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We are always following the lives of our program alumni. It's a pleasure to read articles about them. Find out about our record holder, Catherine.

I earned $15,000 in four months working in a U.S. national park.

I participated in the student-run Work & Travel program three times when I was in university. I spent the summer in the town of Bullfrog, where I managed to earn about $15,834. I lived in the desert, worked four different jobs, and took minimal days off.

Let me tell you how it was.

My experience at Work & Travel

I could be called a seasoned participant or even a veteran of Work & Travel.

In 2019, I went to Los Angeles, California, where I worked as a waiter at a well-known seafood restaurant chain in America, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Los Angeles is not a classic place for a Work & Travel program; there are very few jobs there. Housing was expensive and far away from work, taking over an hour to get there. I had to go through three weeks of paid training before starting a full-time job. The administrators did not allow me to overwork. In the end, I only brought home $1,000.

I wanted to see a different America, so I wanted to go to the East Coast of Hyannis, Massachusetts 2020 as a hotel "housekeeper", but Covid prevented me from going.

How did a student see America?

On my first tri, I didn't want to make money - I wanted to see the country, improve my English, and understand what it's like to live in the U.S. But for the third time, I purposefully went to the States to make money. I chose a city in advance: I went to Bullfrog on Lake Powell in Utah. I worked from May 20 to September 13.

Signing a contract with an agency

To sign up for the program, all three times I went to a travel agency.

The agency, through which I went, it is possible to arrange participation remotely. I sent the documents by email and only came twice: for an interview with the employer and with the consul at the embassy. After the contract for participation in the program is signed, an agency representative supports and advises the participant all the way back to his country. He also arranged my medical insurance and work permit.

Why I chose Bullfrog

Bullfrog is located in Utah near Lake Powell. When mentioning Utah, Salt Lake City and the Mormons come to mind at best. When Bullfrog is mentioned, nothing comes to mind. It is said to be in the middle of nowhere, which means "somewhere in the unknown.

Bullfrog is far from anything at all: within three hours' drive there is not a single large settlement, gas stations and small villages can be found from time to time. The town is located in Glen Canyon National Park.

Among Americans, Lake Powell is considered a famous and popular resort. Wealthy Americans rent houseboats here, average American families stay in Bullfrog as a staging post during their travels through national parks. Ordinary Americans come here for seasonal work - to save money and have a good time.

Daytime temperatures almost never drop below +40 degrees Celsius. The population barely numbers a hundred people. Bullfrog has a restaurant, hotel, gas station with store, recreation center - Recreation Center, dormitories for employees, school and clinic. All of this is owned by Aramark, the only local employer.

A couple of hundred meters from the settlement, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere.

A close friend of mine worked in Bullfrog on a Work and Travel program in the past. She managed to make good money, so I decided to follow her example.

I started monitoring job openings in the U.S. in November, as soon as the agency gave me access to the classifieds website. In Bullfrog, all services are provided by Aramark, and only their vacancies can be found on the site. Places are limited, so I had to monitor the ads on the site every day to book a position before anyone else.

At the end of December, I waited for the restaurant host position at Bullfrog.

I started applying for the program a lot in advance, even before I found a job. As early as the beginning of September, I applied to the agency and started collecting and processing paperwork:

Foreign passport.

Participant questionnaire.

Resume with a photo 3.5 × 4.5 cm.

Certificate from the university that I am a student.

Job Fair

The next step after you have collected your documents is to choose a job and attend a career fair. The employer comes to the fair, interviews the applicants and gives out an offer document - a document with the position, terms, hourly rate and necessary contacts. If the employer for some reason cannot come to visit a country, the interview is conducted remotely.

In my first year with Work & Travel, my employer interviewed me via Skype because he was not approved for a visa. The next two times I went to job fairs, where I met with companies in person. This is necessary for the employer to assess the candidate's language level and how well he or she fits the chosen vacancy. During the interview for the Bullfrog job, the employer asked me about my past travels, experience of living in the USA, studies.

At this stage it is important to demonstrate good English, otherwise they may refuse the job. A girl who interviewed in my stream and applied for a job as a hostess in a Bullfrog restaurant was demoted to a boat washer precisely because of her poor language skills.

