snoworskate 0 #1 February 16, 2012 Hey everyone, I'm a frequent reader but rarely post. First of all, I know the 'Can I make a living skydiving?' question has come up a few times on these forums, and from what I have seen the typical answer is 'yes, if you are willing to work your butt off and live extremely inexpensively without retirement, benefits, etc'. Well, I'm not sure I could do that forever, but I'm hoping for some advice on how to do it for a year or so. I'll give you my situation: I'm graduating from college this May and was planning on attending grad school. Unfortunately, I didn't get accepted to the places I was hoping to go. My girlfriend got accepted to a couple places in CA though (Oakland area). So, its looking like I'll have a year off before I re-apply to grad school. I could definitely work a year before re-applying, but the jobs I could get with an undergraduate degree in chemistry would suck and pay ~35k. This is probably one of the only times in my life I could say 'screw it, I'll bum around for a year and enjoy life, then go back to the real world'. I have 227 jumps and a C license right now. I'm planning on getting my coach rating first thing this spring. My question is, if I really wanted to go for it, could I make a living skydiving if only for a year? I was thinking about going crazy in the spring and getting a tandem rating, but since it requires 3 years in the sport I don't think I'm eligible (also, do you have to hold a coach rating for a year?). I was also thinking I could get a video/stills set up and shoot tandems after I gain enough experience, and pack on the side. I have enough in the bank to get a couple hundred jumps and hopefully gain enough experience to start filming. I would probably have to move out to CA or something to do it year round, but that is a possibility because some of the schools I'm interested in are out there. Fortunately, I have the support of my family and girlfriend as long as I re-apply next fall. Is this a possibility or am I crazy? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and I will definitely ask around my home DZ for advice as well, but given that my home DZ is a small cessna DZ there is not too much activity there in the winter. Thanks and blue skies! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lolimfalling 0 #2 February 16, 2012 If your goal is to go to grad school id say make 35k working as a chemist then reapply. I assume your going to grad school for chemistry? If you got rejected now why will they accept you next year? I imagine spending a year working in the chemistry field will look a lot better when you reapply then saying i spent the last year 'screwing it' just my 2 cents Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snoworskate 0 #3 February 16, 2012 I definitely get what you are saying. I would say that my applications last year were way too ambitious and I will dial it back a notch for the next round of apps. Without trying to sound like a cocky a-hole, I have a pretty solid resume and I think it was my choice of top schools and complete lack of safety schools that bit me. I really should be able to get into lower-ranked schools next fall. I am definitely considering just getting a chemistry job for a year. That would be the safe choice. I am just exploring other options, because who doesn't want to take a year off and jump every day? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #4 February 16, 2012 As someone who has made this my living for the last 13 years, I'd say you're much better off taking that 35k a year job and jumping weekends, possibly picking up some coaching work. Tandem video is out of the question for at least 100 more jumps. Being a professional in this industry is something you shouldn't take lightly. Take your time and have fun.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snoworskate 0 #5 February 16, 2012 Fair enough, I appreciate the advice. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm taking it lightly. I know I am inexperienced and have a ton to learn, it just seems like an exciting opportunity and I am really interested to hear the pros and cons. I know I am certainly 100+ jumps away from shooting tandem video, and after reading the video forums I can tell that tandem masters do not jump with just anyone. I know it would take a lot of training. I have heard people say that working can take the fun out of jumping. I was hoping that it wouldn't within a year, but maybe that is not the case. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #6 February 16, 2012 You know the difference between a Tandem master and a large pizza? A large pizza CAN feed a family of four. I'm partly joking, but I'm glad I had my weekday job to raise my family, even if it meant only a couple of hundred jumps a year. But it's your life to lead. I guess we're saying to have options. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #7 February 16, 2012 You'll make more money in Norther California working that 35k a year job. