Download-My-Apps
Active member
13503003:Kevski said:
Well said A+
Living the Dream vs. Financial Stability
- Thread starter APunx176
- Start date
Well said A+
PeppermillReno
Active member
13502634:jacktwem said:
Hes 75.
Trust me there are way more straight edge peopel than you think who are rich or well off from ages 20 something up until around 60/65 and then they become broke. Social security probably won't be around in 50 years for any of us. LIfe is expensive. A good career does not guarantee being comfortable financially in old age.
My recommendation if you want to ski a lot is to get the best job you can in the summer. There are a lot of seasonal jobs that pay well but end when the weather gets cold. Get one of these. Make sure you learn and gain skills and get your bosses job at some point so you can rejoin normal people who work year round and get a career job if needed.
Very very very few people on this website are willing to make sacrifices in the summer so they can ski in the winter they just want to ski bum and look at it as a 12 month a year thing. Its not. The only downside to doing this is that you may not have a permanent base 12 months a year and need to spend half the year somewhere and half somewhere else which means shit like kids and a wife will be harder to get but if you don't want that then like I said focus on banking in the summer. (You can work road crew construction, on a fishing boat, work any job in a beach town, etc etc etc it'll be warm you'll work 60 some hours and be so busy you can't ski that much and then it'll be time to go skiing.)
methscratchface
Active member
college is stupid. learn a trade and get paid
LC.
Active member
Do what you want. I finished my degree when I was 21 but it was a waste of time, I knew by the start of year 3 that I'd never use it but finished it anyway, really I should have dropped out when I realised. I now earn about €12K per year, spend most of that on skis and bikes, and play in the mountains every other day. I'm very happy.
Friends in my hometown have well paid jobs but mostly seem miserable and bored. They'll maybe ski or bike every other weekend, do the family thing, etc. Most call me a dick for being so "lucky" with my lifestyle.
Friends in my hometown have well paid jobs but mostly seem miserable and bored. They'll maybe ski or bike every other weekend, do the family thing, etc. Most call me a dick for being so "lucky" with my lifestyle.
mattwalker
Active member
I went to school one summer or fall every year for 8 years and got my business degree. Looking back, wouldn't have done anything different. Being able to ski all winter is what needs to happen while you've still got the fire. Find a school that allows you to do that.
Krotchs_Brother
Active member
13503188:mattwalker said:
I've really been leaning towards this kind of schooling lately.
Did you regret anything about doing school part-time over a longer time period?
Just looking for some insight from someone who's been through it.
louie.mirags
Active member
I have a solid m-f 9-5 corporate job and it fucking blows. It's nice having the money to do activities but the 9-5 part blows. The worst part is most people are off the same times as you. So skiing on the weekend is packed. Same for weekends in the summer when I wanna camp or hike. I sure miss the 40+ days in a year I got in college. Last year I got 6 I think?
iLLbiLLy
Active member
Feel like I've already make this reply in multiple threads but...
I got a CS degree and moved to jackson to work for a small web company (now TMBR). Couple years ago, switched to a "Consulting". All my work is 100% remote so I can live anywhere in the world (so long as there is decent internet).
Benefits:
+ $$$ (enough to live comfortably in Jackson and then some)
+ Live anywhere
+ Set my own hours
+ Unlimited vacation (would still get my base salary even if I didn't work a single hour in a quarter)
+ Ski pass, Insurance, etc
I'd say the CS degree is a good route for anyone who wants to make good $ and have lots of freedom. Not all jobs are going to be like mine, but the trend seems to be moving that way. Companies are realizing that its better to pay people based on "what they do" vs "how long they work". This means if your good at your job you can work very little and live comfortably.
BTW: We are currently hiring a "Tester" position. Need to have some programming experience (basic understanding of how software works), good communication skills, and ability to learn independently. If you're interested, PM me and I'll send out an application when we officially release the position.
I got a CS degree and moved to jackson to work for a small web company (now TMBR). Couple years ago, switched to a "Consulting". All my work is 100% remote so I can live anywhere in the world (so long as there is decent internet).
