Jobs Within the Skiing Community

[shteezin]

How’s it going guys, so basically I’m a sophomore in college and have no idea what the fuck I wanna do with my life. The only thing I really am passionate about is skiing. Was wondering what type of jobs are available in the skiing world and what majors could set me up for them. Thought there is no better place to come to other than Newschoolers for this.

 

[Casey]

Well, if I were you I would try to analyze what parts of skiing you like the most, and try to work backwards from there to the best fit of a major.

 

[FruitBootPro]

You could go straight into manufacturing stuff or you could get a degree in something relevant to the business and design side of things

Mervin has some factory positions open rn, they make mostly snowboards but also lib tech skis

as for majors/minors/concentrations...

-industrial design (probably the best for designing skis)

-mechanical engineering (more necessary for stuff like boots and bindings)

-marketing

-business, management, etc

you could go into other shit like finance and work for ski companies but you won't have any involvement in the actual product side of things

 

[r00kie]

You're leavong this really broad, and for where you're at that cpuld be a good thing. Given how the other thread about working in the ski the industry went I would say you need tp ask yourself what kind of life you want to live. Do you want to own a home, have kids, and comfortably retire at 60? Or are you okay with trading some financial security and stability to work the 'fun' jobs and be on snow everyday and a different mountain each year. Once you got a grasp on that it will help guide you to what you want to do career wise.

 

[asparagus]

Honestly I’ve given up on pursuing my “passion”. I’d rather find a job I somewhat like, that I’m good at and that pays well while skiing as a hobby. Just ask yourself what kind of life you want to live and find a job that works for it

 

[washcloths]

Engineering…. Regardless if you get a job in the industry, being in engineering usually includes great pay, benefits, and all around flexibility.

How’s it going guys, so basically I’m a sophomore in college and have no idea what the fuck I wanna do with my life. The only thing I really am passionate about is skiing. Was wondering what type of jobs are available in the skiing world and what majors could set me up for them. Thought there is no better place to come to other than Newschoolers for this.

 

[-eREKTion-]

Honestly I’ve given up on pursuing my “passion”. I’d rather find a job I somewhat like, that I’m good at and that pays well while skiing as a hobby. Just ask yourself what kind of life you want to live and find a job that works for it

Exactly, there’s good jobs in the industry for sure. But after a few years chasing them, I realized it’s a combination of right-place/right-time and who you know. My goal is to be able to semi-retire by my mid-40’s. Still work but have enough savings that I can work mediocre paying ski jobs and ski everyday.

 

[hoodratz47]

Easy. Coke dealer.

But for real. I worked in the INDUSTRY for a bit. And I stopped skiing a ton. Got burned out. For me I have to have passion separate from work.

And now I work as an EKG tech and going to school to be a full RT and have a good career that helps people and gives me the means and time to ski!

 

[Brayblade]

I’m in nursing school and I work at a hospital part time. It’s not related to the ski industry but some resorts have clinics and the schedule is usually 3 12 hour shifts per week which leaves tons of time to ski

 

[Casey]

I will say like I had some friends that worked for the ski area and lived there too, they wouldn’t get out of bed for anything less than a crazy pow day, it kind of got annoying for us regular folk that just wanted to go skiing like god damn don’t spread your jaded shit to me! Anyway idk if that even relates but there you go

 

[Plankton]

I remember being in the exact position you are in now early in college. Ultimately decided to keep my passion for skiing separate from my work life, for now at least. Here’s my two cents and a few reasons why you might look into a similar career path.

I’m now a year out of college and work for a business consulting firm, which I’d recommend looking into. Coming out of college and not knowing what industry you want to be in (which is totally fair by the way - I was never one of those people who knew I wanted to be a mechanical engineer or a spine surgeon by junior year of high school, lol), a job like this allows you to start out non-specialized and sample across many different industries while also building a concrete and highly transferable skill set. You get to experience what these industries are like in the real world, without needing to be committed to staying in any one for an extended period or needing the major or discipline of study that each one is supposedly tied to. I get put on a client project and then in six to ten weeks I am rotated onto a new one, with the option to stay on longer if I’m digging it. Keeps things interesting and dynamic.

Plus, if you ever do want to go into the ski industry down the road, you’ve got a strong background in business process and could work on that side of the company for whatever ski brand is hiring.

Downside: Don’t get to ski or mountain bike much (or at all) during the week and the hours can be long. But when Saturday and Sunday come around, you bet I’m up at dawn with a coffee in the cup holder headed up to the mtn, just as stoked to get out as I ever was. The weekend warrior life just makes you appreciate it more, and skiing is what you spend your paycheck on rather than where it comes from.

That being said, I have no doubt you could enter the ski industry from the start and carve out a niche you really love and feel fulfilled by. Hope that helps!