 Poster: A snowHead
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Have you done it? Was it worth it? Do you regret doing it?!
The above questions are the simple version of this post! In realitiy things are not as clear in my head and the more I think about it the more unclear it gets!!
The problem starts with the fact that I left school then straight to uni then straight into full time work. Now 4 years into working life at the age of 25 I have a decent job, renting my own place, a car, a horse, a dog ect and I'm panicing that I have settled down / tied myself down with so many responsibities before I'm ready but for me to do anything about this would mean giving up so much?! But then I think that if I don't do it now I never will and I'll regret it!!!
I really am swaying towards the idea that I would love to do a season but this would involve quiting my job and selling my horse. I know it would be an experience but would it be worth 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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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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Millie10, what's to regret?
WHat is the worst that can happen?
You don't like it and come back to the UK and pick up where you left off.
We did our 1st Season in our late 30s and still doing them (sort of) five years later!
Yes we sold house, cars, furniture and gave up very good jobs to do it.... do we regret it? NOPE!!
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Marcellus
When you say sort of, what do you mean?
Reason I ask, my wife and I are in our mid 30's and been wondering how we cold do this, or work in the winter sports/ holiday sector.
cheers
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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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Had more of an impact on my life than uni. Well worth it.
But pack your big liver.
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Go and do it and don't look back!! I left a good, well-paid and secure job to go travelling. Sold my car, rented out my house and off we went. (I'm fortunate that my OH loves to travel too!)
We initially planned to do a year in Australia and then back to normality... Did our year out in Oz which included working in a ski resort for 4 months. We both skied and saw an advert in the local paper for staff, off we went! Then couldn't face coming home so went and did a season in Canada last winter, I worked sailing (my other hobby!) last summer and am doing some teaching for interski this winter before sailing all summer again.
Go and do it, it's scary to leave behind the comfort of a good salary and consistent work but you won't regret it. As said above if you do hate it come back and slot into your old life again.
Doing a season and having to live with more limited means certainly makes you realise what's important in life, as per the Guardian article, the designer hand bags get ditched and you'll spend all of your excess income on Gore-Tex!!!
Good luck, Gregg.
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You don't have to quit- I'm on sabbatical until April as is the fiancé. We work 2 days a week out here and saved for 6 months so that we didn't have to chalet slave.
Also you could loan the horse out.
Easy.
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| Nadenoodlee wrote: |
You don't have to quit- I'm on sabbatical until April as is the fiancé. We work 2 days a week out here and saved for 6 months so that we didn't have to chalet slave.
Also you could loan the horse out.
Easy. |
This is the magic word. Not having to work makes a big difference too although you may want to do some work for purely social reasons.
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cran
cran
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Do a ski season, then get a summer season doing something else or just do whatever turns up until the next ski season and repeat for as long as you want...
What is the point of having a 9-5 job just to pay for a house and other stuff that you only need because you have a 9-5 job...
Just do it! It's great!
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| cran wrote: |
What is the point of having a 9-5 job just to pay for a house and other stuff that you only need because you have a 9-5 job...
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Very well put.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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as an almost 40 year old, who did Uni, got the job, got the house, got the family - much as I love it all...I say do it!
25 is nothing. Another 40 years of working left!
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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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| mr ted wrote: |
Marcellus
When you say sort of, what do you mean?
Reason I ask, my wife and I are in our mid 30's and been wondering how we cold do this, or work in the winter sports/ holiday sector.
cheers |
I own a company that specialises in "Long term" accommodation in Ski Resorts, so although we are based in the UK we have the flexibility to be where ever we want for however long we want and can still work as everything is "web based".
At this very moment I'm in Meribel!
So whilst we aren't "doing a season per se" we are able to live in resort and remote work.
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fatbob,
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This is the magic word.
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Dead right. Although I didn't have a sabbatical, I ended up going back to my old job after a ski season in Switzerland, and boy was I grateful - the job market was dreadful when I returned, and I was lucky to be re-employed. But then again, my starting point was an established career which I wasn't ready to give up: the OP may not be in that position, she talks about a 'decent job' rather than a career. There's something to be said for this too, although it wasn't for me:
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Do a ski season, then get a summer season doing something else or just do whatever turns up until the next ski season and repeat for as long as you want...
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You know it makes sense.
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Yeah it's perfectly possible to pack in a steady job, sell your car, rent your house, etc...and do a season, and then return to "normality" afterwards. I did it when I was 29 and picked up my career when I returned home.
The season was the best thing I ever did and like someone else said, it gave me more than Uni did. Sure there were lowpoints but these are far outweighed by the good. Your ability on snow will rocket and I have many cherished memories - which are keeping me sane during these ski-lean years with a young family!
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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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Before I was in a similar situation and when I asked people they said "DEFINATELY do it while you can".
You can find a new job when you get back (you have 4 years experience). You can find another flat to rent. Friends and family can take care of the pets. Unless you have a long term girlfriend/wife/kids/mortgage you really have nothing to hold you down.
Now, Im in the middle of the craziest season you could imagine. A hotel where the police were called 6 times in 7 days, where one member of staff assaulted a manager and was told by the police to "go to bed", where we didnt get paid for several weeks work, where we worked 70 hour weeks for 300 euros a month, where health and safety threatened to shut us down so we deep cleaned for 3 days to pass the inspection only for the hotel to get shut down in the end anyway! Where we all got made reduntant and evicted from our homes with 2 days to find alternative living arrangements or accept free travel home (and thats only a fraction of the stories!)
But on the flip side the same experience has opened my eyes to a whole nother way of life - on Friday night my friends were planning where to go drinking that night - I was planning where to live the next day! Great moutain air, exericise and my favorite past time every day. Ive met some awesome interesting people and skied some epic epic powder.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times".
Sure beats a 9-5 in the winter in the UK...
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Poster: A snowHead
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Pedantica,
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she talks about a 'decent job' rather than a career
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I think in her other post, with all those brilliant photos of her holiday in Saalbach she talked about being a physio - so she can make a very decent career out of that.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Pamski, ah right. In which case it depends how easy it is to move in and out of it. I wouldn't know.
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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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Millie10, You've no doubt got the classic post ski holiday blues! Every time I leave it gets more difficult but here are my experiences but ultimately you're young and should do it.
I took a 12 month sabbatical to go and train as a ski instructor in Canada, taught over there for a bit, then moved on to New Zealand and then Japan picking fruit and such things until I got a ski instructing job. Since then I taught a couple of weeks a year in Italy but use time off work now purely for ski holidays. The instructor thing doesn't come cheap and should only be recommended if you are either loaded or want to actually learn to teach-there are cheaper ways of spending a season in the mountains.
Did someone mention you're a physio? Not sure of the ins and outs of how transferable your skills would be (I'm thinking more along the lines of legalities, licenses etc?) otherwise bar work etc. Chalet host is another one, they get paid little but seem to have a cracking social life and food, bed, lift pass, and gear hire (all you need) is usually included. How much slope time you have depends on how organised you are, if you're organised and effient this can be several hours a day.
I'm going out to Canada with work this year then plan to ski there and take the Mrs on a fact finding mission to weigh up if we'd like to move there. The idea of living near several ski areas which I can spend weekends and days off at whilst having a well paid job I've decided appeals more to me than scratching a living being a ski bum-not that I'm knocking anyone who has chosen to do that it's just not for me at the ripe old age of 28 with kids etc in the immediate future.
Or option 3 spend all your leave and save money for as many ski hols as you can do while keeping your current job. I get stacks of leave so I have in the past spent 6 weeks of a season skiing several times which for some is more than enough whilst just doesn't cut it for others. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Pedantica, Quote:
she talks about a 'decent job' rather than a career
I think in her other post, with all those brilliant photos of her holiday in Saalbach she talked about being a physio - so she can make a very decent career out of that.
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An acquaintance did a season out in Cham as a physio/sports massage– so you may find it possible to work while you’re out there. She did shift work so still had plenty of time to ski as there are plenty of people needing a sports massage in the evenings after the lifts have shut.
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Do a ski season, then get a summer season doing something else or just do whatever turns up until the next ski season and repeat for as long as you want...
What is the point of having a 9-5 job just to pay for a house and other stuff that you only need because you have a 9-5 job...
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To have a carrer, stability, security for the future i.e. pension and in case of sickness, to be near friends and family, to hjave enough disposable cash to go on nice holidays, eat nice food etc etc... There are an awful lot of reasons that people have jobs!
Although saying that, if someone is seriously thinking about jacking it all in and doing a season then the only thing to regret is not doing it probably!
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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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I did (half) a season after uni (broke my back so had to come home...). Don't regret it at all (including the back!) but I probably wouldn't do it again, not the same way anyway. If I did it again I would be a bit more canny about who I worked for. I worked for a major TO in their flagship hotel and we did waaaay too many hours IMO, we were doing 2-3 hours per day more than one of my mates who was doing the same job for the same company in another resort. And the pay is terrible, at least working in a chalet rather than a hotel you would have more opportunity to earn tips.
Having said that, the social life working in a big hotel was great and I was doing kitchen portering and night portering on rotation so loads and loads of time to ski - more than anyone else in the hotel IMO.
I think the way forward for me will be the option to take a paid sabbatical in a few year's time when I become eligible and do it in a bit of style...
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if it's anything like working a sailing season, i'd definitely recommend it!
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You should absolutely go do a season! Once you get to 30, things like working holiday visas and travelling on a whim become a lot harder. Working at ski resorts for a couple of seasons was one of the best things I've ever done. Working at a place where everyone is there to have fun, meeting a bunch of awesome people and getting to ride or ski nearly every day was awesome. Plus there's the chance to see a new country and live somewhere else for a while. Go and look at http://www.snowseasoncentral.com/why-work-a-snow-season for a bunch of good reasons. More generally, have a look at www.snowseasoncentral.com for advice on how to get jobs, places to stay and party and generally anything else to do with working at a ski resorts.
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Do it. I managed to wangle 13 weeks off work when I was 25 to ski and it was the best time of my life. Be warned tho, all you will think about after you have done it is how you can keep doing it every year and whether you should move permanently  I
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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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alasdair.graham@hotmail.c, the OP never came back to the thread (which is now ancient) and the post preceding yours was spam!
Btw, are you sure you want a user name which enables random internet weirdos to email you?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Sorry to promote on here but I wrote an e-book that may help with your decision as I completed my first season in the French Alps in April 2012. It was a crazy few months, the hardest job I've ever had, and the book gives you the ins and outs.
It's called Chalet Boy - The Diary of My First Ski Season (Aged 31) and is available at Amazon for Kindles, tablets, smartphones and PCs.
Whether you get the book or not - definitely give the season a try, whats the worst that can happen!
Good luck!
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FAQ