Benefits:
+ $$$ (enough to live comfortably in Jackson and then some)
+ Live anywhere
+ Set my own hours
+ Unlimited vacation (would still get my base salary even if I didn't work a single hour in a quarter)
+ Ski pass, Insurance, etc
I'd say the CS degree is a good route for anyone who wants to make good $ and have lots of freedom. Not all jobs are going to be like mine, but the trend seems to be moving that way. Companies are realizing that its better to pay people based on "what they do" vs "how long they work". This means if your good at your job you can work very little and live comfortably.
BTW: We are currently hiring a "Tester" position. Need to have some programming experience (basic understanding of how software works), good communication skills, and ability to learn independently. If you're interested, PM me and I'll send out an application when we officially release the position.
mattwalker
Active member
13503250:Krotchs_Brother said:
No. If I had gone Pre Med or Engineering or something thats super intensive and builds upon itself, it would have been hard because you'd forget things, and you have to pass comprehensive tests to get your degree at the end. Business applies to everything, and to be honest, most of it is putting a name to common sense which you don't forget. Also, I skied all summer, hence the 8 years. If you only want to ski in the winter, you could still do summer/fall and be done in 4. You'd have December-April off.
As for whoever was talking about college being expensive. Move to Colorado, rent a spot for 12 months with your name on the lease, be a ski bum in Breck or Durango for a year and work somewhere for 12 months... then you'll have residency. I think instate tuition is like 8k compared to 27k out of state...
ValourPadre
New member
topic:APunx176 said:
Or just go to Western State Colorado (30 miles from Crested Butte) or Colorado Mountain College (comminity college w/ housing) in Steamboat. Both are reasonably priced schools
13503667:mattwalker said:
For sure, when I was younger I was looking at doing that. Taking a gap year and establishing residency then going to school in that state fr a lot cheaper.
Seems to be the trend here.
Seriously. I'm 30. I own my own business. I make my own hours. I set my own prices... I work around 20 hours per week.
I did a shit ton to get here though. I have a BS in anthropology(archaeology). I also studied digital media. I worked at like 6 different resort jobs including marketing. I was on the ski team (I founded it?) at my university. It's been my life (from Minnesota).
I've had 100+ day seasons for at least 10 of the last 15 years. Even in College I was getting 2 - 3 days a week since I was working as an instructor 2 days a week and often sneaking in another day, sometimes 2. Then I actually lived in Mammoth my last year of school and took all freshmen level classes (I got all the hard stuff out of the way early). I set up all my classes to be tues/thursday, I think one of them was 4 hours on Tuesday at one point. I read reviews and made sure that there were no pop quizzes and so forth for the courses, i was able to take econ 201 online as well as another class. Anyway, every monday night I would drive the 5 hours to Los Angeles and come back either late Tuesday night or Wednesday early. No one really realized I was only going to 1 class a week. It seemed to be more than some other students.
Anyway, last year I skied in Switzerland, Russia, Argentina, and California. This year I plan to ski in California, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, France, Wyoming, and Chile.
I have a good credit score, I'm paying things off well enough, and I can afford all the things I want to do... even if it means staying in a youth hostel over a hotel.
That being said, Ski towns still have engineers, architects, mechanics, designers, photographers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, maids, mail peoples... So if you're happy living at a magical resort, you're probably good with whatever career path you chose. If you want to be successful and a ski bum and travel around and live out of a suitcase... then look into positions that allow you to do that.
Holdenskier26
New member
Yo screw university/college...think off ALL the debt after. You wont finish paying it off until ur like 60. Yea u will have a great job but u wont get to ski. Im moving to whistler rght after high school. just ski all day party all night then repeat. if u work at the mountain u get discounted everything plus a free pass. Then u could also work all off season so u have money for the winter. Thats what im gunna do!
CherryClause
New member
Go to school. Get a Snow Science degree. Work as an avalanche consultant and ski the rest of your life. Problem. Solved.
This isn't for everyone but its worked great for me:
Step 1: move close to mountains and get a degree in electrical, computer, or mechanical engineering (for example Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado Denver). Engineering isn't easy, but there is usually an abundance of online classes and you'd be close enough to the mountains to get some skiing in. I have a friend who only took summer/fall classes and worked/skied in the spring semester.
Step 2: get a job with the patent office in Denver (http://careers.uspto.gov/Pages/PEPositions/Jobs.aspx). Very flexible work schedule, basically make your own hours. Close enough to the mountains to get plenty of skiing in. Pays really well.