The road to Bullfrog

There are several ways to get to Bullfrog. I flew into Salt Lake City, where I stayed with a host from Couchsurfing for 2 days for free to see the city. Then I took the Amtrak train to Green River City, where Aramark's free shuttle picked up new employees. I had to be sure to let my employer know the arrival date in advance and take into account that the shuttle only runs on Mondays. If you're late and arrive in Green River on a Tuesday, you'd have to spend a week in that city, and it's not particularly exciting.

The second option is to fly to Grand Junction and from there take the Greyhound bus to the same Green River. In my personal experience, the train is much more convenient. First, train travel is not as common in the U.S., so there are no crowds: I felt like I was riding in my own private car. Secondly, it's always incredibly cold on American buses. The air conditioning is on full blast and the drivers refuse to turn it off. Previously, when traveling on buses in America, I wore all warm clothes and took a plaid with me.

Green River is like a ghost town. There are hardly any people or cars on the streets.

How I worked four jobs.

I originally went to Bullfrog to work as much as possible. I managed to work four jobs in four months. At one point I had three jobs at the same time. I didn't take more than 15 full days off during the entire trip.

Finding another job in Bullfrog is not difficult. Everything in town is owned by Aramark: the store, hotel, restaurant, boat rentals. This makes it easier to find a second job, as the company administration already has an idea of, if not every, then many of the employees who come to them.

Host position. I was originally contracted for a host position at Anasazi Restaurant as part of the Work & Travel program. The pay was $15 per hour. I was to greet guests, seat them, and place take-out orders.

The host gets $15 per hour.

During an interview with an employer at a job fair, I specifically asked for this position. There were several reasons. First, the restaurant was almost the only place where I could work the second shift. Accordingly, I had the first half of the day free, and it was easier to find a second job. Secondly, I wanted to become a waiter: that way I could earn a lot more in tips. And working in a restaurant, you always know when a vacancy is available, and you can offer your candidacy for the waiter position in time.

The host is the first person a guest of a restaurant sees. It is the host who sets the atmosphere and disposes the visitor, so English should be at a good level. Apart from seating our guests, the hostesses at our restaurant made sure that there was water on the tables, took calls, placed take-out orders and could take orders to the hotel, which was in the same building. Sometimes small tips were left for the hosts. I worked 5-6 days a week for 6-7 hours.

Housekeeper position. Bullfrog is a very popular place among the participants of "Work & Travel" all over the world: everyone is trying to make more money, and because of that during the season there is a big competition for working hours and places. The standard time for the start of the influx of students is late May - early June.

Break during work at the hotel

Store Work. Despite two jobs and a busy schedule, I was left with a couple of days off a week. Usually, the managers and management of Aramark monitor the workload and try to make sure that none of the staff is overworked. But if you are not afraid to talk to the administration and ask, it is realistic to get an extra workload.

The rest of the weekend I was allowed to work in the store at the gas station, where I appeared literally 1-2 times a week for half a day.

In the store I worked with the cash register, took the goods and set them up in the store.

Waiter position. Soon the position of evening waiter became vacant in the restaurant. I had experience as a waiter in the past, so the chef decided to give the position to me. I left the hostess position. The other jobs I combined were as follows: the first half of the day as a housekeeper or cashier, the second half of the day as a waiter.

The duties of a waiter include not only serving guests and bringing orders, but also preparing the restaurant for opening and cleaning the room after hours.

Hourly wages for waiters in the U.S. are generally lower than average. I was paid $4 an hour. Waiters earn on tips: in the U.S. it is customary to leave at least 10% of the order. We often had well-to-do Americans in our restaurant, and we could earn decent money on tips. I could get $40-100  in cash tips per shift. If there was a company of 6 or more people at the table, the tips were included in the bill automatically. The largest tip I received as a waiter was $100.

There was no tax to be paid on the cash tip. If the tip is included on the bill, it is added to the basic paycheck and paid as a single amount on which the tax is levied.

Each shift, the waiter leaves a small percentage to the basser - the person who cleans the table after guests - and the bartender at his or her discretion. I left each $5-$15 depending on the tip I received. There was no fixed percentage. I left an average of $10 to the bartender every shift.

Americans are used to talking a lot. When diners heard my accent, they immediately started asking me where I came from and who I was studying for. At first I shared real facts, but after a couple of weeks I began to tell fictional stories: said I was studying to be a nuclear physicist or a pathologist. It was interesting to watch the reaction of the guests.

