Summertime, and a livin' is needed

So, I am going to get my Ph.D. by the end of the summer, and if all goes well, I will be moving across the country to a fantastic post-doc in a different but related field.

That is my plan.

There are lots of things up in the air, though. Like whether I actually get the post-doc (it looks like a good possibility, but nothing is set in stone yet), when and how I am going to move, where I will live, how I will fit my trip to Burning Man in, etc. etc.

But, the most pressing issue is that while my next job will not start until the fall (August/September), my current job ends in May.

So, what am I going to do this summer?

Well, I can't say that I am dreading the cessation of my meager grad student wage. I did some math and it comes out to just about $9.50 hour after taxes. This is fine, and actually pretty good compared to some other grad student stipends (but very, very shitty when compared to what people with "real jobs" make 8 years after they graduate from college). And I am sure that it is a wage that people could easily live on as long as they didn't have to pay rent, car payments, had never even looked at a credit card, and never got sick or had tooth decay.

Rather than looking at the end of my grad salary as the gravy train pulling out of the station, I see it as freedom to make enough money to pay my bills and buy groceries without putting anything on a credit card. Oh, what joyous days they will be!

But how will I make this grandiose salary?

Honestly, I don't really know yet. But tomorrow I am starting the search for a summer job.

My first inquiries will be with the local test prep/tutoring places. With the whole getting a Ph.D. and being a mentor to current university students thing, I feel like I can bring some qualifications to the table. I am going to talk to the test prep agencies tomorrow, explaining my situation and need for summer employment, and in a perfect world they'd just cut me check for one hundred grand and I could pay off all my student loans and credit card debt by May 1st. Or, they could just give me a job.

I'd be willing to settle for the job.

If that fails, next week I will sign up for some temp agencies. I can answer a phone, use microsoft office products and Xerox like a motherfucker. I would be happy to be an office temp for the summer. Taking a little break from academia would be refreshing, I think.

Any other suggestions for a good, legal summer job?