City of Minnetonka

Seasonal

June 2017 • Minnetonka, MN

What I liked

I liked the hours of work, I worked from 6:30 am - 2:30 pm Monday through Friday. This meant I was working 40 hours a week, but on a schedule where I could still do a lot with my afternoons. I really enjoyed being outdoors and working with my hands. It was often hard and straining work, but it always felt rewarding. Most of what I did was cutting down diseased or invasive trees, or cutting back buckthorn on city trails.

What I wish was different

The only issue I have had over two summers of working for the city occurred this past summer when I pulled a muscle in my lower back lifting a heavy log onto a truck. I was forced to take leave for a week and did not receive pay for the entire week. However, my boss did make it clear that he wished he could have compensated me, but it was something out of his control.

Advice

I would say that if you are the type of person who feels they need or enjoy more structure in their life, this type of work is well suiting. If you could not see yourself getting dirty, in all types of weather, doing hard physical labor for 40 hours a week, then I would not recommend this type of work. In my experience, in such a position as this it is important to very closely pay attention to the actions and duties of your coworkers throughout the first two weeks. They will impart useful information and skills to you and then once you have a grasp on the typical duties of the job, they will give you greater freedom to operate tools, machinery, or vehicles as their trust in your abilities increases. After this you are able to fall into a comfortable routine that gives your day a good deal of structure.

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