2 . By my mid-20s, I’d finished my master in psychology, and I was working in Dublin as a health researcher. It was mostly data and statistics work staring at a screen. I was earning more than most of my friends, living the city life, going out at weekends. I had a good pension (养老金) and annual leave but it caused a lot of anxiety and worry.I was really unhappy.

I wanted to get back to feeling passionate about something so I started thinking about the things I used to love. As a child, I’d always been involved in the outdoors, and I used to love hiking but all that had stopped after secondary school. I decided to volunteer with a local youth group and within a month, I’d gone camping with them. I absolutely loved it. It was like switching on a lightbulb. This was what I’d been missing.

I started taking courses in mountain skills and wilderness first aid, and by August I was working my usual job in the week, and I was a climbing club leader at weekends. I loved connecting with nature, connecting with other people.

Through all this, I learnt about the whole field of nature-based therapies (疗法). It was the perfect fit to combine my psychology background with my passion for the outdoors. I began taking courses in wild therapy, forest bathing and ecopsychology. I left my government job and in July 2020 I launched my business Nature Therapy Ireland, which is booming now.

I’d thought I’d always live in a city but last year, I moved to Tipperary to live at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by nature. If I’m feeling stressed, I can step outside in my bare feet and stand on the grass to ground myself. In Dublin, the front door felt like a barrier—I had to have my keys, my phone, my jacket before I could even go out and find a green space. My life now is leading nature connection hikes and forest bathing walks. My salary has halved for the moment but I’ve adjusted. I’ve never looked back.

5 . Best Summer Jobs for High School Students

Working during the summer when school is out of session is a great opportunity for teenagers to make money and gain valuable workplace experience.

Food and drink service jobs are plentiful. Although average base pay is poor, workers who carts tips can do well for themselves. And some national chains have the resources to pay more Starbucks employees can earn about $12 per how on average, and may qualify for a benefits package that includes health insurance.

Grocery store jobs are also relatively plentiful. Although most grocery employees don’t earn tips, base pay is generally above the federal minimum wage—about $12 per hour. Jobs that require workers to operate heavy machinery are inaccessible to workers under age 18. Grocery store employees typically work in shifts, with part-timers polling four to eight hours at a stretch. Peak shopping hours tend to fall on weekends and early evenings.

If you’ve already taken and done well on standardized tests like the SAT or ACT, you can help these students and earn decent pay as a tutor. Tutor pay varies by specialty, experience, and educational attainment. Tutors who themselves are high school students or recent graduates aren’t likely to earn much more than the national average rate of S18 per hour.

Even if you haven’t yet decided what you want your “rear” career to be, high school summers offer the perfect opportunity to test a job you think you’ll like. Summer internships are often unpaid, forcing students to consider whether the opportunity is worth the cost. That’s likely to come down to the value of the experience and the connections that could land you a higher-paying, career-track job down the road.