THE OPPORTUNITIES

Whether for students or established workers, summer job opportunities are more varied than life-guarding at the local pool. Here’s a sampling of the industries that typically hire for the summer, and what types of workers they need:

Summer is prime time for building, especially in the Midwest and Northeast, where harsh winters prevent outdoor work. And although the housing market’s slump may have slowed home construction, road repairs will still go forward. Not all construction jobs involve heavy lifting or standing in the sun all day holding a stop sign. Project managers and engineers are in demand for these summer gigs as well, says Jocelyn Lincoln, senior director of Americas marketing for Kelly Services.

Resorts, national parks and travel companies all see an increase in business during the summer. They’ll hire people to work onsite but may also need help behind the scenes. Jobs may be available working the phones for customer service, for example, Lincoln said.

Like construction, agriculture and landscaping industries need a lot more workers in the summer than in the winter. And again, although some jobs will involve working on the landscape crew, landscaping companies may also hire extra people to answer customers’ questions and schedule jobs.

Even in industries where there’s no particular uptick in work to be done over the summer, there may be opportunities. Workers go on vacation, after all, and in some cases companies have to fill their positions for a few weeks.