The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Job Adventures: Internships, Summer Jobs, Seasonal Work, Volunteer Vacations, and Transitions Abroad [Paperback]

Michael Landes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1580086691 | ISBN-13: 978-1580086691 | Publication Date: April 1, 2005 | Edition: 4

From internships to seasonal work to volunteer jobs and adventures abroad, this best-of-the-best guide from short-term job expert Michael Landes offers a comprehensive list of more than 1,000 life-enriching opportunities like river guiding in Alaska, restoring a medieval castle in the south of France, or contributing to a sustainable farm. Whether you'¬?re looking for a summer job, avoiding the post-college cubicle life, or trying to reinvigorate or redirect a stalled career, a short-term job adventure may be just what you need. In this fully-revised, handy-sized fourth edition, Landes has extensively updated all listings to provide the most current information, and added 150 completely new listings. Why wait and wonder? Seize your life and career path in both hands (it will take both to lift this book!) and step through the back door. The world awaits!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"soup-to-nuts information on how to select the volunteer vacation that'¬?s right for you"-Rotarian "This is the kind of guidebook that makes you want to run away from home to do things like study the rainforest in Costa Rica or do grunt work in exchange for yoga classes."-Atlanta Journal Constitution"Back Door is absolutely stuffed with sage advice, wonderful recommendations, and great tips. You will meet many inspirational figures in these pages, risk-takers who dared to make detours along life'¬?s journey and open themselves up to new adventures."-Chicago Tribune"I always liked this book-but now I like it even more. Michael Landes has updated it in interesting ways and places. I think this is one of the most fascinating books in the whole career field."-Richard Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute?"If you don'¬?t want to spend your golden years wondering what might have been, this book is a must-read." -Alison Doyle, Job Search Expert, About.com

From the Publisher

*A comprehensive resource for off-the-beaten-path work-and-learn adventures.
*Author Michael Landes has more than 15 years of experience investigating short-term job programs (and actually participating in quite a few) and the adventurous lifestyle they promote.
*Each of the 1, 000-plus entries includes URLs, detailed information on what you’ll be doing, and specific first steps to take to get involved.
*With each new edition, every word, fact, philosophy, program, resource, quote, and visual is checked and verified.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 584 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; 4 edition (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580086691
• ISBN-13: 978-1580086691
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Definitely not what I expected, May 26, 2006

By 

Elizabeth C. Brown (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Job Adventures: Internships, Summer Jobs, Seasonal Work, Volunteer Vacations, and Transitions Abroad (Paperback)

I guess the title is phrased badly; I assumed that this book was about internships abroad, summer jobs abroad, etc, but it is about internships, summer jobs, seasonal work, and volunteer vacations in the United States, as well as "transitions" (whatever that means) abroad. And this book is not really a guide, in that it doesn't really give a lot of advice about different jobs and different fields. It is more a listing, like an address book of the most interesting companies (in the author's opinion) offering short-term work, with a very shallow description of the job and its hiring preferences. The only part that was really a guide was the bizarre information on finding yourself and journaling and exploring your passions. Apparently other people found this really great, but I got a little sick of inspirational quotes and follow-your-dreams sidebars; there are plenty of career-advice and self-help books offering this information. Luckily, I borrowed this book from the library, which is where it should stay. If you're looking for short-term opportunities in the United States, go to the library, look through this book, and take down the contact information for the companies you're interested in.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for college students or people figuring out what they want to do, May 14, 2007

By 

Ashliegh Nichols "Ash" (From All Over the Place) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Job Adventures: Internships, Summer Jobs, Seasonal Work, Volunteer Vacations, and Transitions Abroad (Paperback)

What a great book! You could literally live your life with this book going from one volunteer opportunity to another. The book is basically a list of short terms jobs ranging from camps to dude ranches to museums. It tells you if they pay you anything, if they feed you, if they board you, how long the job is for, and it gives descriptions and contact info. This is an excellent all in one resources for jobs in the US so quit the desk job and travel around volunteering for a living. This will inspire you to do it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JUST THE INFO I NEEDED, November 30, 2007

By 

Margaret N. Lobenstine "Renaissance Soul" (AMHERST [Belchertown], MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Job Adventures: Internships, Summer Jobs, Seasonal Work, Volunteer Vacations, and Transitions Abroad (Paperback)

The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One People with lots of interests often enjoy walking outside the beaten path. Just last night I was coaching a young woman who definitely wants to do something different this spring but has not yet been to college. Ideally she wants to be in a warm climate, earn rather than spend money, and participate in making the world a better place. The Back Door Guide was all we really needed. We just started with the geographical index in the back, picked locations of interest, and read the reports on what was available in that area. The book is so well-organized that I could check to see if a given program required being a college student and, if necessary, eliminate it without having to read anything else. Then I could check the pay/earn info, again without having to read farther if it didn't apply. So in a very short time we found several very exciting possibilities and all the URL info, etc. we needed to find out even more. Anyone who prefers variety and combination over doing just one thing should have this book on their book shelf!