More People Turning to Resorts for Employment
More People Turning to Resorts for Employment
[ October 18, 2009 - 8:53pm ]
Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to be a real ski bum? Maybe now's your chance
During these hard days, it's tempting to reimagine one's life. What if you just chucked it all -- the mortgage, the debt, the credit cards -- and went full ski-bum? We're talking sleep-in-the-truck, cold-oatmeal-for-breakfast, shower-at-the-Y ski bum. Scamming free waxes from your buddies at the shop, working tables at the local brewski hall, full-moon turns at midnight on the ridge at season's end. Maybe you'd get a dog, too, a nice big lab who liked to ride the lifts with you. From where we're sitting, that doesn't seem too bad. And for a lot of people, that's a popular option. More people are turning to ski resorts for work this season -- especially the fresh-out-of-college set. With jobs drying up, new entrants to the work force are looking for "alternative" job prospects like those in ski country. Or so says the Rutland, Vt. Herald in this article about the ski-job situation at East Coast resorts like Okemo and Sugarbush.
But there are other routes to bum-dom. You could win the Kootenay Rockies Tourism's Ultimate Ski Bum contest, of course. (Good luck with that one.) Or, once you sell that overpriced house of yours, you could take a small, $2,300 cut of the profit and buy a Ski Utah Silver Pass, which allows its holder to ski 30 days at any Utah ski resort, from Deer Valley to Brian Head to Snowbird to Sundance. (That's 30 days at each place -- we don't think it's even possible to max out that pass.) Or pay $3,400 and get the Gold Pass, which is transferable: You ski Alta today while your buddy pulls shifts at the Shake Shop; he skis Snowbasin tomorrow while you shop for oatmeal and dog bones. It's either that or the office.
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Ahhhh,....the ski bum life for me. Cashed out of corporate world 2 years ago and got the best $9.00 per hour job in the world, a full-time ski instructor. My friends are sick of me, and want me back in banking (ha lol). My office has the best view on earth, majistic mountains, with the best central A/C period. And man, that multi-million dollar carpet sure feels good on my feet. This is my 3rd season, coming up...so I will be on snow 6 days a week from November til May. Best darn $9 per hour I have ever earned, and will not trade it for corporate world (unless they throw in a 3 week BC heli bonus every year). My older collegue ski instructors tell me that I am in the retirement training program. God, I love this corporate training program. Never complain about working long hours here.
So find a local hill, get on as an instructor, become PSIA certified, ski, ride, teach, smile travel and enjoy. It is also good to have some good investment real estate income too.
LETS GET READY TO>>>>>>>RIDE THE MOUNTAIN SIDES!!!!
Yes but...the wages are terrible aren't they. BTW if you're thinking of becoming a ski-bum you should head Downunder - to New Zealand (great skiing!) or Australia. Yes Australia has snowfields - quite good too. It's the same problem - they don't pay much. But you could always spend the summer in Sydney and work in hospitality before heading for the snow. The Aussie dollar is very strong at the moment - 92 cents to the US dollar.
Here's an insider tip for you. I spent last summer working on a luxury charter vessel on Sydney Harbour (then went skiing). I was paid the award wages but always made good tips - really good tips. For instance, one businessman gave me $500 at the end of a cruise. And i regularly got tips of $50 or $100 a night. Trick is to work on a really classy boat - go for the top-end. Have a look at some of the boats here. I notice they have a superyacht working the harbor on Christmas/New Years. You can imagine the tips that one would pay. http://www.flagshipcruises.com.au