Brian is a sophomore at a big university. Doing biz undergrad. Unfortunately, big school means ridiculous tuition bills. And working at the Bean Coffee Hut during the year doesn’t even begin cover costs. So this past summer Bri packed a duffle and headed up north – way north to Bristol Bay. He worked in a Salmon cannery. Here are his six questions.
How long were you up there for?
The cannery’s main season is from mid June to around late August. So yeah, I pretty much spent the entire summer up there.
So what did you do?
I was on the slime line. I had the glorious task of pulling guts and egg sacs from the salmon coming down the conveyor belt.
How much did you make per hour?
$7.22 was my regular rate. One and a half times that for any overtime I put in, which was usual for me.
So where did you live?
The company owns bunkhouses. Each one holds about 50 people. The cost is about 5 bucks a day to stay.
What were the bunkhouses like?
Decent. They got the basics. Beds, showers, bathrooms, mini-kitchen and a laundry machine. As far as fun stuff, there was a rec. room with a TV and DVD player. Played a lot of cards. Though most of the time we slept.
What’d you do about food?
They served 3 meals a day. Lunch is free. Breakfast and dinner each cost about 4 bucks. Though thanks to the constant fishy smell I didn't have my usual big appetite.
