Learning, Sharing, and Teaching > Entrepreneurship

Experience with WorkAway.info?

(1/2) > >>

neonlight:
Anyone has any experience with them? Some of the work program looks quite neat.

cazio:
I haven't used them personally, but my high school had an in-depth experiential learning program that used Workaway pretty frequently to get students experiences. I know a girl who used it to learn how to raise goats in Iceland and I think another student used it to work at a dogsledding "ranch" in Alaska.

The only problem I saw with it might be the visa aspect of it all. My sister wasn't using Workaway but she went on what was basically an unofficial Workaway-type "internship" and ended up detained at Heathrow (as an 18 y/o) for almost 36 hours and ultimately sent back to the US because her story didn't match up with her host. Essentially she was supposed to say she was just on holiday in London, but her host told customs that she was there for a shadowing experience and customs did NOT like the discrepancy.

Cortel:
This was a few years ago, but my wife and I used workaway.info to extend our honeymoon in New Zealand by an extra month +. We had a great time, but I am sure it really depends on the actual hosts you work with. We did two different ones. The first was working for an "eco-lodge" B&B. Cutting grass, stacking wood, painting a chicken coop - nothing too hard. The wife did some ironing too. The second was for this retreat place where we did more hospitality work (making beds, cleaning rooms, etc). The general deal for the places we looked at was 2 hours of work a day got free room, 4 hours a day got free room and meals. Both places we stayed were 2 hours of work for just free lodging. You can do just about anything for two hours a day without getting too bored - even if it is scrubbing toilets. The other thing we'd recommend looking for are side perks. Both places let us have use of the amenities after work - free kayaks, hot tubs, mountain bikes. It was great. In speaking with other travelers, the only negative stories we heard were from farms where you ended up being a field picker. Apparently not so much fun. You can read reviews on the workaway of the different hosts, but we'd also definitely encourage you to call and talk with the hosts first. We bought some skype credit to do so. You should be able to tell pretty easily if they would be a good match. Good luck!

havregryn:

--- Quote from: cazio on September 05, 2017, 03:46:43 PM ---The only problem I saw with it might be the visa aspect of it all.

--- End quote ---

+1 on this.
If you are not an EU citizen there is no way this can be fully legal in an EU country (just in case you're considering Europe) and while it will often pass under the radar, sometimes it might not and you can get in serious trouble and earn yourself a 5 year entry ban.

Usi55:
I did workaway last year in massachussets. It was awesome. Bed and food for half a day of work. I had just come from Spain and was looking for a job in the USA (i have double citizenship). So it was the perfect solution for me while I was sending out resumes and doing interviews. I was staying in a big 100 yearld old property and I mapped out the whole thing and created the plans so that the owner could ask for a license.

Just read the reviews and write a good introduction letter. From what I have seen its easier for people with skills like woodwork, babysitting, cooking... but there is a place for everyone as long as your want to do the work.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page