Career Break 2012

A snowHead

Evening all... this may be a long post so apologies for that, but your always brilliant advice and posts are required.

Basically, i'm looking to quit my job late this year... looking to do as much skiing as possible and get as far from London as possible! At the moment i have no idea for how long i will be career breaking for (probably until the money runs out) and if the right opportunities arise, i could be really tempted to have a complete career change. I'm starting to realise that there is more than money and life behind a desk and if i don't do something about it now, i'll regret it when i'm older. Talking about age, i'm 28...

With regards to skiing, i would consider myself an advanced piste skier and pretty average off piste. I've officially got about 9/10 weeks of holiday skiing under my belt, but i grew up in Switzerland where i was put on skies when i was very young! So not trying to sound big headed, but I feel my skiing is above the average 10 week skier.

So... what are my options and what should i consider?!?!

I've just starting looking into this and doing research so any advice would be appreciated and stories of what you have done in the past for a career break would be great.

Searching this and other sites as shown some options. This includes becoming a ski bum for the season and doing an 11 week instructor course. Its probably worth noting that i'm doing this on my own... all my other mates are stuck in their careers in London and can't do what i want to do, albeit most of them are keen '1 week a year' skiers.

The idea of doing an instructors course is very appealing as it would mean that i have structure to the break and i gain something at the end of it, which i can use in the future to cover costs! I've never taught before, so don't have a clue if teaching is for me, but i enjoy chanllenges and i train plenty of people at work which is always ok. Again, with the course i would have an instant social scene and be together with a group of like minded people for 3 months. This is really appealing to me and they are conducted at various places around the world. At the moment Canada is seriously appealing. I guess the doubts for doing this is the cost (£7500 give or take) and i really don't want to end up with a group of gap year 18 year olds who are partying all the time. Don't get me wrong, i really enjoy going out but i did the whole drinking thing at uni and want to get something more out of this. Are there many 25+ year old people doing these courses?

Ski bum for a season? Many options but could be better if i was doing it with someone? Love the idea of doing a road trip in BC but it isn't going to happen on my own!

Anways... before i go on for too long, i think you get the idea... all advice and stories appreciated...

Mike

Cool

A snowHead

how much money have you got to "run out"?

anyhow... just do it

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Do the instructor course if you have the wonga. You won't necessarily be with a bunch of 18-year-old trustafarians (I know people who've done it over 40, bloke currently on a course in Switzerland post-uni at 24), you have a structure to your break, there's a tangible result at the end, and you will certainly improve your skiing. Ask the question on www.natives.co.uk and pm Sandgroper on that forum - he did an instructor course following split with wife in his 40s, is now alternating teaching in Utah with temping in London.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

mikee_j, good luck. I'm always thinking about it and leaving my london desk behind. Such a hard thing to pull away from with all the commitments etc. There is def more to life than money, but the thought of not having a decent income is what stops me everytime. Do I want to work in a bar/ chalet etc making nothing when i am used to making a fairly decent wage... would it be as much fun then?

I'll be keeping an eye on this topic, so keep us informed.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

When I did an instructor course, it was a fairly even split between 18 year olds jsut out of school and mid-twenties, with three people over 30 (two about 50), so I wouldn't worry too much about that. It'll really improve your skiing to. As above, there's probably more info on Natives about doing seasons.

You'll need to Register first of course.

mikee_j, Mmm. Interesting. Does the fact that you grew up in Switzerland mean you can speak German/French/Italian or might have it embedded deep in your brain somewhere, ready to be woken up? That could be a great outcome from a career break.

There are lots of threads about instructors courses, the different qualifications gained and how much (or little) you can do with them. Worth doing a search on the forum. Make sure you click the option to search the body of posts, not just thread title.

You'll need to work again at some point - it would be good to be able to point to relevant skills and knowledge (other than becoming a better skier) that you acquired during your career break.

There are some SHs who are very knowledgeable about Japan - some great skiing there - maybe you could do some ELT work, and learn some Japanese as well as finding some excellent powder? You could have a look at the information on the JET programme if that sounded interesting.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Have a look at these guys, http://www.rookieacademy.com/

Haven't done it myself but there location is about as good as it gets. Sounds like you'd like the laid back style wanaka does so well.

