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Traveling Carnival / Fair Worker
Butler Amusements, Reithoffer Shows and similar traveling carnival companies
Pays you
$12–$15/hr
Figures from an actual DOL seasonal clearance order for a traveling carnival Amusement & Recreation Attendant: $11.59-$15.11/hr, 40 hours per week, 1:00 PM - 10:00 PM, with the posting explicitly stating NO OVERTIME EXPECTED — which removes the single biggest earnings lever available in every other job in this tier. Bunkhouse lodging travels with the show and is commonly advertised as free, but bunkhouse quality and whether any charge applies vary by company and are frequently not stated in postings. Meals are not provided. Aggregator figures around $21/hr for 'traveling carnival' are contaminated by management and specialty roles; carnival ride workers typically earn $10-$15/hr. At roughly $13/hr with no overtime, 40 hours is about $520/week gross. Even with free bunkhouse lodging, this is the weakest net in this tier by a clear margin — nearly every other entry here beats it once deductions are counted.
$50–$400 upfront to start
Setting up, operating and tearing down rides and games as a carnival moves between county fairs and festivals across a long season. Bunkhouse lodging travels with the show, but the pay is the lowest of any option in this tier.
- Term
- 3 mo–10 mo
- Housing
- Provided
- Airfare
- Not covered
- Selectivity
- Open enrollment
- Age
- 18+
- Citizenship
- Any citizenship
Deadlines
- 2027 seasonrollingRolling / no fixed deadline
The verified clearance order ran January 9 to November 8 — a nine to ten month route, far longer than a summer. Hiring is rolling and largely walk-up; postings appear on seasonaljobs.dol.gov and company employment pages. Much of this workforce is H-2B, so domestic hiring is opportunistic.
Verified 9/14/2026 · seasonaljobs.dol.gov