Working in summer, highs and lows

Many outdoor workers face gruelling conditions as summer turns on the heat but others are the envy of their friends and family. Michele McPherson checks out some of the hottest - and the coolest - jobs in the Bay.
A hat, sunglasses and regular applications of sunscreen are as much tools of the trade as a hammer and nails for roofers working in the Western Bay's summer heat.
Scott Arnold, who works for Mount Maunganui-based Roofing Systems, has been a roofer for seven years and says the summer sun always takes a bit of adjusting to, as the heat radiates off the black-coated metal roofing tiles.
"It's pretty hard-out, the heat comes off these tiles too so it's pretty hot," he says.
While he says spring and autumn are definitely the best seasons to be a roofer, Mr Arnold simply prepares for the bright New Zealand sun and gets on with the job.
"Sometimes [it] takes a few weeks to get into it but you've got to get used to it. [I] just wear a hat and some glasses and sunscreen," he said.
"That's all you can do really, there's nowhere to go to get any shade up there."
Avoiding dehydration is also key to fighting off the effects of the summer heat.
"We've been drinking heaps of water today, probably about a litre an hour I'd say," he said.
Mr Arnold said rain or shine, being outdoors all day is still what he loves most about his job.
"You get to work outside and enjoy the outdoors."
AT THIS time of year Nic Ceelee becomes the envy of his colleagues at New World Brookfield.
As assistant chilled and frozen manager, Mr Ceelee spends his working day going in and out of a chiller with a temperature of 3 or 4C and a freezer set at -18C.
The only drawback for him and manager Ray Andrews is that the temperatures are the same right through the winter as well, when they wear thermals under their uniforms to stay warm.
It's not unusual for Mr Ceelee to find his workmates trying to take advantage of his cooler conditions either.
"Everyone envies us in summer, you find them in here trying to cool down," he said.
He certainly prefers his role of the last four years to his previous position working as a storeman at the supermarket.
"[In the storeroom] no matter what the weather you've got to go out and load the trucks in the rain or the sun," he said.
Walking out the door at the end of the day, Mr Ceelee is quickly reminded the city is in the throes of summer.
"You go out through the front doors and it hits like a wave," he said.
HOT JOBS
- Road worker
- Chef
- Postie
COOL JOBS
- Surf instructor
- Liquor store worker
- Air-conditioned office worker