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #8 February 16, 2012 QuoteAs someone who has made this my living for the last 13 years, I'd say you're much better off taking that 35k a year job and jumping weekends, possibly picking up some coaching work. Tandem video is out of the question for at least 100 more jumps. Being a professional in this industry is something you shouldn't take lightly. Take your time and have fun. +1 You ought to spend your money wisely as a weekend jumper. Get your coach rating ASAP, then focus your energy/money/time on becoming an ALL AROUND good skydiver. Get relevant ratings as you accumulate jumps/ experience. There is NO way you are going to make a living in our sport as anything other than a packer with your experience/ jump numbers... ODDLY, though, the highest paid employee on ANY DZ that I have ever worked at was a packer. To me, though, packing is NOT "making a living" skydiving. As a packer you are very-happy to be able to make the first and last load of the day (at least at a busy turbine DZ). Chuck Blue , D-12501 AFF, SL. TM-I, PRO, S&TA Raeford Parachute Center Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squeak 17 #9 February 16, 2012 look further afield, try places like exploration geologists. Many Graduate degree holders can find very decent paying jobs in mining doing extractive metallurgy. In fact here in OZ the mining Corps poach undergrad students and offer them scholarships to come work for them on completion of their undergrads. With starting salaries well in excess of 50KYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
obelixtim 102 #10 February 16, 2012 If you can live on beans and stale bread for a year, I'd say damn the torpedoes, and go for it. All you have to do is survive on the smell of an oily rag for a year. Money isn't everything. You will learn a lot and gain experiences that money can't buy, and you prolly won't get the same chance again for a long time, if ever. Character building stuff.My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davelepka 4 #11 February 16, 2012 QuoteI am definitely considering just getting a chemistry job for a year. That would be the safe choice. I am just exploring other options, because who doesn't want to take a year off and jump every day? Your other problem is finding a job where you'll 'jump every day'. With no ratings, or just a coach, and pretty much 0 camera experience, you're going to have a tough time finding full time, reliable work. Most working jumpers start at their home DZ, where they know them and have watched them learn and earn ratigns. Even then, they typically spend some time being the 'new guy' on the bottom of the totem pole. After a year or two of that, they have some experience and can 'shop around' for a full time slot if they want. But being just barely qualified, and new to the DZ, is generally not a good recipie for finding employment. Take the day job, and jump on the weekends. If you can bag $35k doing that, live like you work at the DZ making $20k, and spend the rest on jumps and gear, and maybe even ratings. If you can get a tandem rating before you go to grad school, and then get some weekend work at a local DZ, that's good money. Even 5 or 6 tandems over the whole weekend will put $150/$200 in your pocket, or at least pay for 6 or 8 fun jumps while there, so it's like jumping all weekend for free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dqpacker 7 #12 February 16, 2012 QuoteQuote As a packer you are very-happy to be able to make the first and last load of the day (at least at a busy turbine DZ). story of my life. but over 900 jumps in a year in a half, is a life i can handle. but i'm broke and live in a old camper. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites wmw999 2,155 #13 February 16, 2012 Which is your bigger goal? If it's to get into (and pay for) grad school, ensure that. If it's to work in skydiving, then yes, packing is for you. I did it for about 4 months in the 70's, and it was totally worth it to me. But I had no outstanding debt and a paid-for car. Make sure that whichever you do is aligned with your longer-term life goals. Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites snoworskate 0 #14 February 16, 2012 Thanks for the advice everyone! You bring up a lot of good points and are probably right. I just don't have the experience to make it work right now. I also didn't think about how little you would actually jump if you were packing. Maybe after working for a year I'd have enough experience/money/time to make it happen in summer of 2013. Anyway, I appreciate the help! Blue skies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites MRNUTS1960 0 #15 February 16, 2012 Like yourself I read alot and seldom post but I wanted to write this time as I once had a chance to chase a crazy dream much like your own. I ask for advice, which is a sign of wisdom, but I lacked the wisdom to know whom to listen to. I ended up serving a tour in the Marine Corps before that chance came around again. Unlike most people I had two chances and I praise God every single day that I didn't say no the second time. I guess I got more out of my tour of duty than myself because 10,000 experts couldn't stop me from dreaming in the real world that time, and now I will go to my grave never wondering what that would have been like. Sure I lived in a camper and survived on peanut butter and popcorn and nearly frooze to death the first winter until I completed my log cabin 7 miles outside of a town of 36 people 75 miles from the next town. It was hard and it was crazy and it was great!!!! I have moved to a town since then, and I am married and have kids. I'm 52 years old, the pastor of a Baptist church where I council people every day that tell me stories of how they had a chance one time to do something really crazy but they played it safe and now they are sorry. The chance has passed them and unlike myself they never got a second chance. I am not telling you to go or to stay. I am telling you that you need to be careful that you don't live your life climbing the ladder of success