The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

One thing is for sure if you talk to perspective employers in Big Sandy, they need more help than they can get their hands on.

Take Lorrie Merrill at Big Sandy Activities. She is not shy in sharing her business needs.

“There is a huge need here for people to go to work,” commented Merrill. “At Big Sandy Activities I just hired three new employees but I still need two more. I could use as many as eight part time employees.”

Merrill said that she can work a schedule most any way a perspective employee wants it so the employee gets the hours that are most convenient to him or her.

At Big Sandy Activities it is critical that they stay fully employed. They bill Montana for the number of hours that their employees are working with clients. Anytime an employee is missing, that simply means that budget billing hours go down too. So it is important to keep a full staff.

Because of the nature of the work they do at Big Sandy Activities, they pay very well for Big Sandy standards. Starting wage at Big Sandy Activities is $11.00 an hour. In Montana starting wage for many entry level jobs is the minimum wage which is $8.35 an hour.

Merrill has talked too many of the Main Street businesses. Most all are looking for employees at this time.

One employer, “The Bakery” shared part time employment application with Merrill as the applicant was much more suited for working at Big Sandy Activities. The applicant interviewed with Merrill and got a summer job that really fits what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

Then there is the gloom and doom scenario.

There are some people who predict that for many reasons agriculture and agriculture related jobs are going to be severely stressed in about two years. Merrill said that the person getting a part time job now might really be happy it happened now as that job might just really help to keep the wolf from the door down the road.

Then there are the “Self” benefits of working a part time job. If children are in school especially, it is sometimes very necessary to get out of the house just to live without getting bored out of one’s gourd.

And, at times there is an attitude by workers thinking of entering the work force that it is better not to work rather than to work for the minimum wage. That can be very true depending on what welfare type stipends are guaranteed to the person thinking of going to work.

Sure, wages can be better in the towns that are larger than Big Sandy. However, try driving to work there for 365 days a year through the heat of summer and the blizzards of winter and maybe that minimum wage job at home actually pays better.

The bottom line is business people around this area are looking for workers.

If you want to change your life and usually for the better, check out some of those jobs. You might just be rewarded much more than you think.