The end of November is near and that only means one thing – it’s time to prep the turkey, set the table, and wheel out the pumpkin pie ready for Thanksgiving.
But while many of us gather with our family and friends to celebrate, it’s also a time to spare a thought for those hard at work to keep the holidays running.
From the cabin crew getting us safely from A to B, to the emergency electricians stepping up when the stove stops working, this one’s for all the hardworking Americans keeping the country going over Thanksgiving. We appreciate you!
Top 10 Thanksgiving heroes
Registered Nurses
Median salary: $86,070
Advertised vacancies: 447,600
From the Emergency Room to the neonatal ward, healthcare emergencies don’t stop just because it’s the holidays. In fact, more than 10,000 babies are born everyday in the US – including over Thanksgiving!
Our first shout out has to go to the registered nurses (RNs) working hospital shifts over the holidays. Based in hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, schools or even visiting patients in their own homes, RNs are the lifeblood of the healthcare system, and often the first person a patient will see. From assessing patients, to administering care or advising families, it’s a varied role – and an essential one.
Flight Attendants
Median salary: $68,370
Advertised vacancies: 45,714
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year for travel, as we all hit the road or the skies to visit our loved ones. Incredibly, nearly 80 million of us are expected to travel 50+ miles to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. That includes a record 5.84 million Americans planning to fly domestically.
We wouldn’t get there of course, without the holiday heroes staffing our airports and planes. The BLS estimates that the country employs just over 126,000 flight attendants, with salaries averaging just over $70k, and there are currently over 45,000 jobs on offer. Tasked with looking after the safety of passengers (including giving the all important safety demos!), serving in-flight meals, and keeping everyone calm and looked after, we’re grateful for all the cabin crew serving us in the air this year.
Emergency Electricians
Average advertised salary: Up to $28.13 per hour
Advertised vacancies: 412,479
Imagine, your turkey’s roasting, your potatoes are on the boil, your green bean casserole’s good to go and then.. thunk! Your stove breaks down. Nobody wants a Thanksgiving power outage, especially if you have family depending on you for a slap-up meal!
Step in emergency electricians, the technical pros rescuing family meals up and down the country. Often working on standby over the holiday period, in return for their cool heads and electrical expertise they can expect salaries of between $50 and $150 per hour.
Volunteers
Advertised vacancies: 410,009
From working at a soup kitchen, to creating food parcels at a food pantry, Thanksgiving is a time of year to reflect on our good fortunes and pay it forward to those less fortunate. It’s no surprise then that many choose to volunteer over the holidays to ensure everyone gets a hot meal.
While volunteers don’t get paid, there are other positives. It’s a great way to build experience for your resume and showcase your soft skills, as well as being something to talk about at a job interview. And there are plenty of options to choose from, with over 400,000 volunteering positions currently posted across the country.
Sports Reporters
Average advertised salary: $39,623
Advertised vacancies: 494
If you love sports, Thanksgiving is a real treat. NFL teams the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys always host an afternoon Thanksgiving game each, with the third game this year between the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins.
It’s a tradition going back to the 1920’s, based on the history of college football matches always held over the holiday period.
While we’re not complaining about taking a load off, grabbing a beer and tuning into some sports after the Thanksgiving lunch, spare a thought for the broadcasters, reporters (and players!) putting on the show.
Emergency Services
Median salary: $38,930 – $74,910
Advertised vacancies: 51,142
Even on Thanksgiving, the emergency services are ready and waiting to answer any 911 call. The fire departments, police departments, and paramedics will all be on standby, no matter the date – or the score!
Despite this, firefighters only make an average of around $57k according to the BLS, while the average remuneration for police and detectives tracks slightly higher, at around $75k.
Highway Maintenance Specialists
Average advertised salary: $52,125
Advertised vacancies: 1,073
We already mentioned how busy the roads are during the holiday period, but ever wondered what happens if it snows?
Road crew are the holiday heroes keeping the highways clear and operating safely. From driving snowplows, gritters and deicers, to assisting with weather-related emergencies, they’re on standby to jump in and help motorists in need. We imagine it’s a pretty cold job at times too.. brrrr!
Store Managers
Average advertised salary: $43,809
Advertised vacancies: 146,290
For retailers, Thanksgiving spells the beginning of one of the most critical sales periods of the year – and it all kicks off with Cyber Week and the Black Friday sales.
While some grocery stores close for Thanksgiving, an increasing number of retailers open over the holiday to make the most of the shopping season, and that means staff are needed to work the shop floor.
There’s a perk to this one. Working over the holidays can be a nice little earner, with some stores paying double or even triple the usual hourly rate. But for some store managers or retail assistants, it’s not worth the trade-off of missing out on the family get-togethers.
Farmers
Median salary: $83,770
Advertised vacancies: 104,349
The run-up to Thanksgiving starts well ahead of November, particularly for the turkey farmers who rear and care for the birds that will form the centrepiece of the dinner table.
Farming is famously a 365-day-a-year, all-weather career, and Thanksgiving is no exception. Before their dinner, you can expect farmers to have tended their livestock and checked their farm is in order. And that’s before they can even start cooking the turkey!
Marching Bands
Average advertised salary: $36,707
Advertised vacancies: 9,534 musician jobs
If you’re New-York based, maybe you’re planning a trip to see the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving parade this year? Meanwhile millions outside of NYC will tune in to watch the spectacle broadcast live into their front rooms.
Okay, so it’s not technically a paid job – but we did want to shout out to all the performers volunteering their time to be part of the parade, including the host of marching bands, float designers and creators, and the thousands of other performers. It’s a highlight of Thanksgiving for many of us!
If you did want to make music your career, salaries average $45,647 with many budding musicians earning extra cash as tutors or gigging at events and weddings.
To everyone working this Thanksgiving, thank you for all that you do! And we hope the rest of you have a relaxing and wonderful holiday.
Read more: Top jobs for Trump and Kamala that aren’t President