Q: I am planning an adventure to Alaska for the entire summer of 2010. I am 20 years old, energetic and hard-working. Could you point me in the right direction for resources and planning travel advice for people looking for seasonal employment in Alaska? —Charles

A: Charles, since so much happens in Alaska during the summer months, there are lots of good seasonal Alaska jobs. If you want to work in the visitors industry—as a guide, in customer service or even in housekeeping—there are two main websites to look at: alaskatourismjobs.com, which is operated by the official state tourism board, and CoolWorks.com.

Another big area for summer jobs is in the fish (namely salmon, pollock and crab) industry—either on the boats themselves or, even more likely, in the processing plants. We talked with a rep at the Alaska Dept. of Labor and he gave us some good sites to check out: JobCentral.com, a national site where Alaska jobs are updated daily; The Alaska Labor Exchange, which has both state jobs and private sector jobs; and a Labor Dept. site on seafood jobs. In general, he says, most summer openings don’t start showing up until spring, or even May.

These jobs can pay anywhere from minimum wage ($7.75 in Alaska by summer) to a much larger sum—some fishing boat workers get a share of what they catch. For many seasonal jobs up here, employers may help pay your way to and from Alaska (or at least from a close point, such as Seattle), and may kick in for your summer housing, too. Good luck!