When you're working a full-time job, finding time to enjoy the warm, bright summer weather can be a challenge. This is especially true for young professionals, as many of them are used to having summers off (or, at the very least, having a flexible summer schedule). But there's no need to feel trapped behind your cubicle walls. Go out and enjoy summer!
Here are a few tips for making the most of your summer while working full time.
1. Grab Some Foldable Chairs
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Keep a couple of foldable camping chairs at the office so you and a co-worker can catch some rays during lunch—whether it's in the park or the parking lot.
2. Keep A Beach Bag In Your Car
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Keep a bag full of summer supplies for your favorite summer activities. Having a bag (or, in my case, a backseat) full of towels, sunscreen, and swimwear keeps you prepared for anything. Friends hitting up the pool after work? You're covered. Once the clock strikes five, you can head to your destination of choice immediately.
3. Plan An Office Outing
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Plan an office field trip to the beach, the park, or the pool. Just do something fun so your brain can recharge and refresh!
4. Organize Group Walks
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Get a bunch of co-workers together and go on regular walks around town during lunch. (Or you could suggest a quick jaunt over to the ice cream shop.) This is a great way to get some fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.
5. Eat Lunch At The Park
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When you find yourself eating out, hit up places with a deck, porch, or patio of some sort. Obviously, eating out every day isn't really a feasible option for most of us, so look into alternative ideas as well. Pack a lunch and hit the park for your own little picnic.
6. Organize Office Sports
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Whether it's setting up an official office sports team or just hanging out with your colleagues a few times a week, playing sports is a great way to get out and enjoy the weather. Have a field nearby? Try setting up some slow-pitch softball games. Or see if you can get a basketball hoop for the office so you and a few co-workers can shoot some hoops at lunch.
7. Join A Professional Group
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During the summer, professional networking groups often have fun events like harbor cruises, pub crawls, and outdoor mixers. Find a professional group in your area and make networking fun this summer.
8. Have An Office BBQ
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Get your grill on! Talk to your boss about setting up an office BBQ. Ask everyone to contribute their favorite dish, side, or drink. Fire up the grill and relax! Hey, it's summer after all.
9. Wake Up Early
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Yes, yes, I know...waking up early is an incredibly painful and unbearable experience for some of us, but waking up even an hour earlier has its benefits—especially in the summer. Go for a morning run, putter around in the garden, or watch the sunrise with a loved one. Talk about starting the day off right!
10. Strategically Use Your Time Off
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Strategically use your vacation days around holidays. This way, you can make a potentially long weekend longer without having to use too much of your precious vacation time. Half days are also pretty awesome. It's amazing how much you can do with four extra hours! If you want an early weekend but don't want to burn up your vacation days too quickly, try taking a half day on a Friday instead of using a full day off.
11. Bike To Work
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If you're one of the lucky few who live within walking or biking distance of work, take advantage of it! Not only will you get plenty of fresh air, but you'll also save money on gas, which is always a plus!
There are plenty of easy ways to enjoy summer when you work a full-time job. So this summer, try out a few of these ideas and make the most of the sunshine and warm weather—while they're still around!
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In this career interview, an engineer shares what she has learned thus far in her 10 years in this career. If you have considered a career as an engineer, read on to learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of this woman's experiences. This is a true career interview as told to LatPro.com. This is one of many interviews with individuals in the engineering or manufacturing fields including interviews with a civil engineer and with an efficiency expert.
I am currently an engineer with a local business in my city. I help to design buildings and stores. I have been in this field for about 10 years. Three words to describe myself would be unique, outgoing, and realistic.
Being a white female has been a bit of an obstacle to overcome. Men who I work with sometimes don’t think I have the greatest ideas, but I just have to show them that I can design something that is similar or even better than them. I haven’t really been discriminated against, but I have felt ignored. You have to find people who work in the field as you and then make friends while sticking together.
My job is very simple, really. I look at empty spaces in the city whether it is land or buildings, and I work with a team on the best way to put something else there. People sometimes think that engineers operate machinery, which sometimes they do. But most of my work involves the design process.
Currently, I would rate my job as a seven. I would like to stay busier, but with business not really growing as much as we would like, that is hard to do. I do like the work I have been doing, and the more technology advances, the more options we have with creating buildings.
I would like to take my career to the next level. I would love to own my own company at some point as an engineer.
When I was younger I would always draw pictures. I guess this is how I got started in my career. I liked looking at empty buildings and thinking about what I could put in them so they would not go to waste.
The bigger the city you live in, the more work you will have. There are several places in the city I live in that needs to be redone, so we always have something to think about. However, unless the money is there to get the work done, it’s only a design.
One of the strangest things I have seen is when we were designing a building in downtown. We had to tour the old building, and while we were there, I would bet anything that there were ghosts in the building.
I go to work because I know something I do or design will make a difference. There are places in the city I live that I can look at and say that I helped build that.
One of the challenges I have had of late is the lack of funding for new buildings. If people can’t build, then you can’t get paid.
My job is not that stressful, but you do have longer hours when there is something new to work on. This does mean the money is good, so I try not to complain.
I make about $30,000 a year or more depending on the work I do. The longer you are involved in this line of work, the more money you will make.
I take about two weeks vacation during the year and I have holidays off. This is plenty for me because I like what I do. In school I took the engineering courses and got my Associates degree in Engineering. The more classes you go back to school for, the more money and better jobs there are. I would tell my friend if they are creative, then engineering is the best field for you right now. In five years I would love to own my own business in a larger city.
JustJobs.com is a job search engine that finds job listings from company career pages, other job boards, newspapers and associations. With one search, they help you find the job with your name on it.Read more » articles by this approved business partner | Click here » if you’re a businessFemale engineer image from Shutterstock
