Light House in US Island Seeks Caretakers, Salary $130,000

Looking for an exciting job in an Island with a hefty salary? Then the following job is for you. Wanted: lighthouse caretakers. Location: In an island with a panoramic view of San Francisco city. Salary: approximately $130,000.

The idyllic island is in the San Pablo Bay and the job is for the East Brother Light Station, which is a lighthouse turned inn, which is now looking for two caretakers. The Light Station is offering $130,000 for two people as salary and in return, they are expected to keep this historic tower up and running.

East Brother Light Station was started in the year 1874 to help sailors navigate through the misty waters around San Francisco. In the 1960s it was automated. The lighthouse is in operating condition and is owned by the US Coast Guard, though maintained by a nonprofit group named East Brother Lighthouse Inc. Since 1979 it has been a West Coast bed and breakfast inn for visitors.

Tom Butt, Mayor of Richmond, California said, “I have been working on it for nearly 40 years and initially it was abandoned and we rehabilitated it and then we looked for some way to produce an ongoing revenue to maintain it”. Butt also the heads the nonprofit that runs the lighthouse.

He also adds, “It’s in a unique location, it's in San Francisco Bay on an island and it's one of the few -- maybe the only -- bed and breakfast inns that operates in a lighthouse on an island”.

The website of the East Brother describes visiting the lighthouse as “an adventuresome outdoor experience”, accessing the island which includes a little climbing from a boat up a vertical ladder, depending on the tide. One can experience a unique living condition, though water is in short supply so showers are only available for guests staying for the night. 

East Brother Light Station has five rooms available, all named after the view from the room’s window from the Marin room to San Francisco. East Brother also serves high-quality culinary options, including the breakfast specialty as delicious French Toast Soufflé. Revenue earned from the guests goes towards the maintenance and restoration of the historic building.

Applicants must have past experience in the hospitality of a seafaring nature and they must have a US Coast Guard commercial boat operator’s license. The other job requirements include serving best quality food, daily housekeeping and ferrying the guests from the mainland to the island. The inn is open four days a week, which also hosts special events including weddings. The new caretakers will start from the middle of April this year after two weeks of training.