UPS Is Hiring 100,000 Workers for the Holidays: This and 15 More Seasonal Jobs
If you’re looking for a side gig or a seasonal full-time job, you’re in luck — thanks to Halloween and Christmas, many retailers and seasonal businesses are in need of extra employees during the fall and winter months.
UPS is planning to hire an additional 100,000 workers for the holiday season in anticipation of a surge in e-commerce sales due to the pandemic, Forbes reported. In addition, FedEx is reportedly looking to hire 70,000 seasonal workers. And many retailers are hiring more employees to work in their online distribution centers.
Although you might not be able to work these positions full time, the salary for one season can be lucrative enough to warrant the time and effort — and can be especially helpful if you’re one of the millions of Americans who lost their job due to the coronavirus. With all of these gigs, you can easily rack up cash for the most expensive time of the year.
From scaring people at haunted houses to decorating homes for Christmas, click through to see popular side hustles that will boost your bank account.
Last updated: Sept. 11, 2020
Costume Store Retail Sales Associate
Act fast if you want to get this job during the Halloween costume-buying rush. Many costume retailers and party stores will hire seasonal sales associates to help with sales, merchandising and other tasks around the store during fall.
Haunted House Actor
If you love scaring people, this could be the ideal job for you. Plus, many of these jobs only require working nights, so you can likely work as a haunted house actor in addition to your 9-to-5 for some extra income.
Although some Halloween attractions will likely remain closed this year, others will be open with social distancing measures in place.
Pumpkin Patch Associate
Is fall your favorite season? Then you might love working as an associate at a pumpkin patch, which involves processing payments and transporting pumpkins between the trucks, pumpkin patch and customers’ cars. Jobs are usually available from September through the beginning of November.
Seasonal Theme Park Employee
Visitors typically flock to theme parks during Halloween and Christmas to check out the seasonal decor and characters, so parks usually hire extra workers to help out during this time.
Circumstances are a little different this year with theme park attendance down, but it’s still worth checking if your local theme park is hiring for the season.
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Poll Worker
Election inspectors and poll workers must commit to training sessions before Election Day, during which they are responsible for setting up the polling place, registering voters, maintaining poll books, issuing ballots, assisting voters and closing up.
Holiday Retail Sales Associate
Many retailers hire seasonal sales associates to work during busy holiday shopping months. These temporary jobs will require you to assist customers and complete transactions, and you might also be asked to work in other areas of the store such as the stockroom.
Retail Distribution Center Employee
Many retailers are preparing for a holiday shopping season that’s based largely around e-commerce, so they’ll be beefing up their distribution center staff in preparation.
Michaels is hiring 16,000 holiday employees to work in its stores and distribution centers, the company announced in a press release. And 1-800-FLOWERS — the parent company of Harry & David, PersonalizationMall.com, Cheryl’s Cookies and The Popcorn Factory — is hiring 10,000 seasonal associates to work in production, gift assembly, customer service and distribution and fulfillment center operations.
Driver Helper
Delivery companies like UPS hire driver helpers to assist during the busy time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This job does not require you to drive a delivery vehicle; these helpers assist drivers with lifting, lowering and carrying packages.
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Ice Rink Operator
Ice rink operators are responsible for maintaining the rink’s ice surface and equipment, setting up and cleaning up after events, and possibly assisting in the skate shop as well as responding to incidents and injuries that occur. Ice rink operators typically are required to work on nights and weekends — which could mean some bonus cash — plus some holidays.
Ski Instructor
You don’t need to be certified to earn extra bucks as a ski instructor at some resorts. However, these jobs usually do require you to take training sessions and have a certain level of expertise as a skier. Instructors should be prepared to teach students of all ages and abilities, and they should have strong people skills. If you love to ski and want to make money off your hobby, this could be an ideal setup.
Santa Claus
Delivering gifts to all the children around the world in a night is a hard job, but mall Santas have it a little easier than the actual Santa of legend. The gig requires you to play a convincing Santa Claus, project enthusiasm and, typically, take photos with children and families. You should also be prepared to answer children’s questions about Santa, so improvisation skills are a plus.
Santa might look a little different in 2020 — he might wear a mask or even be inside an inflatable snow globe to shield him from the coronavirus — but many shopping centers will still be hiring for this gig. In addition, you might be able to land a job as a virtual Santa, providing visits through video conferencing.
Santa's Helper
If you can’t pull off being Santa Claus because you don’t have the look of a jolly old man, you can still partake in the holiday fun as one of Santa’s helpers. These workers hold a position equivalent to an assistant manager, training all the members of Santa’s photo team to work successfully.
This position will also likely be altered by the coronavirus pandemic; in addition to wearing masks, these helpers might not have as much interaction with kids as in past years.
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Holiday Decorator
If you have a passion for holiday decorating, you can get a seasonal job at a florist or other decor company to deck out homes and other spaces during November and December. It’s one way to make money by expressing your creativity. For this position, floral design experience is a plus but might not be a requirement.
Christmas Tree Lot Salesperson
Christmas tree lots typically operate from the end of November through the end of December, and they need seasonal employees to work with the customers and handle sales. You’ll learn a lot about side hustles on the job, all while helping to bring Christmas joy to people’s homes.
Gift Wrap Associate
The demand for gift-wrapped packages goes up around the holidays, so many retailers hire seasonal workers to work as gift wrappers during this time. The job involves packaging and shipping customer merchandise. No specific skills are required, but attention to detail is a must.
Snow Remover
Property management companies and landscape companies hire seasonal workers who specialize in snow removal to work during the winter months. Duties can entail shoveling or using other snow removal equipment to maintain personal properties and businesses. If you can handle being out in the cold, you can earn good money.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: UPS Is Hiring 100,000 Workers for the Holidays: This and 15 More Seasonal Jobs
