 Poster: A snowHead
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{I'm guessing this sort of question is asked quite regularly and sorry if it's in the wrong section of the forum.}
I have an unconditional offer to my uni/course of choice starting in September this year but I just feel I'm not quite ready for uni.
I'm 17; 18 in october.
~How feasible is it for someone this age to work a season in a large resort? Preferably an English speaking one as I only have very basic French. (Ideally in Canada)
Any sort of work, so long as it would pay enough for me to live and ski.
Basically, what I want to know is: is it worth me doing this now or waiting until I've finished uni. I'm really just after a 'yes' or 'no' so I can tell if it's worth pursuing further.
Thanks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes! Just do it. see natives website
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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The lad who was running our chalet the week before last was only 18, and very well he did too. He had a lot of help and support from the resort manager though, who kept on at him to keep the kitchen tidy and take meat temperatures etc. That was Neilsons. Looks like it is possible then. This was in Italy and the lad did not speak Italian.
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Fergus, I did a season as a 'lifty' when I was 17/18. It was a fantastic experience but a word of caution; it steered me away from the Uni path (my head was filled with so many other possibilities for how to pursue life) and I think now that perhaps it wasn't in my best long-term interests to do a season at that time in my life.
IMO if you're on your way to Uni - GO. Get it over with asap then you'll have as long as you want to enjoy everything else life has to offer
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yes.
As far as TO work goes: you will not get work as a rep/ski guide/other responsible position. You might get a chalet job, but employers prefer people older and with more experience. No-one will send you to Canada at that age and with no previous season experience. Look at companies which run hotels, and consider waiting/chamber staff (called hotel host, general assistant, similar job titles) or kitchen/night porter (washing dishes, staying up all night in case the place burns down). Of my 12-strong staff team this season, half a dozen are about your age and all of them having a ball.
Look at: SkiPlan/Equity, SkiBound, Skiworld, Neilson, Ski Olympic, TUI (if you must). Also peruse www.natives.co.uk which you will find much more useful than this forum full of porky middle-aged punters. 
The basic TO deal is risible wage plus travel to/from resort, lift pass, board and accommodation, some sort of insurance (level of cover varies), training, uniform, ski hire, ready-made social life (not actually quoted as part of the package but a benefit nonetheless).
Have fun.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
porky middle-aged punters
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Fair cop!
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I'm a year older and doing a season in my gap year, don't regret it one bit. I'm in Tignes and my french is more than awful. But it's so english here it doesn't really matter.
Drinking age is 19 in most places in Canada remember though.
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| Spikyhedgehog wrote: |
| Drinking age is 19 in most places in Canada remember though. |
Yeah, definitely a consideration 
In general terms, how generous are employers with days off? Will I get alot of skiing done?
flowa, where were you a lifty? Am I right in thinking alot of the European resorts are quite protective of their lift-operator jobs?
From what your saying, the way to do it is by going through a hotel company or TO rather than trying to find my own accommodation/job?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Fergus, i was 17 when i arrived in Canada, 18 now, here for 3 months, go for it! If your 18 in October is that the October before the season starts? Drinking age is 18 in ALberta ie Banff which is an awesome town. I'm Glasgowish aswell!
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| Fergus wrote: |
{I'm guessing this sort of question is asked quite regularly and sorry if it's in the wrong section of the forum.}
I have an unconditional offer to my uni/course of choice starting in September this year but I just feel I'm not quite ready for uni.
I'm 17; 18 in october.
~How feasible is it for someone this age to work a season in a large resort? Preferably an English speaking one as I only have very basic French. (Ideally in Canada)
Any sort of work, so long as it would pay enough for me to live and ski.
Basically, what I want to know is: is it worth me doing this now or waiting until I've finished uni. I'm really just after a 'yes' or 'no' so I can tell if it's worth pursuing further.
Thanks. |
No.
Wait until after uni.
18 is too young.
Most fillies will be out of your reach.
Wait until you are 22 / 23 and maximize your ridetime.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Fergus
I was a lifty at Coronet Peak, Queenstown, New Zealand.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I spend a season when I was 18 as a ski tech I loved it and I realised that the uni course that I was going to do was the wrong one for me. Sometimes it's worth having a year out of studies to clear your mind, you've only one life make the most of it!!
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definately do it. Don't know what your situation is but I promised myself I would do all sorts of wonderful things when I got uni out of the way but then had to imediately find somewhere to live, realised I had to pay regular rent in a years contract, got a regular job with 20 days holiday a year and that's now going to be pretty much it, forever... 
Unless you go immediately after graduating - any time after and it's a bit of an upheaval and trickier to settle back in when you come back home - finding flatmates etc as they'll be settled and half way through contracts etc, getting a job with the companies that have graduate recruitment drives in the summer, if that's your thing etc etc...bite the bullet.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
| middle-aged punters. |
wow,thanks! It's a while since I considered myself "middle aged" 
Fergus, I'd go for it if I were you. I've interviewed hundreds of top graduates and it was often the people who had done gap years who had a bit more to offer. Only if they'd done something sensible, though. The "season" is only a small part of a year, so do something interesting the rest of the time, too. And plan and finance it yourself; it's much less impressive if daddy was paying!
