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What do you work for?

Seems right now I can work to cover my expenses (bills) and pay rent. I dont make enough money to save anything, I pretty much just barely scrape by, but I have practically everything I need, my own place, my own car, an amazing girlfriend, clothes on my back, food to eat, beer to drink and bud to smoke. Life is pretty good right now. Yeah 2009!
 
+100 on going to work to pay bills, rent, etc. I know someone who ended up having to sleep & live in her van for several weeks, I don't want to end up in THAT place myself. I make enough to have some left over to add a bass, gear, etc. now and then, as well as photography stuff and the occasional sf book, as well as put aside money every paycheck to go into the emergency fund/retirement fund/bass gear fund. I LIKE being able to stay fairly warm in the winter...and being able to take regular showers, wash the clothes, etc. No, I don't love my job, but I don't hate it either; if I ever won the lottery, or got a job offer for a job I would like better, I'd be giving notice to the hotel I work at the next day....
 
Maids here get between $9 to $11 an hour, plus tips (not a lot of tips, people just don't think of tipping maids the way they do waitstaff) depending on seniority. Our most senior maid makes $about $13 an hour. We work 6 days a week during full season, some hotels work their staff 7 days a week. They get in an average of 35 hours a week during that time period, sometimes more, sometimes less. We're closed 2 to 3 months out of the year - no business at a seaside resort hotel in winter, especially when it's cold, windy, and snowy outside! Some of the other places here pay more per hour, or pay per day; but they are normally not open as long as the hotel I work at is. We don't have bell hops, so can't address how much that pays; probably like waitresses not a lot as they'll expect you to make a fair amount in tips. You'd probably be better off working the front desk; a lot of places prefer to have men working the late evening / mid shifts. If you are at all 'handy around the house' you might also look at being hired as maintenance staff. Groundskeepers (take out garbage several times a day, clean up around the outside of the hotel, take care of the pool, etc.) make about the same here that maids do, and often end up getting pressed into service as bell boys. We also have our own laundry; the head of the laundry makes $13 or so an hour and normally puts in 35 to 40 hours a week; her assistant makes $10 an hour for the same number of hours most of the time. Some hotels here have pretty big turnover every year; others, like the one I work at, do their best to keep you on if you work out well; this is my 19th year as head housekeeper, one of the maids has been here 25 years, and most of them have been working for us 10 or more years. Even so, we still have turnover every year. Now, ours is a family owned hotel; started 47 years ago and still being run by the same family. Things are a lot different if you're working for a chain hotel, or if the staff is unionized. What it's like in your area of California I can't guess. Hope this info is of some help, anyway.

It never hurts to make the rounds and put in applications, anyway. Just make sure you get an idea of what the normal salary range is. I had one applicant about 15 years ago who said on her application that she wanted to be paid at least $15/hr; at that time, that was more than what yours truly was making as 'executive housekeeper.' Needless to say, that application got shunted into the 'reject' pile without even an interview - and when the unemployment office called to see if that person had actually put in an application with us, I told them "Yes, but she said she wants a minimum of $15 an hour, and none of our chamberpeople make that much." (I should explain perhaps that - here in NJ anyway - if you're on unemployment, if you haven't found a job in a certain length of time and aren't expecting to be called back to work when the season starts up again, the unemployment office wants to know where you've been looking for work, where you've put in applications, etc. If you aren't looking for work, you can lose your unemployment benefits. Some people don't really want to look for work until their benefits run out, so they'll put in applications but will put stuff into the application that they know will get them rejected - unrealistic salary demands, saying they have to have weekends off (doens't happen for housekeeping staff at hotels that are open on weekends!), very narrow working hours, etc. That way they can be sure they won't be offered a job. Yep, if you refuse a job, you can lose your unemployment benefits, too. So the unemployment department investigator found my answer very interesting...) May be a bit off topic (what else is new in Off Topic?) but hopefully potentially useful to anyone currently looking for a job....
 
I work so family can live indoors , eat well , be entertained and save enough so one day I can retire young enough to pursue hobbies and adventures.

And so I can stay out of jail by paying my child support .

.
 
I work because I like to eat regular and sleep indoors

/\ This /\

I flat-out hate my current job, and haven't had one that I truly enjoyed since the majority of manufacturing industries were systematically destroyed in the US, by Wall Street and the arrogant swine that propagate that mentality

Nevertheless, keeping a roof over your head costs money and so does decent food

My personal satisfaction comes from creative work, like music and woodworking. Neither of these will provide a decent living for me, or most other people for that matter, so.....

Work Sucks, but I need the Bucks
 
Seems that recently there has been a lot of saving threads. To change things a bit, what do you work for?What keeps you motivated to go to work every morning?

Bass gear? family time? early retirement?

Me, I do it to spend time at home with my lovely wife and dogs.Eenjoying some bass playing, mountain biking, good home cooking, the occasional dinner out, and spending time with our friends.
so that when i retire the refrigerator box i live in and the dog food i'm eating are name brand....
 
So that my wife and I can do things like going away to Big Bear Mountain this weekend to get drunk and stupid dressed in Liederhosen for Halloween/Oktoberfest and not care how much the bar tabs total up to.

I'm also saving up for a Wauntid back tattoo.
 
To keep up with the Joneses (MJ5150). :D

j/k


I actually work because I love my job. I enjoy working with my hands and can be quite satisfied when I open an oven door and see a deck full of properly proofed golden brown loaves of bread. I like that I can call myself a baker (even though I've only been at it for a few months).

The paycheck is nice; pays the bills so I can spend my off time chatting it up on a bass forum. The prerequisite bass, amp and effects are just decorations (at the moment). I also like the roof over my head and the sweet 14 year old Honda in the "driveway".