Section 10: Jobs
The following information is courtesy of jason ehrhart (jason@dsd.es.com).
You asked about being a ski instructor. I can't give you the exact
details of what it takes to be an Instructor in Europe, but I do
have experience in the US. Perhaps it will give you a perspective.
Well, (remember all answers are relative to the US) yes, you ought
to be a decent skier (you don't have to be an expert,
but if you
want to teach more than just children or beginners, you'll need to
learn how to be a better skier. It helps to be a very very patient
person. Often you'll be dealing with people who are on a holiday and
are not always in great physical shape, patience with these folks helps
out alot. While you ought to be a good skier, you are also a person who
should be able to lead a group of people and teach them, strong
leadership traits are helpful. First aid and CPR are good things to
know before you begin to teach, because remember, skiing
is a dangerous sport, unpredictable things can and
do happen.
The PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) has a
certification process in which you may be in one of seven different
levels of instructor, ranging from apprentice instructor, through
ski school supervisor. To find out abotu the current requirements
needed to get to a particular level ask your local chapter of the
PSIA, or at your local ski school.
Well, there are a number of ways you can get started. If you've
never skied before, it would be a good idea to get some miles under
your belt before you try to take on teaching others to ski. :)
I've seen people show up to teach with only one year of skiing, but
often it is tough to help folks until you've had about 3-4 years of
skiing. Many ski schools will only take instructors with prior
experience. This often involves having a letter of recommendation
from your old ski school. There are also a _few_ ski schools who
will take first year instructors. I know of a few in the the
Intermountain West which do this, they include, Park City, Park West,
Brighton, Elk Meadows. I'm sure there are more and instructors who
read this can perhaps add to the list.
US Ski instructors can read the Professional Ski Instructors of
America's ATM (American Teaching Method) which is put out by the
PSIA. The book goes over the basic "approved" technique surrounding
a ski school lesson as prescribed by the PSIA. It include the
teaching progression, teach philosophy, training, and the
certification process.
Well, I taught from 8am to 5pm then I drove to a real job as a
computer consultant. During the summer I did contruction during the
days. Teaching skiing takes a few years to develop clients, until
then the pay is awful. Be prepared to have another job during the
first few years. I also know instructors who travel to the "other"
hemisphere to teach during the off-season. Boy, talk about a die
hard life style.
In the US a starting instructor without a PSIA certification can
expect to get about 45% of what they take in, figure a single
lesson at about $15. Once you are certified you can get up to 60%
of what you take in (depending on your current level of
certification). We had 140 instructors on our ski school,
if everybody takes ten people we'd need to have 1400 lessons a
day for us all to make money. We are all sub-contractors which means
that you don't get paid unless you teach. Our ski school had about
350 lessons a day on good days, so lots of us had weeks where we
only taught once or twice. Like I said up earlier, be prepared for
a second job for survival money.
If you stay healthy, all your life. I have a friend who is 85 and he
still teaches!
Old enough to have the patience, strength, and knowledge. Our youngest
was 17 years old. But, I don't see why a mature person couldn't start
earlier if they had the drive and the desire. It does require inter-
personal interaction, so often younger people can lack the people
skills needed to be an effective instructor. You also have to
remember, many ski instructors are expected to do more around the
mountains than just teach skiing, if you witness an accident, you
should know enough first aid to be able to help in a responsible manner.