As promised weeks ago, I'm creating this thread to share my own personal experiences that the first-time OC goers ( in a couple of weeks ) can relate to and make some money to support their college education. I hope that the ones who've gone to Ocean City in the past will add their personal tips and experiences to the ones who're going there for the first time.
First off, If you're in the U.S. as a college student requiring the spend around 10-18000 bucks for the college expenses ( plus other ) , you're foucked like myself and thousands of other Nepalese. I'm pretty sure that you ( just like myself ) ignored tips from other friends who had already come here. But now that you're here, you're up for an uphill task which will see you experiencing the never don before tasks over the course of next 4 years ( and beyond ).
I'm sure that most of the students falling under this catagory are pondering upon what to do now. OC, Estes Park, Virginia ( relatives ) , Texas/Minnesota ( Good colleges at prices made affordable by working a lot of hrs / Good colleges with cheaper prices ) , NYC, Boston and so on. But since this thread is meant for OC goers , I'll concentrate on OC.
Back in Spring of 2005, I was going through the same thing, same dilemma. I had to earn! Somehow, somewhere. OC was where I looked up to go. I regret my decision to board a grayhound bus as 36 hrs that it took me to get to OC were the most tiring hrs that i've spent all my life , travelling that is. Somehow, me and my friends made it to OC and we reached OC at 11 45 pm! The other fellow Nepali students who were going to allow us an overnight stay lived in 14th Street ( 14 blocks ) and none of us had any clue about the bus route!
The following week(s) were spent looking for jobs! "Are you guys hiring?" would ring on my mind even on my dreams. I felt embarassed and everytime I asked "Are you guys hiring?" , I felt patheticism! I'd return back home, late on the evening with tired legs! The apartment's setting didn't help the cause much either. 9 of us living in a 2 bed-room apartment meant that some would be sleeping on the floors, some on couches, some on beds! We were looking for more people to share the apartment with though! Sharing the 1 and 1/2 bathroom with that many guys was horrible itself. But nothing else could be done. Luckily, I found a job! Kitchen Crew in McD. Boy! Wasn't I excited! Then I found another job - A crab house. Relentless hard work, lack of sleep got me weaker. The apartment was getting messier, stinking more day after day as nobody bothered to clean. I was hating every second of it. I just couldn't wait for the summer to end. Slowly but surely my summer did end. I ended up returning back with 4400 dollars much lower than what I was expecting as I had 1800 dollars with me when I left for OC. There were tons of people who made less than me and some lucky ones who made WAY more than what I did. For some, OC was a place to be! For them , The Atlantic Ocean, The Beach, Parties, Russian Chicks ( Tons of us end up having at least one Eastern European seasonal girlfriend to satisfy the basic Human wants , I didn't ) , Ganja, Summer itself and the own "income" was more than they could've expected. Perhaps I fall below 1% of all the Nepalese who've been to O.C. who just cannot stop loathing the stay in O.C. I still hate my stay and decision to spend my summer in Ocean City till this day and I can never forget it! O.C. never felt like the place to be for me. While tons of people our ages ( yanks of course ) would be gearing up to go to bars ( seacrets on 49th )and clubs at evenings, I'd be returning and sharing the same bus with sweat and tiriness all over my body. Furthermore, the hypocritical Nepalese that I met out there doing nothing but showing off just because they came a year or so prior to me! Damn.
Anyways back to what you should be doing/shouldn't be doing.
- Don't look to stay on jobs on Fast Food restaurants ( Mcd, Taco Bell/KFC, BK ) as they cut your hours after abt a month that you get hired. If you do get hired in these places, try to make sure that you work as a cashier as I'm telling you by experience, working on an order of 20 double cheeseburgers at 2 in the morning is freaking ridiculous. A cashier won't need to work as much.
- Don't hesitate to go to Condoniums and Hotels. If you're a GREAT swimmer or well built, go to those places and ask if they're hiring and swimming pool attendants/security officers. I can still recall one of my friends who'd NEVER swum before working as a SP attendant.
- Try to apply for jobs as Front Desk Clerks on hotels/motels.
- Learn to Lie. If someone asks when your school starts, tell them that it doesn't start until the third week of september and you go to school in Ohio. ( Schools in Ohio usually dont start till october and also, your employers want to hire people who're willing to work until labor day , one of the biggest holidays in the U.S. that falls on Sept 4). I urge you to lie as there is no guarantee that you will be working on the same place all summer.
- Keep your eyes and ears open. Even if you get hired, try to look for a reliable work place where you find job security/more hrs. Anything that pays over $8.00/hr could be considered good ).
- Try to find jobs near the place where you live. Say if your apartment is in 21st street, don't go looking for jobs in 132nd street as you're gonna spend over 2 hrs EVERYDAY once the summer picks up. You won't get bus rides as the buses will be JAM packed after the summer really picks up!
- Privately owned restaurants such as Billy's Sub Shops, Layton's outlets are going to be best bets.
- If you're asked about experiences, LIE without hesitation. They're going to hire you anyways.
- Avoid looking for jobs in board walks as you're likely to get sent home early if it rains!
- If you're a girl, try to go and look for jobs on Jewellery stores, front desks ( tons of guys work as front desk clerks as well ) and restaurants ( wait staffs ). Wait staffs end up making good money depending upon the shifts!
- For the first week or so, ignore what you're offered. I mean any shift/any payment. Remember what I said before, ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYES AND EARS OPEN and always look for better.
- If someone tells you to come the following week, don't give up! If you're told to come again, don't hesitate to go again.
- Try to reduce spending. If you're a crackhead/pot head, you're likely to save over 500 dollars! Also note : Saving is the biggest income. Spend wisely , but don't be a miser!
- If you're not getting hired then don't panic. You'll get hired eventually. Meanwhile if you've got relatives/places to go to where you could get to work for 50-60 hrs a week, don't hesitate to go there.
- Look out for fun and adventure! Go out! Explore and exploit what's being offered. Russian chicks! The Ocean! The summer! Don't hesitate. Remember what Mark Twain said : "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do...so...Explore. Dream.
Discover."
- As you're already here in the U.S, you're already foucked. There's no use repenting now. You can build a good future by working your arse off ( if you got an opportunity that is ).
There are rumors concerning INS raids and so on. I wouldn't ignore it as the present Bush Government has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration. But then again, we're not illegal immigrants. Most of us work without legal working permits but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't. In all fairness, do we have an option of not working?! I have working permit and if I went to O.C. the chances of getting good jobs are pretty high, but even till this day and for the rest of my life, I shall always loathe the life in O.C. I hated it and i'll always hate it but since this is your first summer, you have limited choice. Try to make the most out of it. Hope whatever I shared helped. I urge other fellow Nepalese who've been to O.C. to share their ideas as well.
