp. There are other participants that have shorter working hours with higher pay and lower housing costs. However, the backside is they can't travel out of the place until the travelling period.
No one's story would be the same, and it depends on what you want. Lastly, once you have made up your mind, give your fullest and you will bring beautiful memories back. :)
Key takeaways:
- Clearly communicate your goals to your managers in the first week of your work. They are the ones who determine your working hours and eventually they'll understand where you are coming from.
- Keep your living costs as low as possible, so that you can spend more for travel.
- If you think you are good and hardworking, everything good in one except for the pay, ask for a pay raise. Some employers understand that students are underpaid and they might give a raise to you.
- Make as many friends as possible. It takes some time to build up the relationship, especially with locals. Go, because no harm trying :)
Do asking for pay raise will make employer feel unhappy with it or not as the contract had already mention the pay rate to us? Do you try before?
ReplyDeleteHi sorry for late reply. I think it depends on circumstances. Because WAT participants like us are usually paid at the minimum wage, some of them are willing to pay slightly higher for the work for compensating WAT trainees who work very hard and also long hours. From my perspective, knowing your performance, the overall business model & profit and maintainig good relationship with all are the keys to get a pay raise for yourself :) And yes, I did get a pay raise, so don't be afraid if you know you've gone all out :))
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