Step Right Up!

 

 

Have you always loved theme parks? Does riding the roller coaster give you a buzz? How about considering a job at a theme park? Just what kind of work is there at a theme park? Let’s take a look.

 

Food and Beverage: People love to eat. One of the most popular and busy places are in the food area. You could be waiting tables in a theme orientated restaurant or working at a concession vender stand. Concession stand workers have to keep their lines moving so they have to move quickly. Wages are about $8 to $10 dollars an hour plus any tips that you make.

 

Selling merchandise: Selling merchandise at parks is one way the park makes a lot of money. You would be stocking shelves, waiting on customers and pushing the souvenir shirts and stuffed animals. Pay for the job is about $8 an hour.

 

Working the attractions: Everyone wants to ride the rides. You’ll have to oversee crowd control and deal with hot, sometimes rude tourists. You have to make sure that everyone is strapped in correctly and exits the ride in an orderly fashion. You’ll have to go through training and pass a competency test to land on of these jobs. It pays about $8 an hour.

 

Custodial: Not the ideal job that you may dream about but it’s a good job. You will be doing everything from fixing benches, picking up trash and emptying garbage cans, not to mention the bathrooms. However, you will get a lot of fresh air. Pay is about $8 to $12 an hour.

 

Front Entrance/Ticketing: You will be the first face people see when they come into the park, so you had better have a smile on your face! You’ll be asked questions as well as selling tickets. The pay rate is about $10 to $13 an hour.

 

Security: This is one of the higher paying jobs. Your job is patrolling the park, stopping disturbances, performing first aid, finding lost children and securing bags. It pays between $8 to $13 an hour.

 

What are some of the perks? You normally have free admission and are often given tickets for friends and family. You may get discounts on food, beverages, and merchandise. Some places offer medical, dental and vision plans after 90 days. Promotion is common so you could start out selling tickets and work yourself up to something better.

 

What is the down side? Sunburn, ride-related injuries and overheating are a few. Stamina is necessary because you’ll be standing or walking most of your shift, a good pair of shoes wouldn’t hurt either. You should be able to tolerate loud noises and difficult customers.

 

What qualifications do you need? Actually, having good communication skills so you can explain safety procedures and give instructions to riders. You have to have a clean background check and be drug free. Being outgoing, friendly and people oriented is helpful. Most employers prefer clean cut, which means pink hair is a no go, and if you’re enthusiastic about learning new things.

 

So if theme parks are fun to you then this may be your dream job and it’s worth checking out.

 

 

 

By Linda Lee Ruzicka

 

Linda Lee Ruzicka lives in the mountains of Western PA , happily married and with her 8 cats and three dogs. She has been published in Twilight Times, Dark Krypt, Fables, Writing Village, June Cotner anthology, The Grit, Reminisce , the book, Haunted Encounters: Friends and Family. She also does freelances work for Beyond and Hospitalityjobsite. You can read more of her blogs on Hospitalityjobsite blog.