just to find you put it on the wrong wall. In my life I needed to see if I could do it. I needed to see if that crazy dream was for me our not. Now I have been there and done that, I know it was not. I can now move forward without looking back because my questions have answers. My future is ahead of me and I have found my path that I can live with real passion. I hope you are passionate about chemistry. I know you are presently passionate about skydiving so only let this opportunity pass if you are sure you can walk away and never look back. Live your life without regrets as a time of living by faith on peanut butter and popcorn really is a great foundation to launch from. I am praying for you earnestly that you will know the path that will leave you with the memories that can make you smile and laugh out load when you 80. Perhaps you will end up trying to teach a 52 year old preacher with just 49 jumps how to relax and have fun in the air. Some times we preachers are a little to serious!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites grimmie 177 #16 February 16, 2012 Most DZ's need help outside of skydiving also. The bigger places have gear stores, restaurants/snack bars, maintenance hangars, bad spot vehicles, etc. I have never known a reliable and hardworking person to be out of work at a DZ. Make your lving at the DZ in other ways than jumping and then jump as much as you can. Have fun! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites JerryBaumchen 1,068 #17 February 16, 2012 Hi snow, It is not my day to advise on this. But this is from the original Skies Call book: If I could retrieve the fortune I have spent Worrying where it came from, not caring where it went, I could live the heady lifestyle of Playboy magazine I would see the worldly sight that still remain unseen. It must amount to thousands I’ve squandered on the sport The mark of any jumper, a balance close to naught, But if I had it back in one financial lump I’d go south in the winter And jump and jump and jump. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jlmiracle 7 #18 February 16, 2012 Just a little FYI - if you plan on doing camera once you get up to speed, you have to buy a camera, camera helmet and accessories, not to mention most dz require you have your own editiing equipment. You should really take the $35K a year job. jBe kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Squeak 17 #19 February 17, 2012 Quote, not to mention most dz require you have your own editiing equipment. j REALLY? Ive never seen on that required your own editing gear. That would suckYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites TampaPete 35 #20 February 17, 2012 Take the chem job at $35k. I doubt you’ll be booking much overtime your first year so you will have free time. Use the $35k to buy weekend jump tickets. Apply for grad school next year and you will have bolstered your resume and been able to jump. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites snoworskate 0 #21 February 17, 2012 Thanks for all of the input everyone. You've given me a ton to think about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites davelepka 4 #22 February 17, 2012 QuoteI lived in a camper and survived on peanut butter and popcorn and nearly frooze to death the first winter until I completed my log cabin 7 miles outside of a town of 36 people 75 miles from the next town. I know you are presently passionate about skydiving so only let this opportunity pass if you are sure you can walk away and never look back. I hear what you're trying to say, but you're missing the point. Nobody is telling to guy to bag his dream, just that the reality of the situation is that he's a little too early to live that dream. How would you feel if you drove your camper to that spot in the woods, and discovered that you couldn't chop down a single tree for another year or two? That's what would happen to the guy if he went hunting for jumping work with 200 jumps, no ratings and no cameras. It's just not going to happen. Read the advice given, it all suggested taking the road that would allow him the chance to make the most jumps and the best chance for success. Spending a year and $10k on jumps will have him primed for getting a rating or two, and then actaully being paid to jump. On top of that, he'll be jumping and having a blast the whole year 'getting ready' to fullfill this dream. The way to do that is with the 'day job' that will put $35k in his pocket. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Spills 0 #23 February 17, 2012 Here is an outside opinion from an inexperienced jumper. I’ve been working in my field for over 15 years. I am making a very good salary with absurd benefits. I was engaged and set to be married later this year to someone I thought was a perfect match. I was set to get old like everyone else. Now after a broken engagement and wondering why I’m working in a job that I don’t love. I feel trapped because of my salary that I have gotten accustomed to. Looking back I was probably happier just out of high school when I was working as a full time bicycle mechanic. I was surrounded by friends and loved my job. I’d say fuck it and do it, if it was me. But that’s a personal decision however it’s a decision that’s a lot easier when you are younger and are not tied down by so much. Don’t sell your self out. And as a side note I was lucky to get into skydiving just in time. It probably saved me from being a depressed file of crap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites airtwardo 6 #24 February 