Step 3: after 2 years the patent office lets you work from home. You can work from anywhere in the U.S. that has an internet connection. Still get to set your own hours. Move to your favorite mountain and ski 100+ days a year (of the last three years I've spent two winters in Breck and one in Mammoth).
Its obviously a really long term plan to pull off, but if you can commit to it eventually it works out amazingly.
Step 1: move close to mountains and get a degree in electrical, computer, or mechanical engineering (for example Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado Denver). Engineering isn't easy, but there is usually an abundance of online classes and you'd be close enough to the mountains to get some skiing in. I have a friend who only took summer/fall classes and worked/skied in the spring semester.
Step 2: get a job with the patent office in Denver (http://careers.uspto.gov/Pages/PEPositions/Jobs.aspx). Very flexible work schedule, basically make your own hours. Close enough to the mountains to get plenty of skiing in. Pays really well.
Step 3: after 2 years the patent office lets you work from home. You can work from anywhere in the U.S. that has an internet connection. Still get to set your own hours. Move to your favorite mountain and ski 100+ days a year (of the last three years I've spent two winters in Breck and one in Mammoth).
Its obviously a really long term plan to pull off, but if you can commit to it eventually it works out amazingly.
CrotchKiller
Active member
I work in the woods. 2 weeks on 10-12 hours days and then a whole week off. I also work for a sledneck so he's extremely cool with taking time off to go shred in the winter.
ben_southworth
Active member
13504093:APunx176 said:
Think about your long term plans. I think this has been mentioned, but
ben_southworth
Active member
13504644:ben_southworth said:
Where did my post go??
Quick notes -
- Making
ben_southworth
Active member
I'm getting owned by the internets. Try number 3.
- Making
- Making
dadi
Member
13504179:bradf001 said:
Step one is even easier if you do the pre-engineering at Colorado Mountain Collage before. Mines is pretty expensive, whereas CMC is reasonable and you live in any of the 4 mountain towns of your choosing. They have a great deal of experience with people transferring from CMC to any of the big colorado schools and then you can have both a great education and ski town life at a reasonable price.
Mike.Records
Active member
Its possible to have skiing and financial stability. But, it takes focus and drive. Look at people like Logan Imlach who have pulled it off. I think the key is going to a public school and choosing a field that is employable, especially somewhere that has skiing. If you go to the Colorado School of Mines. You will be 45 min from Loveland, 45 min from Berthoud, and 1 hr from Keystone. And you will come out of it with a super employable degree as well as scholarship, work study, and internship opportunities while you are there.
I went to engineering school at CU Boulder, skied 75 days a year, worked all the way thru undergrad, and got grad school fully paid for by my advisor. But, I didn't really have a social life outside of skiing, which I was fine with. Now I work as a hydrologist in Anchorage. Anchorage firms are down with flexible work schedules, so I take a few ski trips a year, and take stable bluebird days of for BC skiing or pow days off. With a good job I was able to afford a trip to Japan and a fly in ski trip to the Alaska Range. Also, I can tour after work in the spring or go night skiing in the winter.
Plus, a good job, with field work in Alaska is rewarding, challenging, and fun. Here is a blog post about it:http://www.mikerecords.com/2014/03/kanuti-picture-project.html
I went to engineering school at CU Boulder, skied 75 days a year, worked all the way thru undergrad, and got grad school fully paid for by my advisor. But, I didn't really have a social life outside of skiing, which I was fine with. Now I work as a hydrologist in Anchorage. Anchorage firms are down with flexible work schedules, so I take a few ski trips a year, and take stable bluebird days of for BC skiing or pow days off. With a good job I was able to afford a trip to Japan and a fly in ski trip to the Alaska Range. Also, I can tour after work in the spring or go night skiing in the winter.
Plus, a good job, with field work in Alaska is rewarding, challenging, and fun. Here is a blog post about it:http://www.mikerecords.com/2014/03/kanuti-picture-project.html
13504179:bradf001 said:
Wow im impressed. Thats awesome you stuck to the game plan. Sounds like a hell of a work / life compromise. Im sure you won't become rich at that job...but youll make some solid money and get a nice pension since you work for the gov't. Sounds like you are doing things right my friend.
