This post may contain affiliate links. See our affiliate disclaimer here.
In approximately seven days Alyssa and I will pile the remainder of our belongings into our 1994 Leprechaun Coachmen and hit the road. We have a couple computers, video cameras, and one suitcase full of clothes each. 7 months ago if you had asked if I would be traveling across the country right now I would tell you “you’re crazy”. But here I am.
If you haven’t heard in depth about Hourly America, I’d love to let you in on exactly what it is we’re doing. For seven months, Alyssa and I will be road tripping throughout America filming a documentary about hourly employees. In every state I will spend one day apprenticing a seasoned hourly employee in order to learn more about them and the work they do.
The goal of Hourly America is to be able to uncover inspiring stories from everyday, hourly workers and they jobs they do.
We’re lucky to have Snagajob supporting us on our journey. Snagajob is the largest online job board for hourly employees. They are letting me share what I discover from all of my various jobs onto their website for job seekers, where it can reach more and have a larger impact. We’ll record each job and share what we find here on my blog and at hourlyamerica.com. HeathPadgett.com is my personal blog where you’ll find all kinds of updates from the trip. Hourlyamerica.com will redirect you to Snagajob’s webpage promoting our documentary. There, I’ll write about the key takeaways from every job I work.
If you’ve ever met a barista at Starbucks or a waitress at Chili’s who blew you away, these are the kinds of people I’ll be looking to highlight in Hourly America. It’s the hourly workers who are taking regular jobs and doing something incredible in their role. Most people want to find the perfect job before they stick in it for the long haul and work their butt off, but that’s not how the real world works. The real world rewards those who can humble themselves and do the small jobs, and then when they succeed, find their way to the more influential roles.
As a reader, I hope you learn more about what it means to “work” throughout reading my blog. This is what I hope to personally get out of this journey as well, more of a foundation on what it means to really work for a living, no matter what job it is that I do.
I have a lot of firsts I’ll be conquering in this seven month period of being on the road. First time to film full fledged documentary, first time to travel the country in an RV, first time to be married, etc, etc. You get the point, all of this is meant to be a learning experience.
If you know of someone who has inspired you while they were working an hourly role, please send me an email to [email protected] and I would love to work alongside them during my journey.
Right now, I believe it’s more important for us than ever to acknowledge the hourly worker. Each day, more technology is arising that brings us closer together in a digital era. Yet, as our phones and computers sync, we sometimes lose interest in the real life situations where we have a chance to talk with the flight attendant, McDonald’s employee, or guy changing our oil.
This journey is about rediscovering the stories of people who come to our rescue everyday. It’s about the Hourly America.
