- Josie Weaver, 28, works in the Co-Op Employee Recreation Program at Yellowstone National Park.
- As an assistant program manager, Weaver gets free housing and meals and enjoys three-day weekends.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Josie Weaver, a 28-year-old employee at Yellowstone National Park. This essay has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider verified her identity, employment, and free room and board.
About six years ago, I applied for a temporary job at Yellowstone National Park.
It ended up being the first offer I got when I was graduating college and I told myself I would give it a try for two months to buy some time to figure out what to do with my life.
On my road trip out, my boss called me and offered me a six-month contract as a supervisor. I had never managed anyone before and didn't know if I wanted to commit to six months.
But I decided to give it a shot.
Six years later, I'm still here working for Yellowstone's Co-Op Employee Recreation Program.
The perks are unbeatable
As a manager, I get free living accommodations, which has been huge. I started out living in a dorm with roommates, but now I live alone and have a little studio with a double bed, a kitchen, a big wardrobe, and a dining room table.
I have an amazing view from my bed of Electric Peak, the tallest peak in the Gallatin Range. I've climbed it, which makes it even cooler that I get to see my accomplishments every morning.
Managers also get three free meals a day. The cafeteria has a hotline, cereal, soup, a sandwich bar, and a salad bar. Some days are better than others, but I'm always satisfied because I don't have to grocery shop or spend time cooking.
As a manager I work 10-hour days and have a three-day weekend, although I sometimes have to adjust for events. It's been a game changer and I don't think I could ever do a five-day workweek. My salary allows me to live comfortably here and even save a little for traveling in my time off.
I have a built-in community and social life
Every day, I eat breakfast with everyone in the dining room. It's really fun because the second I wake up, I'm around my friends and community.
Each day looks a little different, but our job is to host events for around 5,000 Yellowstone employees. There's almost always programming in the evening, like karaoke, volleyball, movie nights, craft nights, and trivia games. We even have prom, where we all get ready together, go to prom, and then end the night at the employee pub.
On the weekends, my friends and I do all kinds of activities around the park.
Sometimes, we bundle up and bring sleeping bags to the open valleys and go stargazing. We also like to watch wildlife, go paddle boarding, hike, and visit gateway towns. We even have bonfires and camping nights where we get big groups together and party in the national forests.
Some aspects of the lifestyle can make it hard to build roots
Relationships move quickly here because we all live and work together. People who met two weeks ago will move in together or leave to go to a different park. I've had a lot of friends who met here and got married and now have Yellowstone babies which is cool.
But for some, it's the complete opposite.
A lot of people have "Yellowstone flings," where you know when the season ends you'll go your separate ways. I will sometimes meet someone and hang out with them, and then they leave, and I want to stay. I still think it's a great place to meet people because everyone is like-minded. People want to travel, work seasonally, and live this adventurous life. But it's also really hard and usually doesn't work out unless you're both ready to leave.
In general, there's turnover every three to six months, and that's just the nature of seasonal work. So, I have had to say goodbye to one friend group after another. I think that's the hardest part.
But I'm also super lucky that I have solid friends who have been here throughout my time, like my boss, who started the same year as me and with whom I've been best friends ever since.
At 28, it's tough because I'm so happy here, but I also want a family and to settle down. This job and lifestyle have opened my eyes to the places seasonal work can take you, so working in other parks and places in the world has been on my mind recently as well.
But one of the great parts about living in Yellowstone is that there is always more to do and more to see. With this amount of land to explore, I am never bored.