Over the course of my 20-year-career with the RV industry – including three years of full-time RVing – I must have talked to thousands of RV owners. One of the common desires among people who like to RV is that they want to visit Alaska. Today, we’ll explain how to get paid to do so.

Our guests today are Shauna Hansford and Erin Redington, with Alaska Excursions or Alaska X for short.

Their company caters to guests who arrive via cruise ships. Alaska X offers several fun excursions for the cruise passengers, and the firm hires workampers to guide, drive and escort them as they have some fun.

Based in Skagway, Alaska X offers a dog mushing experience as well as a zip line adventure, horseback riding and a wilderness adventure. The firm hires about 120 workampers for a variety of jobs.

They greet people coming off the cruise ship and direct them to the right buses. Workers drive buses, fix and maintain equipment, and sell merchandise at various stores. They escort guests on horseback on dog mushing excursions. They answer phones, respond to email and make presentations.

In exchange, they get paid between $14 and $16 per hour, and get free admission to tours and excursions offered by other companies, too. Most jobs are 35 to 40 hours per week from the middle of April to the end of September.

It sounds like a fun way to spend a summer in an area of the country that features a Kodak moment around every corner.

I had the opportunity to visit Alaska in 2006 where I interviewed an RV dealer who rented hundreds of motorhomes and truck campers to tourists every summer. After the interview was over, I was able to travel the state for about a week.

It was probably my all-time most memorable business trip. I got to take a boat to visit the glaciers. I saw the Northern lights and experienced the 24 hours of daylight. I even got to see a multitude of wildlife at Denali National Park.

It was an incredible experience, and I’d return to Alaska in a heartbeat.

That’s why I’m grateful to Shauna Hansford and Erin Redington for taking time to talk to me about workamping opportunities with Alaska Excursions, or Alaska X for short.

If you like helping people have a good time, there is a job waiting for you next summer. The cruise industry is huge in southeast Alaska, and all the passengers are looking for ways to make their trip to The Last Frontier even more memorable.

You’ll live in a community with hundreds of other RVers and once the ships leave in the evening, you’ll have the town pretty much to yourself. But, there’s plenty of other things to do, as well. You’re just a few hours away from the Yukon Territory of Canada, and Juneau is a few hours away by ferry.

I’d encourage everyone to check out the opportunities awaiting them with Alaska Excursions by visiting www.alaskax.com. Then grab your camera for a memorable summer.

Whether it is running a business from your RV or working short-term jobs for a variety of employers, Workamper News can give you information to help plan a course to live your own dream and get you on the road faster than you thought possible. For more information about opportunities to live, work and play in your RV, visit www.workampernews.com.

 

*** TRANSCRIPT ***

Greg Gerber:                     Now we're going to go all the way up to Alaska -- America's playground -- to talk with a couple of ladies who have a lot of fun, exciting and interesting things for workampers to do. We have Shawna Hansford and Erin Reddington with Alaska X. How are you folks?