The position of porter.

A porter helps guests with their luggage - carrying and loading luggage onto floats and back into the car. Just like waiters, porters earn tips. You can earn $20-$25 per trip of 25-30 minutes. The job is more suitable for men, but sometimes there are exceptions.

My schedule

During my busiest period, my daily schedule looked like this:

07:00 Wake up and breakfast.

08:00-15:00 Work at the hotel or store

15:00-16:00 Preparation for my shift at the restaurant as a host or waiter

17:00-23:00 Work at the restaurant as a host or waiter

It was physically difficult to combine several jobs. I wanted more time for myself: to read a book, watch a movie, go to the lake or the canyons. In spite of this, I remember my time at Bullfrog as one of the most interesting times in my life. Great staff, interesting visitors, new friends from all over the world, nightly hangouts in the desert and on the lake. The strength and time were still there.

How much did I earn

In order to work in the U.S. and receive a paycheck, every Work & Travel participant must have a Social Security Number - a Social Security number. I had to apply for it myself when I first came to the United States. In Bullfrog, the employer handles the paperwork. They apply for and arrange transportation to Grand Junction, where students pick up their documents at the Social Security office.

We were paid every two weeks. At the beginning of the season we were paid in cash, then they started transferring to a bank card, which the employer himself arranged and issued to all employees.

Aramark has a cash bonus. If an employee fully performs the contract, the employer pays an additional $150 as encouragement and gratitude.

Taxes are paid on each paycheck: federal and state tax. In just 4 months of working at Bullfrog, I earned $12,500 including the tax deduction and another $2,500 in cash tips.

Now it's hard to tell you the exact amount each job brought me. But the most profitable position was definitely the waiter. In second place is the housekeeper. I would single out host and store cashier as less lucrative jobs.

Housing

Because of the remoteness of Bullfrog, housing is provided to participants by their employer for a nominal amount of $20 per week or $80 per month. It is a dorm room with a double bed, washbasin, shower, toilet, small closet and table. My roommate and I were lucky: American friends gave us a refrigerator.

Before you move in, a deposit of $125 is required: at the end of the contract and provided that nothing is broken in the room, the deposit is refunded.

There are eight such dormitories on campus. They are usually occupied by exchange students or working Americans. Managers and management live separately: in trailers or houses.

View of the grounds of student residences and the residences themselves.

Nutrition

I didn't spend a dime on food: as a housekeeper I got a free lunch, and as a restaurant employee I got a free dinner. The portions are huge, so there was always food left over for breakfast. During shifts in the restaurant, if a waiter mixed up an order or the cooks made the wrong dish, the chef would leave it with the staff. It was free and at any time you could pour soup and make your own tea. So I only went to the store if I wanted something very special.

Only the housekeepers and restaurant workers were given free meals during their shifts. For the rest there are special meal cards that can be used to pay for several meals. The dining hall is located in the recreation center. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner can be had for between $3.50 and $5, which is cheaper than in a cafe in a more or less major American city.

Breakfast and dinner cost $4 on average.

Anyone who wanted to could cook their own meals in the kitchen of the recreation center at the hostel.

Communications

Bullfrog has poor Internet service. There is free wifi for employees throughout town, but only in certain places: the recreation center, the gas station store, and the restaurant with the hotel, and there is no guarantee of a good connection.

It happened that after a storm and a severe thunderstorm there was no internet for several days. Sometimes the internet did not work for no apparent reason. And sometimes, my neighbor's Internet connection was up and running at the speed of light, while I, no matter how hard I tried, couldn't find a single page to download.

I didn't buy a SIM card: the mobile networks in Bullfrog often just didn't work. I called my parents on Skype or Watsapu when the Internet was available, and I chatted with friends on social networks. If I needed to contact the insurance company in the U.S., I called the landline at the hotel reception.

Transportation

During my previous experience I wasn't able to combine multiple jobs precisely because of the long distances. At Bullfrog, everything is very close to each other, and there is a free shuttle bus that can be called from the recreation center. Even if you just want to go to the store or sit in a restaurant, you can use it.

If Bullfrog got bored and wanted something new, we went to Halls Crossing, a town on the other side of the lake. It's both a change of scenery and a free ferry or motorboat ride. When it was necessary to go to Green River or Grand Junction, the company provided a free shuttle. There was no set schedule and one had to check with the administration.