You could well get more out of university if you are a year older, and having got it out of your system you might make less of a drunken dick of yourself during freshers week.
I would strongly recommend you follow the advice from Lizzard above - trying to DIY at your age, with no relevant skills or languages could be difficult. And you'd need big money upfront to pay a season rent in advance on accommodation (How do I know this? Because my son freelanced and borrowed thousands of euros from me to pay his rent in Val D'Isere. But he was 27 and a brilliant cook, and he subsequently got paid quite a lot of dosh, and he paid it all back!).
On the other hand, Flowa's point is worth considering too. My son already had a very good degree when he went off to Val D'Isere (though he had had 3 gap years before going to uni). It gets into the system. He is now embarked on a Ph D and is talking about taking 2 months out each winter to go and cook in posh chalets. It might make you think about other things. But that isn't necessarily a disaster. I saw many graduates who had left school with good A levels, gone to uni, written all their essays, got good degrees, and come out the other end with very little idea of why they went, or what they got out of it. A waste.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Rossfra8, yes, 18 this year and it would be next season, 08/09. I liked Banff when I was there last New-year so that could be an option. Although I was under the impression you needed to be 18 to get a Canadian work visa?
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Poster: A snowHead
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I agree with pam w - If I had had a year out I might have done a more useful degree than the one I picked in a hurry fresh out of college which has turned out ot be completely useless other than social skills developed - expensively. I think people shoudl leave uni a bit later - if they still want to go then great, they'll make more out of it and make the wisest choices, and if they don't want to go then great - lots of expense saved. University isn't a neccessity these days (obvously I'm not tlaking about all career paths here) but in a lots of careers experience and life skills are more valuable. My most successful friends skipped uni and started in their desired industry 3 years ahead of anyone else. Anyway - a tangent -at least a gap year will help you make sure that uni is going to be the right choice rather than what Mum or Dad expect, or that the course is the right one, and help you get the most out of it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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and I do think it's ridiculous that at 17/18 you're expected to be able to decide definitively what you want to do with your life and narrow it down to one subject. some people are lucky and have a passion for something but the majority actually don't and change their mind understandably after 3 years of uni and thousands of pounds later, but don't want to start another 3 years again! Not until they're at least 30 anyway and have a total crisis 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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That's the thing, I am having doubts over if I've chosen the right course or not.
Where ever I go, I reckon I'd stay there for the summer and mountain-bike, possibly stay in whatever job I get.
Anyway, you've given me alot to think about. I'm checking out the natives right now, so I'll see what my options are. Thanks.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
That's the thing, I am having doubts over if I've chosen the right course or not.
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Fergus, if you're not sure, don't go. Definitely. A lot of people who do gap years end up changing their minds about their chosen courses - even when they had thought they WERE sure.
Ski season jobs are for the ski season - jobs in the summer are going to be very, very, difficult to come by, especially without fluency in the local language. That's unlikely to be acquired during a ski season, unless you are very motivated and disciplined.
Now I tell you what would be an impressive thing to have on your CV. Do an intensive crash AS level in French (or whatever is your best relevant language) BEFORE you go, then try to speak as much as possible during your season - ideally by finding a French girlfriend or two, instead of Brits). Then spend the following summer working in a local environment (though maybe not in the Alps, which will probably have a surfeit of labour during the summer), using and improving your language skills.
There are quite a lot of jobs in places like Eurocamp during the summer. They're not the best for acquiring language skills, though they do provide accommodation. It's easy, with some language skills, to get a summer job washing up, or preparing salads, in restaurants in places like the south of France. Good for language skills, but probably impossible to make enough money to live on if you have to put a roof over your head.
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Yeah, as pam w says try your hardest to learn the local language. Because it's so easy not to in English resorts such as Tignes because everyone speaks english. I know it's something i'll regret not doing when I'm older.
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Go for it. Tis far better to regret the things you have done, than to regret the things that you haven't.
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Kramer, I bet you say that to all the girls .
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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maggi,
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Yes, you can do it next season. It should be possible to get working holiday type visas for Canada and Student (J1) visas for the USA. You could also get a year long working holiday visa for New Zealand which would entitle you to work at the ski areas there as an alternative.
Kirkwood in California where I was at for several seasons employs lots of 18 year olds from around the world, though mainly Australia, Brazil and Peru, people find their way there from all corners of the globe. If you have any experience at all in the snowsports industry Kirkwood might be able to find positions for you using temporary worker H2B visas - these allow you to stay the full season and it's usually possible to return if you want, where as the J1 student visas are usually for 3-4months.
I have worked with Aussies, Kiwis and Canadians who have done time in the Alps with lift companies both on CairnGorm Mountain at home and at Kirkwood, and they were generally of the opinion that non Alpine country people got treated rather shabbily by alpine lift companies who looked down on anyone from the "outside". From their experience and IMO you'll have a better time in the US, Canada or NZ.
While in Alpine terms somewhere like Kirkwood is a small resort, it's a truly amazing place and Lake Tahoe is surrounded by some great ski areas ranging from the well known international resorts of Sqauw and Heavenly, to little known local hills like Homewood. Mammoth Mountain aint that far away either.