After all it is free

If you want to do canada you need to start enquiring about BUNAC visas fairly soon. Not for the course- but for any work afterwards

Did an instructor course in 2007 in Val D'Isere with Ice. 30 people on the course: 20 eighteen-year old's, 2 in their 20s, 4 in their 30s, 2 in their 40s and 2 in their 60s, namely myself and my wife. Bit of a different scenario to yourself. We had just retired and wanted to spend a season in the Alps but needed a focus which the course gave us. Never intending to use the qualification, I found myself working one week a year in the Italian Alps for the last four years. Great fun and very rewarding. Go for it!

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

mikee_j, Have a look at this thread for some inspiration on being a ski bum.. http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=46330&start=253

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

If it is a career you have, rather than just a job, I would stick at that and spend 4 5 weeks a year on skiing holidays.

You then have the advantage of being able to afford a good time whilst doing it and having the money for a good time for the other 47 weeks of the year.

Teaching skiing is a great lifestyle but for the good, busy instructors, it's a full time job and not just a bit of fun on the snow. Also, you will not get qualified enough in one season to get a good teaching job, so will need enough behind you to fund two seasons and the summer months between them.

I'm 100%!certain that it's a great life when you make it but plenty fall by the wayside trying and walking out on a genuine career to join them may be the wrong way to get your slope time.

wow... didn't expect that many replies soo quickly... thanks. To respond to some of the questions and comments:

You know it makes sense.

mikee_j, what sort of chartered surveyor are you?

Check out BASI gap years

www.basigap.com

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

*not a career breaker* but now wish I had

with 10k you can easily do a year with instructor qualifications or a couple of years if you live in a tent and eat beans for the summer

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

b]daehwons[/b],

I know but I was replying along bar shaker's theme.

A single guy could consider something similar, ski tons of hills and easily rack up 60+ days per year whislt earning a decent wage and without dipping into savings. That 60+ days could then be repeated ad infinitum .......

But it does depend on having relatively portable qualifications.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

mikee_j, I took a career break to do a season in the Alps (to learn how to ski, in fact) many moons ago. I took the view, however, that it was better to get a full two years of post-qualification experience - as a solicitor - under my belt before doing so. Even then, I was very lucky to get a job when I got back, since I returned to a bad market downturn and not a lot of available jobs. In the event, my old firm were keen to have me back, although I had handed in my notice properly before leaving, not just taken a sabbatical, and even though the commercial property market (in which I specialised) was in a dicey state. I was very relieved.

My break was working as a resort rep in Verbier (I'm a French speaker) and obviously the earnings were peanuts in comparison to working in the City. Nevertheless it was enjoyable in its way and I'm glad I did it, rather than just bum around. Plainly, teaching skiing wasn't an option for me, as I couldn't ski!

It might be that taking a whole year, or even two years off, especially when you are fairly newly qualified might be a little dangerous if you are planning on keeping chartered surveying as a fallback. I took the view - later in my career - that two years away from private practice would preclude me from going back at the same sort of level. I don't know if that would apply in chartered surveying nowadays.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

...another possibility would be the US or Canada. In the US, especially if you started now, you should be able to get a Visa and a position at one of the resorts in the Rockies or Sierra. The instructional approach here is a bit different, meaning that you could get Level I and perhaps Level II PSIA in a single winter (with some study).

Something worth considering...?

You'll need to Register first of course.

I'm now 34 with a house, 2 kids and a wife. I love my family to bits but my one regret in life is that I didn't spend an entire season skiing. Good luck with whatever you choose to do but just make sure that you go a head and do it or every year that you go on holiday you will think back to the time when you considered a career break to go skiing and stayed in your job instead.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Doing 5 weeks a year Is possible without disrupting work but does need some unpaid leave.

A wee at New Year, two weeks end of Jan to start of Feb and one or two weeks in late March.

You keep your job (and your income) yet have a lot of slope time.

The people I know who have done the gap year thing loved it but took quite a while to settle back in afterwards. One never did and is still travelling. It's a great thing to do, but I worry I would also never settle down again. That's irrelevant really as I am married and mortgaged so it isn't an option.

I am also from a surveying background but quantity rather than property surveying.

After all it is free

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

No mortage, no loans, no kids. what the hell are you waiting for? None of us has a clue what may be 12 months down the line let alone 12 years. Do it while you can, you've nothing to lose and everything to gain.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

I was in a very similar position to you last year (same age too). Although I am married and have a mortgage. I now teach English in Japan. I took a short TEFL course, and learnt some very basic Japanese and had no problem finding a job. Our house in the UK is rented out, and although its a long way from home, Skype is great for keeping in touch with those back in the UK. The money is very good (we live almost entirely on my salary, my wife's goes into savings) we have a subsidised apartment and can afford to run a decent car. Most importantly, so far this winter I've had 33 days riding the best snow in the world!