I sort of stumbled into learning about the patent office while in school, but stuck with it from there and its worked out great. Its actually even better now than when I got started as they only recently opened the office in Denver. I worked in Washington D.C. for a couple of years and had to drive to PA for skiing. Definitely worth it these days though!
ben_southworth
Active member
13504765:APunx176 said:
haha I figured it out. When I use a 'less than' symbol it cuts off the rest of my text for unknown reasons. I have some general advice as you're making your decisions
1. Be careful to keep many options open for your future open. It is very difficult to say what you will want and what will be important as you get older. It is a common naive choice to choose a path for short term happiness that is very limiting later (this is not to downplay the importance of short term happiness, just saying that you can have it while keeping a variety of future options as well).
2. Think hard about what you enjoy that could translate into steady work. There are SO many job options. The person who 'wins' is the person who finds a steady job that they enjoy and hobbies they enjoy as well. Then every day is a good day cause you're always doing what you like, and you have the financial stability for a family, buying a house, etc.
Cheers man, good luck. Also, look at how long it takes and the process to get in state residency as well as what you will qualify for in FAFSA / what schools provide in support.
juanborlando
Active member
im usually really poor but life is pretty good
reBlocke
Member
13505206:ben_southworth said:
If I could give my younger self any advice, this would be it. Like most folks in this thread, I was only concerned with trying to "have both" (meaning, getting a lucrative job/career that allowed for unlimited skiing) in college and immediately after.
I ended up going back to professional school and also getting into rock/ice climbing. And while I haven't lost any psych on skiing (still get 40+ d/yr and love every one of them), I'm also equally excited about my job and climbing. There's no limit to the number of things you can be stoked on. Looking back on it, I think it would have been a mistake for me to sacrifice career and other activities in an attempt to only ski more (to each there own though, that might be the path for some).
All that is to say- do what you want (there's no rush to start a career), don't burn bridges, and don't be afraid to head in a totally unexpected direction.
Jon_Taffer
Active member
If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one
APunx176
Active member
how much do terrain park attendants generally make? Employee housing is like $600-$1000 so if it's $10/hour at 10 hours 4 days of the week, it doesn't seem like it'd be enough to pay for everything. Is anyone here currently doing something like this? Or maybe a lifty or something?
tbayskier
Active member
Great thread everyone.
Ok here's my story:
I'm from northern ontario. Over the last five years I have forest fire fought for the government every summer and made 25 ish grand each summer (April-september, pays really well). I also have an english degree, teaching degree and i've gone to fire fighting college in winter. I have made enough money each summer to go to school and go on atleast one trip out west each year.
I also bought a rental house here in town that pays for itself while i live there and go to school/work.
So my advice is stay local, stack as much cash as possible working a good seasonal job, go to school in your home town to save money, if possible buy some realestate to build equity. I ski a ton and am pretty damn happy with my life.
By the time you are ready to go out west (if you still want to) you will have a ton of cash, and you will also know where you want to go, because you will have taken a ton of trips out there.
BTW i'm now 23.
Ok here's my story:
I'm from northern ontario. Over the last five years I have forest fire fought for the government every summer and made 25 ish grand each summer (April-september, pays really well). I also have an english degree, teaching degree and i've gone to fire fighting college in winter. I have made enough money each summer to go to school and go on atleast one trip out west each year.
I also bought a rental house here in town that pays for itself while i live there and go to school/work.
So my advice is stay local, stack as much cash as possible working a good seasonal job, go to school in your home town to save money, if possible buy some realestate to build equity. I ski a ton and am pretty damn happy with my life.
By the time you are ready to go out west (if you still want to) you will have a ton of cash, and you will also know where you want to go, because you will have taken a ton of trips out there.
BTW i'm now 23.
tbayskier
Active member
...final post:
Now if I want to move out west I am trained to be a teacher, forest fire fighting crew leader, and structural fire fighter. And I have enough cash that I could easily make a down payment on a pretty decent small house in a mountain town. I could also start as a labourer in a mountain town and get into a trade. /endflowofthoughts
Now if I want to move out west I am trained to be a teacher, forest fire fighting crew leader, and structural fire fighter. And I have enough cash that I could easily make a down payment on a pretty decent small house in a mountain town. I could also start as a labourer in a mountain town and get into a trade. /endflowofthoughts
louie.mirags
Active member
The following is a section of the Alan Watts book, The Wisdom of Insecurity. I was just reading it and it seemed relevant to the topic.
"there is the anxiety that one may be missing something, so that the mind flits nervously and greedily from one pleasure to another, without finding rest and satisfaction in any... the frustration of having to pursue a future good in tomorrow which never comes, and in a world where everything must disintegrate, gives men an attitude of 'What's the use anyhow?'
Consequently our age is one of frustration, anxiety, agitation, and addiction to 'dope'. Somehow we must grab what we can while we can, and drown out the realization that the whole thing is futile and meaningless. The 'dope' we call our high standard of living, a violent and complex stimulation of the senses, which makes them progressively less sensitive and thus in need of yet more violent stimulation. We crave distraction- a panorama of sights, sounds, thrills and titillations into which as much as possible must be crowded in the shortest possible time.
To keep up this 'standard' most of us are willing to put up with lives that consist largely in doing jobs that are a bore, earning the means to seek relief from the tedium by intervals of hectic and expensive pleasure. These intervals are supposed to be in real living, the real purpose served by the necessary evil of work. Or we imagine that the justification of such word is the rearing of a family to go on doing the same kind of thing, in order to rear another family... and so ad infinitum.
This is no caricature. It is the simple reality of millions of lives, so commonplace that we need hardly dwell upon the details, save up to the note the anxiety and frustration of those who put up with it, not knowing what else to do.
"there is the anxiety that one may be missing something, so that the mind flits nervously and greedily from one pleasure to another, without finding rest and satisfaction in any... the frustration of having to pursue a future good in tomorrow which never comes, and in a world where everything must disintegrate, gives men an attitude of 'What's the use anyhow?'
Consequently our age is one of frustration, anxiety, agitation, and addiction to 'dope'. Somehow we must grab what we can while we can, and drown out the realization that the whole thing is futile and meaningless. The 'dope' we call our high standard of living, a violent and complex stimulation of the senses, which makes them progressively less sensitive and thus in need of yet more violent stimulation. We crave distraction- a panorama of sights, sounds, thrills and titillations into which as much as possible must be crowded in the shortest possible time.
To keep up this 'standard' most of us are willing to put up with lives that consist largely in doing jobs that are a bore, earning the means to seek relief from the tedium by intervals of hectic and expensive pleasure. These intervals are supposed to be in real living, the real purpose served by the necessary evil of work. Or we imagine that the justification of such word is the rearing of a family to go on doing the same kind of thing, in order to rear another family... and so ad infinitum.
This is no caricature. It is the simple reality of millions of lives, so commonplace that we need hardly dwell upon the details, save up to the note the anxiety and frustration of those who put up with it, not knowing what else to do.
CabbyArrant
Member
topic:APunx176 said:
I hear you. I live in Illinois where my home mountain is 2 hours away. I am on a scholarship studying engineering at the University of Illinois or I will be in the spring. I get where you are coming from and dont be afraid to put your foot out your front door because it will be one of the greatest adventures of your life. The only reason I didn't is because I would be stupid to not take free college. I'm sure as hell moving out west when I graduate though!!!
Btw where you from in the Midwest
50Kal
Active member
13505573:tbayskier said:
I wish someone told me fighting wildfires was a career choice when I was in High school. I would of tried harder to get on a crew. Now I'm 26 and thinking about getting into it.
OP should go to the Minnesota fire school and he'd set for life.
http://dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/fire/training/index.html
californiagrown
Active member
13505582:louie.mirags said:
Allan watts teaches the pursuit of a hedonsitic self serving life, from what i have read of him. thats not neccessarily a bad thing if you also subscribe to that outlook on life.
For most people, raising their offspring will be the most important, fullfilling thing they ever do in their lives. Providing the best upbringing possible for these kids is something that becomes priority number 1, 2 and 3. without money, its becomes nearly impossible to do so.
IMO it is far too simplified and naive of an outlook to be usedful for the vast majority of people.
Volkl_One
New member
I have a slightly different take on this now that I am older than most of you.
While skiing may seem like the end all be all to you right now, it most likely will not be forever. Look at the demographic you see on NS, there aren't all that many old people hanging around. Eventually, (it happened to me, it happened to my friends, I see it on the hill) you WILL outgrow the love you have for skiing. It is the sad and honest truth. While you have this intense passion for skiing and think you want to do it for the 'rest of your life' go ski bum and live it up! After a few seasons re-evaluate and see if this is what you are going to do forever. Let's consider the following options,
1) You ski bum and love it and avoid college (and the debt associated with it). The only real cost here is opportunity cost of the years you will be making near minimum wage.
2) Go to college and ski while you are there and you achieve this thing in life we call balance. Work hard, and play hard. This while being an expensive option will most likely set you up in the future for success. Remember, there is short term happiness and long term, the goal should be to find a happy medium. There is a funny South Park where they discuss shooting up heroin all the time maximizes the short term and destroys the long term. Substitute heroine here for skiing and you should get my point.
3) You go to college, and cary a heavy debt, and decide you just want to ski. With your college degree you at least have the option to get a decent job in the industry. You pay off your debts over time and still in the long run come out ahead of the non-college option.
Personally, in hindsight I would have chosen a better major, skied a little less, and opened up my future a little more than it is. I chose the short term happiness over the long term happiness a little more than I would like, but hey that's life.
Good luck in whatever you decide!
While skiing may seem like the end all be all to you right now, it most likely will not be forever. Look at the demographic you see on NS, there aren't all that many old people hanging around. Eventually, (it happened to me, it happened to my friends, I see it on the hill) you WILL outgrow the love you have for skiing. It is the sad and honest truth. While you have this intense passion for skiing and think you want to do it for the 'rest of your life' go ski bum and live it up! After a few seasons re-evaluate and see if this is what you are going to do forever. Let's consider the following options,
1) You ski bum and love it and avoid college (and the debt associated with it). The only real cost here is opportunity cost of the years you will be making near minimum wage.
2) Go to college and ski while you are there and you achieve this thing in life we call balance. Work hard, and play hard. This while being an expensive option will most likely set you up in the future for success. Remember, there is short term happiness and long term, the goal should be to find a happy medium. There is a funny South Park where they discuss shooting up heroin all the time maximizes the short term and destroys the long term. Substitute heroine here for skiing and you should get my point.
3) You go to college, and cary a heavy debt, and decide you just want to ski. With your college degree you at least have the option to get a decent job in the industry. You pay off your debts over time and still in the long run come out ahead of the non-college option.
Personally, in hindsight I would have chosen a better major, skied a little less, and opened up my future a little more than it is. I chose the short term happiness over the long term happiness a little more than I would like, but hey that's life.
Good luck in whatever you decide!
Download-My-Apps
Active member
13506697:Volkl_One said:
Great post. Interesting you say this, most people are happy with the choices they have made in life, regardless of where they end up. If you don't mind me asking, what did you end up studying?
APunx176
Active member
13506697:Volkl_One said:
Yeah I know that but it doesn't make me feel sad when I think about it. We outgrow so many things, but while we outgrow some things we will begin to appreciate other things a little more.
I like to live in the moment so i will most likely be "ski bumming" for a year or two after this year. I also am looking to start indie game developing, so I don't want to start college if that has the chance of taking off.
integralmgmt
Member
13502549:Gypsy_Skier said:
You're at UPenn???
louie.mirags
Active member
13506338:californiagrown said:
Everybody interrupts his writings differently. It is not necessary a guide to life. It is more making you aware of different thought patterns that you would not have considered without his teachings. He is teaching that there are more ways to live life than what is considered "normal". Also, the "normal" ways to live life breed anxiety and tons of unhappy people. It is no surprise that there are countless people in the middle of their lives who would change everything if they could.
13506697:Volkl_One said:
The thing is, what makes people happy is different for everyone. More people are older here than you think. The stats are out there and many people here are in their mid 20s and have grown up on NS and skiing. I can tell you many of us still love skiing and wish we could do it as much as we did in college. You will NEVER have that much freedom again unless you happen to get a rare type of job where you make mucho bucks and pick your own hours. That is rare. Enjoy your time there.
There are many ways to look at this, I will try to help as an old guy on NS.
