The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Job Adventures : Internships, Extraordinary Experiences, Seasonal Jobs, Volunteering, Work Abroad

I've seen dozens of volunteer books, adventure-job books, online databases, etc., but this is still my favorite. While some other places may contain more addresses, and yet others more information on each contact, this achieves the perfect balance. Hundreds of exciting jobs await, many well-paying and many volunteer. I've spent countless hours browsing this book dreaming and have used it for one job so far (at an out-of-the-way resort in Olympic National Park).The chapters are divided usefully into sections on artistic pursuits, overseas jobs, environmental jobs, adventure jobs, farming jobs, etc., and are peppered with helpful anecdotes from people who've been there. The only drawback, as others have noted, is that the vast majority of listings are US-based. So if you wish to find more non-American jobs, try somewhere else, otherwise this is the best place to start dreaming AND doing!

Michael Landes does an incredible job of simplifying a very difficult process.This is one-stop shopping for a tremendous amount of useful information. The layout and graphics make it a very easy read and all of the information is very accessible.You can't help but get excited about travel after browsing through this book. If you use it as a tool, you are sure to find many new opportunities that you would never be able to uncover on your own.I highly recommend it.

Not only did this book help me to choose my next step, but several of my friends went out and bought the book. It took one to Olympia, Washington to work for AmeriCorps, one to Moab, Utah to teach at an outdoor school, and many others are looking through the pages now to try and give themselves a better grasp on all the possibilities that are out there.

I ordered a copy of "The Back Door Guide" when I was doing a lot of job searching while working as a seasonal assistant park manager for the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps during the summer. At that point in my life, I considered myself an expert "off the beaten path" job searcher and was doubtful that any job guide could provide me with novel inspiration in my quest. However, "The Back Door Guide" exceeded my expectations. It is the best resource for meaningful employment that I have stumbled upon in my years of seasonal work (and thus, frequent job searches). Thanks to Michael Landes for providing such a valueable resource.

Remember when you thought about *what I wanna be when Igrow*up? Not there now? Well, think about it again, because this timeyou've got help. And lots of it. Enter Michael Landes, author of The Back Door Guide to Short Term Job Adventures. Think about him as your personal coach: he'll give you heaps of motivational talks (quotes, really) that you've probably heard before. But you won't dismiss them this time as idealisms that simply won't sustain you, because Landes gives you something to *do* with that idealism, so that it magically turns into something very, very realistic: what you've always wanted to be, and what you've always wanted to be doing... whether you're a student fresh out of (or in) high school or college or graduate school, or whether you're feeling uninspired at a job you've had for years, or whether your time clock years are over and you're looking for adventure for different reasons. Think about Landes as your personal coach and your advisor, your counselor - if you write to him, he1ll write you back. Really. And sincerely. They say *it is not what you know, it is who you know.* Fine. The Back Door Guide gives you the *who* to know, in the form of a real-live name of a real-live contact person. It also gives you plenty of *whats* to know, too: there are, for example, how-to tools of figuring out who you are (*Who Are You?* page 2), and there are the step-by-steps of applying for a position (*The Program Application Package.....* pages 20-27). The individual listings include similar priceless pieces of information. First the logistics: who should apply? what's the work? where is the program? when do I go? how long do I stay? Then there are in-depth reports: Area and Working Environment, Work/Learn Program Specifics, Duration, Compensation and Perks, The Ideal Candidate, Making It Happen, and Insider Tips are sub-headings for each, yes, each, of the thousands, yes, thousands, of program opportunities compiled in this book. There are too many opportunities in this book than sanity can account for; the challenge may well be picking one to do. The very first *what* to know, as Landes makes abundantly clear, is that any program, any opportunity, is what you make of it. He could (and does) lead you to the Back Door and he tells you all about what1s inside, but the Back Door is yours and only yours to open. He sends you to the heavens, dreaming (of *how my life should be* and *what I really should be doing with my life*), but then he grounds you back on earth by handing you, on a silver platter, nonetheless, mountains of how-to guidelines for reaching those heights. You feel good at the end of a day and, chances are, you1ve helped someone or something along the way. You'll work hard, and you1ll play hard - but with Landes and the opportunities in this book, you'll also learn that work and play are the same thing. Part of the fun of this book is finding the only-sometimes-subliminal messages spaced throughout its well-designed pages.