It's not for everyone, but might be an option worth considering!

Go for it. You can always come back if you don't like it.

I think the course would be useful but taking a break and dong something which isn't focused on earning money but enriches the spirit and the soul has got to be good.

I moved away from the south east nine years ago, with wife and two young children. I have no real regrets, although it's not always "living the dream" but fundamentally I no longer feel bound to the desk/rat race. I do sometimes miss the rat race, though! What I realised is that I should have and could have done it sooner, and there may have been even more opportunities.

I now view life very differently from before and from my friends who have some "job security" but are all too worried that will disappear. I see most things as projects, "do I want to do this?", "do I need to do this for money?" etc. it's a lot more fun than just churning my way through the days at a job which barely changes.

Take the break - you'll probably never go back because you'll realise that there's nothing worth going back to. You make your own present & future. Time goes so quickly though; if you don't do it now you'll probably do it sometime later but to make the most of it I would take that break as soon as you can!!

You know it makes sense.

MagSeven, who did you do your TEFL course with?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Can you change firms, arranging to leave one job just before Christmas and to start the next at the beginning of April? That gives you:

1. Job security
2. Three months' skiing.

I really don't get why employers want you to justify how you've spent your time. But (some of them) seem to. What's wrong with a 3 month hoilday when you're grown up?

With a qualification like yours, change your career a bit, go work for a bank, and get moved to Geneva.

A snowHead

mikee_j, do you like your current career? If yes, and you do see it as where you'll be long term, then I'd be careful of quitting a good job in the current market, especially with little experience. A career break is the kind of thing to do in a booming market, when in our profession you'd have had a handful of job offers within a week of starting to look. I was made redundant last year, and I always thought if that happened I'd go and do a season. The reality is I couldn't afford to spend my savings on a season, when I had no idea how long it would take me to find a job when I got back.

If you don't like your job and it's more of a career change than a break, then go for it!

A snowHead

I'm more in the "don't do an instructor course unless you want to learn to teach camp". The lower rungs of BASI contain a lot of things that are essential for those who want a career in snowsports and not that fun for those that don't. Be honest with yourself about how much time you want to spend learning to snowplough again and then learning how to teach it to children.

What I did was find people to ski with on Snowheads, rented flats in the Alps and then went skiing. A lot. If you feel you need structure then I can see this not being an ideal approach. However, if you are comfortable setting you own goals and then working out methodically how you are going to accomplish them then it is potentially very rewarding.

Have a search through both this forum and the tetongravity.com forums for threads on how to be a ski bum. Do not ask questions on the TGR forums, though unless you want a verbal pinapple inserted into your virtual hindparts.

Happy to answer any specific questions.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

beanie1, agreed. In my case, the downturn happened rather suddenly, after I had handed in my notice (otherwise I might not have done so) and it was jolly scary to be faced with the Sits Vac columns on my return - the columns themselves were 'vac'. Shocked

You need to Login to know who's really who.

skinutter, johnnyh, which is, ironically, what most seasonaires survive on....

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I really can't believe some of the answers in this thread as they seem to be so biased by personal experience as employers/employees/never dids/dids etc.

As I read it the OP has already made his mind up & I can't see its anyone's place to try to persuade him otherwise. To return to the initial question and betraying my own bias I'd agree with gorilla, ski bumming needn't be the lazy weed-smoking, sofa laying, boozing unfocused stereotype.

Obviously these GAP courses to a certain extent prey on those fears in parents and those who feel everything in their life needs structure to be worthwhile. Personally I'd have a lot more respect for someone I was interviewing who was straight up about organising a season themselves and had just skied damn hard (and organised their own social circle) than someone who claimed that being spoonfed a CSIA Level 1 over 16 weeks was somehow more worthy. Of course if you really value the technical development or genuinely want to teach then it may be worthwhile but even then there are other options (e.g. certain N American season passes allow you to add unlimited group lessons on a drop in basis or you can just register for Level 1 courses direct.)

After all it is free

abc, it'd be handy to have a crystal ball to plan this kind of thing, wouldn't it? Laughing

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

good advice from gorilla

Lots of employers are looking for people who have the individuality and the confidence to follow their heart once in while.

Unless you're looking to work for your local council where the ability to blindly conform and go through the motions year on year are highly valued

Help!!

Career Break 2012

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste