Up Coming Breaks: Spring and Summer
Hope all are doing well with their schooling and interning. The last several posts that were made revolved around internship opportunities. Inspiration for those posts came as a result of not seeing many opportunities listed during my schooling so I wanted to try to get something out there for others to explore.
As you know, break season is approaching and kicks off with Spring Break and ends with Summer. Like in past posts, take these breaks as an opportunity to kick start a side gig or two for earning income. Yeah I know it's a well earned break from school but this approach will eventually give you a leg up on earnings prior to graduation.
At minimum most are granted a full week to enjoy themselves outside of school. During this time you can get some scholarship searches in, you can complete odd jobs around the neighborhood and or city/town. You could possibly start a seasonal blog and or vlog where you document your travels and share them with others.
Posts could even include some tips you picked up along the way to better indulge in the vacay experience while not breaking the bank. If you're about to go on break but also have some work that needs to be completed by the time you arrive back from break then do a meet up with you fellow classmates to see if you can knock out those assignments early so you all can get to breaking. You can also use this time to clear out your closet of some unwanted clothes of which you can either donate and or sell online through various venue; just be sure to do some research in advance before jumping in.
Much like Spring, you can go the route of doing seasonal blogs and or vlogs documenting your travels along with any other experiences you're currently engaged in. Summer is also internship/co-op/apprenticeship season so be sure to stay on top of opportunities. If you're not into internships or haven't been able to meet the pre-req then you can go the route of participating in networking events.
You don't necessarily have to network with individuals directly tied to the field you're majoring in because the overall meeting experience will open up doors to learning new things. Which include but aren't limited to learning how different fields are connected along with valuable information that isn't always taught in the classroom. In addition to these, some local libraries host events/workshops where people can go and learn valuable tips for employment which include resume and cover letter assistance, interviewing tips along with effective job search tactics.
Flipping back to the travel aspect of summer break you can also do walk through posts of how you
prep and pack for travel, share must have items, favorite site(s) for booking travel, share different ways you pass the time and or entertain yourself and possibly major DON'Ts when it comes to travel. Completing odd jobs is still on the table along with side gigs along with a new addition of product testing. Not entirely sure of the details but there are some sites that pay participates to test products.
Opportunities vary per company but there is talk of some survey sites having this option available. Many years ago I remember doing product testing (just 2) for two different survey sites. One was tied to the site itself while the other was tied to a third party source.
The third party source was a favorite because it involved snack crackers. Product testing opportunities are tricky at best as it's extremely difficult to tell if you'll be selected or not for testing something. Not just this but there are some opportunities that are location specific to keep an eye out for that.
If you have some free time on your hand, read up on internship opportunities that were posted in October and November 2018 along with the Micro Jobs posts of Summer and Fall 2016. Scholarships are still in the picture but a grand majority that I've encountered while researching are location specific with tight deadlines. Contests/Challenges are another option but your A-game is needed in order to standout from the masses.
A notable contest is the L Ron Hubbard Writers/Illustrators of the Future contest that's been going strong for many years now. In addition to the creatives of the future contest some entertainment companies host contests that will either revolve around writing and or illustration. Blizzard recently hosted an illustration contest in January 2019 so this could be something to look forward to come December 2019 since this is when the entry period usually starts.
Also, keep your eyes peeled for skill sharpening tasks that take place throughout the year; some are highly advertised while others are word of mouth. Some known challenges that are taking place and are coming up:
The above is just a sampling and it should hopefully help with getting out of ruts. RC2019 is already underway and have 6 books at current under my belt. I'm aiming for either April or May for the posting challenge though I haven't decided which blog will be targeted.
There are many other challenge ideas out there and lots of earning opportunities just waiting to be discovered both near and far.
As you know, break season is approaching and kicks off with Spring Break and ends with Summer. Like in past posts, take these breaks as an opportunity to kick start a side gig or two for earning income. Yeah I know it's a well earned break from school but this approach will eventually give you a leg up on earnings prior to graduation.
Spring Break
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| Yoshi's Island. A top destination for me during my breaks from school. |
Posts could even include some tips you picked up along the way to better indulge in the vacay experience while not breaking the bank. If you're about to go on break but also have some work that needs to be completed by the time you arrive back from break then do a meet up with you fellow classmates to see if you can knock out those assignments early so you all can get to breaking. You can also use this time to clear out your closet of some unwanted clothes of which you can either donate and or sell online through various venue; just be sure to do some research in advance before jumping in.
Summer Break
Much like Spring, you can go the route of doing seasonal blogs and or vlogs documenting your travels along with any other experiences you're currently engaged in. Summer is also internship/co-op/apprenticeship season so be sure to stay on top of opportunities. If you're not into internships or haven't been able to meet the pre-req then you can go the route of participating in networking events.
You don't necessarily have to network with individuals directly tied to the field you're majoring in because the overall meeting experience will open up doors to learning new things. Which include but aren't limited to learning how different fields are connected along with valuable information that isn't always taught in the classroom. In addition to these, some local libraries host events/workshops where people can go and learn valuable tips for employment which include resume and cover letter assistance, interviewing tips along with effective job search tactics.
 |
| Spring along the riverfront. |
prep and pack for travel, share must have items, favorite site(s) for booking travel, share different ways you pass the time and or entertain yourself and possibly major DON'Ts when it comes to travel. Completing odd jobs is still on the table along with side gigs along with a new addition of product testing. Not entirely sure of the details but there are some sites that pay participates to test products.
Opportunities vary per company but there is talk of some survey sites having this option available. Many years ago I remember doing product testing (just 2) for two different survey sites. One was tied to the site itself while the other was tied to a third party source.
The third party source was a favorite because it involved snack crackers. Product testing opportunities are tricky at best as it's extremely difficult to tell if you'll be selected or not for testing something. Not just this but there are some opportunities that are location specific to keep an eye out for that.
Some Promising Starts
If you have some free time on your hand, read up on internship opportunities that were posted in October and November 2018 along with the Micro Jobs posts of Summer and Fall 2016. Scholarships are still in the picture but a grand majority that I've encountered while researching are location specific with tight deadlines. Contests/Challenges are another option but your A-game is needed in order to standout from the masses.
A notable contest is the L Ron Hubbard Writers/Illustrators of the Future contest that's been going strong for many years now. In addition to the creatives of the future contest some entertainment companies host contests that will either revolve around writing and or illustration. Blizzard recently hosted an illustration contest in January 2019 so this could be something to look forward to come December 2019 since this is when the entry period usually starts.
Also, keep your eyes peeled for skill sharpening tasks that take place throughout the year; some are highly advertised while others are word of mouth. Some known challenges that are taking place and are coming up:
- Reading Challenge 2019 - goal of reading at least 40 books by the end of the year
- Summer Reading 2019 - read books during summer and win prizes
- National Blog Posting Month 2019 - post to blog everyday for entire month
- Kaijune 2019 - Create a monster drawing everyday in June
- Inktober 2019 - draw something everyday during month of October
- NaNoWriMo 2019 - write a novel from start to finish during month of November
The above is just a sampling and it should hopefully help with getting out of ruts. RC2019 is already underway and have 6 books at current under my belt. I'm aiming for either April or May for the posting challenge though I haven't decided which blog will be targeted.
There are many other challenge ideas out there and lots of earning opportunities just waiting to be discovered both near and far.