Medicine

Medicine is very expensive in the U.S. - getting sick without insurance is expensive. Each participant in the Work & Travel program is insured for $100,000 for emergencies. In the event of illness, participants pay considerably less than they would if they didn't have insurance. You must bring your passport and health insurance with you when you visit the doctor.

All three times in the US, I took a first aid kit with me.

The insurance shows all the amounts a Work & Travel member needs to pay in various situations, from emergency admissions to hospitalization.

Vacation Center

At first glance, it may seem that there is little entertainment in the usual sense at Bullfrog. But there is a recreation center, which is open 24 hours a day, especially for employees to relax. Here you can watch TV, surf the Internet, read a book from the mini-library, play board games and billiards, cook and even sleep.

Boat rides and basketball. As an Aramark employee, I could rent kayaks or a motorboat for $20 all day for free, while the price goes up to $500 for guests.

I could also go to Anasazi restaurant for 40% off. You could play basketball at the local school.

You could rent a boat like this for $20 and ride around the lake.

At the end of the season, employees are allowed to rent an entire houseboat for a reduced price.

Parties and socializing with the locals. There are a lot of American youth who gather at Bullfrog. They are very open-minded and like to relax and hang out. We often had parties in trailers and floating houses, rode ATVs through the night desert, motorboated around the lake, and hiked. The local Navajo Indian population threw mini-festivals. One of them was Taco Day.

Travel and Nature

Perhaps the best things to do in Bullfrog are to drive to the famous Horseshoe Canyon in Page and other national parks like Canyonlands, Goblin Valley, Capitol Reef, and Escalante. True, you can't get to them without a car. I made friends with Americans with whom we went on several hikes in nearby parks.

Capitol Reef National Park, lesser known, but no less scenic than the Grand Canyon

The employer also makes sure that employees enjoy Bullfrog. It often holds mini-festivals, like Appreciation Day. On this day the company thanks its employees for their work, organizes a banquet, contests, and a drawing of gifts.

There is Encore! Encore! - incentive system. Employees get a special card and access to the site, where they can choose gifts. Only the company administration can nominate for the cards. I received the card four times. I ordered myself headphones, a backpack, and certificates to a cosmetics store.

Spending and results

By the end of the season, I managed to save up $15,000. It turned out that way not only because of four jobs, but also because of free meals, budget housing, and no spending at stores or cafes. Here is a detailed spending chart.

I spent $3360 for the trip.

Registration for the program - $1737

Round trip airfare $812

I spent $344,29 for 4 months for lodging in a dormitory.

Expenses for trifles - candy and souvenirs $300

Expenses for stay in Salt Lake City (2 days) 100 $

Amtrak train ticket $20

Meals $0

Transportation $0

I was saved from many temptations in Bullfrog: I had trivially no time or place to spend money. Not only did the program manage to pay for itself, but it also turned out to be in the black.

What I recommend to Work & Travel participants

- If you want to make money, go to a national park. Usually, due to the remoteness, the employer will provide lodging and compensate for meals. This will save you money. Don't think you won't see the "real America" if you sit in the woods or desert - you can always go traveling at the end of the program.

- Try to arrive as early as possible and see if workers are needed. Don't be afraid to chat and ask - America loves the bold.

- Take a minimum of $300 for the first time.

- As an exchange student, still at the agency you get ISIC - International Student Card. Check the official ISIC USA website for discounts on museums, stores, cafes, and tickets. Often you can save a lot of money on these, too.

Ask about the work form in advance. Not all companies provide them. In two restaurants where I worked, non-slip shoes were a prerequisite, so as not to fall in the kitchen. At the hotel, you had to have brown pants. Buying uniforms already in America is not always convenient and profitable.

- Only full-time students can participate. Don't pass up the opportunity. In addition to earning money, it is an invaluable experience and emotion that will stay with you for life.

There are two types of contracts: with a job search - $1200 and without the search - $950. If you contract with a job search, the agency gives you access to a website where employers from different states post ads. You choose the job, and the agency handles all the arrangements. If contracted without the job search option, the participant finds the employer on their own and receives a job offer from them.

I paid $1,200 to the agency for the paperwork and job search in the US.

All three times I entered into a contract with a job search.