17, 2012 Live your life without regrets as a time of living by faith on peanut butter and popcorn really is a great foundation to launch from. I am praying for you earnestly that you will know the path that will leave you with the memories that can make you smile and laugh out load when you 80. Quote Absolutely...the Most 'positive' memories ~ that will make you smile. And that's where making the right choices comes into play. Peanut butter & popcorn may not be the greatest foundation for every successful endeavour. We only have just so much time on this rock, chasing the wrong dream or going down somebody else's path doesn't make the retrospective smiles come easy... When PROFESSIONALS in the 'industry' are telling the OP it may not be a good idea...a waste of time, they're not pissin' on his parade. They are telling it like it is from a BTDT perspective. Skydiving for a living takes having marketable skills...without 'em, living the dream can quickly become a nightmare. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites hcsvader 1 #25 February 17, 2012 Find a DZ you can live on full time while still doing the day job. I did this for my last 2 years in Canada. It was great, I had a real paycheck coming in every week and I got to jump pretty much everyday while working on my coach rating and doing some video. I had a really long commute to work but it was so worth it. If you can get a job close to a large DZ that runs 7 days a week you get the best of both worlds.Have you seen my pants? it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream >:) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. 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wmw999 2,155 #13 February 16, 2012 Which is your bigger goal? If it's to get into (and pay for) grad school, ensure that. If it's to work in skydiving, then yes, packing is for you. I did it for about 4 months in the 70's, and it was totally worth it to me. But I had no outstanding debt and a paid-for car. Make sure that whichever you do is aligned with your longer-term life goals. Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snoworskate 0 #14 February 16, 2012 Thanks for the advice everyone! You bring up a lot of good points and are probably right. I just don't have the experience to make it work right now. I also didn't think about how little you would actually jump if you were packing. Maybe after working for a year I'd have enough experience/money/time to make it happen in summer of 2013. Anyway, I appreciate the help! Blue skies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MRNUTS1960 0 #15 February 16, 2012 Like yourself I read alot and seldom post but I wanted to write this time as I once had a chance to chase a crazy dream much like your own. I ask for advice, which is a sign of wisdom, but I lacked the wisdom to know whom to listen to. I ended up serving a tour in the Marine Corps before that chance came around again. Unlike most people I had two chances and I praise God every single day that I didn't say no the second time. I guess I got more out of my tour of duty than myself because 10,000 experts couldn't stop me from dreaming in the real world that time, and now I will go to my grave never wondering what that would have been like. Sure I lived in a camper and survived on peanut butter and popcorn and nearly frooze to death the first winter until I completed my log cabin 7 miles outside of a town of 36 people 75 miles from the next town. It was hard and it was crazy and it was great!!!! I have moved to a town since then, and I am married and have kids. I'm 52 years old, the pastor of a Baptist church where I council people every day that tell me stories of how they had a chance one time to do something really crazy but they played it safe and now they are sorry. The chance has passed them and unlike myself they never got a second chance. I am not telling you to go or to stay. I am telling you that you need to be careful that you don't live your life climbing the ladder of success just to find you put it on the wrong wall. In my life I needed to see if I could do it. I needed to see if that crazy dream was for me our not. Now I have been there and done that, I know it was not. I can now move forward without looking back because my questions have answers. My future is ahead of me and I have found my path that I can live with real passion. I hope you are passionate about chemistry. I know you are presently passionate about skydiving so only let this opportunity pass if you are sure you can walk away and never look back. Live your life without regrets as a time of living by faith on peanut butter and popcorn really is a great foundation to launch from. I am praying for you earnestly that you will know the path that will leave you with the memories that can make you smile and laugh out load when you 80. Perhaps you will end up trying to teach a 52 year old preacher with just 49 jumps how to relax and have fun in the air. Some times we preachers are a little to serious!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmie 177 #16 February 16, 2012 Most DZ's need help outside of skydiving also. The bigger places have gear stores, restaurants/snack bars, maintenance hangars, bad spot vehicles, etc. I have never known a reliable and hardworking person to be out of work at a DZ. Make your lving at the DZ in other ways than jumping and then jump as much as you can. Have fun! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,068 #17 February 16, 2012 Hi snow, It is not my day to advise on this. But this is from the original Skies Call book: If I could retrieve the fortune I have spent Worrying where it came from, not caring where it went, I could live the heady lifestyle of Playboy magazine I would see the worldly sight that still remain unseen. It must amount to thousands I’ve squandered on the sport The mark of any jumper, a balance close to naught, But if I had it back in one financial lump I’d go south in the winter And jump and jump and jump. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jlmiracle 7 #18 February 16, 2012 Just a little FYI - if you plan on doing camera once you get up to speed, you have to buy a camera, camera helmet and accessories, not to mention most dz require you have your own editiing equipment. You should really take the $35K a year job. jBe kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squeak 17 #19 February 17, 2012 Quote, not to mention most dz require you have your own editiing equipment. j REALLY? Ive never seen on that required your own editing gear. That would suckYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TampaPete 35 #20 February 17, 2012 Take the chem job at $35k. I doubt you’ll be booking much overtime your first year so you will have free time. Use the $35k to buy weekend jump tickets. Apply for grad school next year and you will have bolstered your resume and been able to jump. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snoworskate 0 #21 February 17, 2012 Thanks for all of the input everyone. You've given me a ton to think about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davelepka 4 #22 February 17, 2012 QuoteI lived in a camper and survived on peanut butter and popcorn and nearly frooze to death the first winter until I completed my log cabin 7 miles outside of a town of 36 people 75 miles from the next town. I know you are presently passionate about skydiving so only let this opportunity pass if you are sure you can walk away and never look back. I hear what you're trying to say, but you're missing the point. Nobody is telling to guy to bag his dream, just that the reality of the situation is that he's a little too early to live that dream. How would you feel if you drove your camper to that spot in the woods, and discovered that you couldn't chop down a single tree for another year or two? That's what would happen to the guy if he went hunting for jumping work with 200 jumps, no ratings and no cameras. It's just not going to happen. Read the advice given, it all suggested taking the road that would allow him the chance to make the most jumps and the best chance for success. Spending a year and $10k on jumps will have him primed for getting a rating or two, and then actaully being paid to jump. On top of that, he'll be jumping and having a blast the whole year 'getting ready' to fullfill this dream. The way to do that is with the 'day job' that will put $35k in his pocket. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spills 0 #23 February 17, 2012 Here is an outside opinion from an inexperienced jumper. I’ve been working in my field for over 15 years. I am making a very good salary with absurd benefits. I was engaged and set to be married later this year to someone I thought was a perfect match. I was set to get old like everyone else. Now after a broken engagement and wondering why I’m working in a job that I don’t love. I feel trapped because of my salary that I have gotten accustomed to. Looking back I was probably happier just out of high school when I was working as a full time bicycle mechanic. I was surrounded by friends and loved my job. I’d say fuck it and do it, if it was me. But that’s a personal decision however it’s a decision that’s a lot easier when you are younger and are not tied down by so much. Don’t sell your self out. And as a side note I was lucky to get into skydiving just in time. It probably saved me from being a depressed file of crap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #24 February 17, 2012 Live your life without regrets as a time of living by faith on peanut butter and popcorn really is a great foundation to launch from. I am praying for you earnestly that you will know the path that will leave you with the memories that can make you smile and laugh out load when you 80. Quote Absolutely...the Most 'positive' memories ~ that will make you smile. And that's where making the right choices comes into play. Peanut butter & popcorn may not be the greatest foundation for every successful endeavour. We only have just so much time on this rock, chasing the wrong dream or going down somebody else's path doesn't make the retrospective smiles come easy... When PROFESSIONALS in the 'industry' are telling the OP it may not be a good idea...a waste of time, they're not pissin' on his parade. They are telling it like it is from a BTDT perspective. Skydiving for a living takes having marketable skills...without 'em, living the dream can quickly become a nightmare. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hcsvader 1 #25 February 17, 2012 Find a DZ you can live on full time while still doing the day job. I did this for my last 2 years in Canada. It was great, I had a real paycheck coming in every week and I got to jump pretty much everyday while working on my coach rating and doing some video. I had a really long commute to work but it was so worth it. If you can get a job close to a large DZ that runs 7 days a week you get the best of both worlds.Have you seen my pants? it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream >:) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