Those that say no, go to uni because otherwise you'll get other ideas about what to do with your life, I'll say from personal experience, that's exactly why you should do it. I had the opportunity and went straight to Uni at 17 - hindsight is always wonderful, but I went straight to uni partly out of fear if I went off and did something else I would never return to an Academic setup - if I had done something else I think I would have had much more idea of why I wanted to continue further with academic studies.
| Quote: |
| Tis far better to regret the things you have done, than to regret the things that you haven't. |
Probably the truest comment I have read on this forum!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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PS being 18 with the legal drinking age of 21 in the US was shall we say not a problem as far as I could see at Kirkwood!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
In general terms, how generous are employers with days off? Will I get alot of skiing done?
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Most TO jobs: one day off per week, split shifts the rest of the time (ie work mornings/evenings, ski during the day). Most people get 4-5 hours a day. Night porters get the whole day, as do evenings-only bar staff.
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Am I right in thinking alot of the European resorts are quite protective of their lift-operator jobs?
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Not particularly (or not here at any rate). But you do have to be able to write a convincing application letter in the local language and then speak that language competently, often over a two-way radio.
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I reckon I'd stay there for the summer and mountain-bike, possibly stay in whatever job I get
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Don't bank on it - summer jobs in the alps run for maximum mid-June to end August and are fairly few and far between. If that's your plan, stick to resorts with big summer business - eg Chamonix, Morzine, 2Alpes. If you go with a tour op, look for one with a summer alps progranne - eg Inghams, TUI.
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18 is too young.
Most fillies will be out of your reach.
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This bloke is quite evidently an ageing virgin. My lot appear to be pretty successful on that front, as usual.
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You know it makes sense.
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apply for student holiday visa for cananda now, go to uni after, and take the working holiday visa then.
you won;t regret it
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Kramer wrote: |
| Go for it. Tis far better to regret the things you have done, than to regret the things that you haven't. |
Wise words, regrets, I've had a few, one of which is not having a year off 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Do the uni thing, then have a year off.
(BTW I did neither )
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Before and after is my advice.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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'Nearly' did a season so many times during my late teens and 20's and always backed out - men, money, mortgage general fear of the unknown etc etc etc and really regret it. I'm lucky, in that the opportunity has arisen again, albeit in my 40's with a husband and child in tow. I have no doubt it will be a great but very different experience to that I would have had if I'd bitten the bullet 20 something years ago.
Kramer, has it bang on - t'was indeed the sales pitch I used on my dearly beloved, as is pam w, - you'll probably come back a much more rounded and interesting employment proposition with skills that will serve you for life and have a much clearer idea of what you want to do or don't want to do with the coming years (if indeed you DO come back)
Go now if you can before you get sucked into the whole using your qualification, get a proper job, live up to everyone else's expectations thing. God knows I wish I had.
Good luck whatever you decide - from another 'middle aged porkie punter'
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Fergus, see what an interesting thread you started. Surprisingly, this doesn't seem to have cropped up that often. Probably because of what Lizzard said - we're all too old.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Do it, I so wish I had, am 39 so probably would struggle now...
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| Quote: |
am 39 so probably would struggle now...
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jonm, that's just another excuse! Mind you, my son, who is over 30 now, said he worked with an exceptionally good chef in Val D'Isere last year, who had done every season for years but was thinking of giving it up because the young kids were driving him mad and he was getting less tolerant! I did have a plan, once, to run a catered chalet which specialised in groups of guys who were very keen skiers but whose partners were not too keen to let them loose with a bunch of young chalet maids. It was to be called "Old Bats and Boots" but - in the end I bought an apartment instead.
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pam w, Thats an cracking idea would be interesting to see if there was a market.
Fergus, no real advice but as somone who had a chance to do most of a season when I was in my 20s without giving up the day job I always regret it a bit. Go for it either before or after or both. And flowa, brings in NZ, it would never have crossed my mind back then but what an interesting possibility.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Fergus,
I'd go for it if I was you - I wish I had at that age!
My son is a year older than you - currently living in Switzerland & working as a ski instructor. He's having a whale of a time as far as I can make out. Hasn't had much time off this year as the snow's been good, so last time I spoke to him, he had been working non stop for the previous month.
He's intending to spend his summer exploring the same area on his bike instead of skis.
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I have this conundrum aswell. Im in lower sixth at the moment studying my A Levels.
I will be making university choices next september. I know I want to study something on the lines of geography/transport.
But Im wondering whether to take a gap year (doing a season) before or after university.
Im not sure whether I'd lose the will to study if I did a season.
Im not sure whether Im mature enough yet to do a season. Whether I'd have a lot more employment possiblities after university when I was 22.
I wont have huge debt (hugely greatful to my parents) so it wont be a case of trying to pay it off as quickly as possible afterwards.
My french skills are good enough to get about and have fairly basic conversations. I would like to improve my french, Im dissapointed I didnt take as an A-Level.
A possiblity would be to do one before and after university. The second time round I imagine I would have a rather good CV.
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FAQ
