The basic situation is this:

Due to financial stresses on my family, I may have to take a year off of college and get a job. I'm about 3/4 of the way through a bachelor's in engineering physics, and I have some research experience and can numerically solve PDEs. What kind of work could I get for that year that uses this skill set?

I'd go for the typical engineering internship, but (despite perfect GPA, research background, etc.) I don't seem to stand out in those applications.