I went to college right after high school. My parents paid, so cost was not an issue. I am very lucky that way. During college I skied about 25-30 days a year. I was in socal, but our ski team had a Mammoth condo, so I could go up whenever I wanted. It was a lot of driving, but I got to ski a lot, while going to a very good school, a very fun school, and a place I could surf.
After college, I spent several years ski bumming in Tahoe. I loved it, and I would not trade any of that for anything. After a few years I blew my knee, and decided it was time for grad school.
I now ski 30 days a year, and love my life. I live in a great area, ski Mammoth 2-3 weekends a month, and get to surf all summer on weekends. Is it the same as skiing everyday? No. But I prefer this life. During the seasons when Baldy has snow, which means not the last 3 drought years, I get a Baldy day every weekend I don't go to Mammoth.
My wife and I don't want to have kids, so we don't have that limitation, but everyone on this website needs to think about that. What do you want out of life? It might not be the same at 40 as it was at 20, and you don't want to regret your decisions. I saw lots of older people in Tahoe who were really unhappy. They never grew up, and were stuck in lame jobs with limited money. I also saw some others who were really happy. You need to try to figure out which group you will be in.
My advice is to go to college, and then ski bum for a year or two. After that, you have to decide if you want a real job or not. I am not saying there is a right answer, just make sure you do not limit your future. At 22 it might seem like you want to live this lifestyle forever, but you don't want to be older and stuck there. If you leave and go into the corporate world, live in seattle or CA or CO or Utah and ski every weekend. You might try that and figure that you want to be a ski bum forever, which is fine, but I would advise trying it and then deciding what you want. You can leave the corporate world and ski bum, but it is tough to get back into the corporate world after ski bumming for ten years.
Here is another question. How good are your SAT's? How good are your grades? Is it possible for you to get financial aid?
I might get some grief for this, but I would not go to trade school if you are a good student. I guess trade school might allow a great ski bum lifestyle, but you can't really leave that and go into the corporate world if you want something different. Trade schools limit you to that trade, which other colleges don't. There are lots of great jobs that require college, and if you don't go your job potential will be limited.
Sorry for the long post. Good luck with whatever you decide.
I went to college right after high school. My parents paid, so cost was not an issue. I am very lucky that way. During college I skied about 25-30 days a year. I was in socal, but our ski team had a Mammoth condo, so I could go up whenever I wanted. It was a lot of driving, but I got to ski a lot, while going to a very good school, a very fun school, and a place I could surf.
After college, I spent several years ski bumming in Tahoe. I loved it, and I would not trade any of that for anything. After a few years I blew my knee, and decided it was time for grad school.
I now ski 30 days a year, and love my life. I live in a great area, ski Mammoth 2-3 weekends a month, and get to surf all summer on weekends. Is it the same as skiing everyday? No. But I prefer this life. During the seasons when Baldy has snow, which means not the last 3 drought years, I get a Baldy day every weekend I don't go to Mammoth.
My wife and I don't want to have kids, so we don't have that limitation, but everyone on this website needs to think about that. What do you want out of life? It might not be the same at 40 as it was at 20, and you don't want to regret your decisions. I saw lots of older people in Tahoe who were really unhappy. They never grew up, and were stuck in lame jobs with limited money. I also saw some others who were really happy. You need to try to figure out which group you will be in.
My advice is to go to college, and then ski bum for a year or two. After that, you have to decide if you want a real job or not. I am not saying there is a right answer, just make sure you do not limit your future. At 22 it might seem like you want to live this lifestyle forever, but you don't want to be older and stuck there. If you leave and go into the corporate world, live in seattle or CA or CO or Utah and ski every weekend. You might try that and figure that you want to be a ski bum forever, which is fine, but I would advise trying it and then deciding what you want. You can leave the corporate world and ski bum, but it is tough to get back into the corporate world after ski bumming for ten years.
Here is another question. How good are your SAT's? How good are your grades? Is it possible for you to get financial aid?
I might get some grief for this, but I would not go to trade school if you are a good student. I guess trade school might allow a great ski bum lifestyle, but you can't really leave that and go into the corporate world if you want something different. Trade schools limit you to that trade, which other colleges don't. There are lots of great jobs that require college, and if you don't go your job potential will be limited.
Sorry for the long post. Good luck with whatever you decide.