Work as TI

[skydivex3m 0]

A friend and I are planning on getting our TI-rating next spring/summer in the states, and then work as TI's for a couple of months over there as well after that, before going back to Denmark.. Does anyone have any suggestions where to get work, and if its even possible as a new TI???

https://icarusanddaedalusadventures.blogspot.com/

[Andy9o8 0]

A non-citizen who does not have permanent residency status ("green card") in the US may only earn wages of any kind in the US if his/her visa specifically permits it. Otherwise, it is a violation of US immigration law, and the person could be subject to deportation and permanent banishment from the US. This applies to non-citizens working at US dropzones as much as anyone/anywhere else.

If you're not a citizen of the US, and you want to work legally in the US as a TI (or even, for example, as a packer), you need to get the proper visa to do so. So that should be your first step.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

What he is trying to say is no one will answer you on this forum and you will have to find a place to pay you in cash, which someone will do.

[skydivex3m 0]

Yeah i kinda figured that out :) I completely understand.. and thanks for the answer.. I know abt the work permission rules over there... Just want to know if we, as new TI's with wet ink on the card, are able to get work for a period of 2-3 months.. Private messages are welcome :)
Thanks again...

https://icarusanddaedalusadventures.blogspot.com/

[Andy9o8 0]

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Yeah i kinda figured that out :) I completely understand.. and thanks for the answer.. I know abt the work permission rules over there... Just want to know if we, as new TI's with wet ink on the card, are able to get work for a period of 2-3 months.. Private messages are welcome :)
Thanks again...

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Name: kim larsen
Country: Denmark
City: Århus

So you apparently have no problem entering another country with the intent to deliberately break its laws, and are looking for people to assist you (and probably participate with you) in doing so. Yes, that shows a great deal of respect.

[skydivex3m 0]

Just where did I write that I am planning on working in the US without some kind of work permission. That being a green card, or an other kind of permission?? You said that.. Not I...

This was not meant to be a discussion abt Laws and rules. I was just trying to find out if anyone are willing to hire TI's with little or no experience, and where that might be. Maybe some states are more likely to need TI's or something. I Don't know, and I'm seeking some infos. Thats all..

https://icarusanddaedalusadventures.blogspot.com/

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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So you apparently have no problem entering another country with the intent to deliberately break its laws, and are looking for people to assist you (and probably participate with you) in doing so. Yes, that shows a great deal of respect.

Actually TM summer work is a good example of where the US guest worker visa programm utterly fails. During the winter the good jobs (all the jobs) can be filled by Americans, but in the summer there seems to be a shortage every year.

[skydivex3m 0]

Exactly the kind of answers I was looking for :) Is the shortage larger in some states than others?

https://icarusanddaedalusadventures.blogspot.com/

[mutumbo 0]

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A friend and I are planning on getting our TI-rating next spring/summer in the states, and then work as TI's for a couple of months over there as well after that, before going back to Denmark.. Does anyone have any suggestions where to get work, and if its even possible as a new TI???

Well you gotta get experience somewhere, nobody gets out of training with 1,000 tandem jumps under their belt, so yeah im sure places would hire you for a summer, so long as you show them youre qualified.

Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

[mutumbo 0]

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Exactly the kind of answers I was looking for :) Is the shortage larger in some states than others?

id look more toward the southern vacation hotspots, where people are more likely to try things "just that one time to say i did it" kinda places.
But this is just a shot in the dark, could be COMPLETELY wrong.

Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

[iowa 0]

I don't know where you're going for your rating. Once you have it go for the bigger metro or the tourist spots.

DZs near Chicago usually could use one or two more than they have during the weekend.

ymmv.

Keith

''Always do sober what you said you would do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.'' - Ernest Hemingway

[davelepka 4]

I think the problem you'll have is finding work mid-season, and then only for a few months. Most of the seasonal DZ tend to look for staff who will be there for the whole season, say from April thru Oct. Once they have their satff in place for the season, those jumpers will get first dibs on all the work.

There are DZ that don't hire (or can't find) enough staff, or who get much busier than they expected and will need additional help. You may be able to lock into a few months of work at a place like that.

This is where a work visa will help out. If you're limited to looking at only those DZs that will pay you cash under the table, now you have to find a DZ that is both understaffed and will pay under the table. If have the work visa, you'll just have more choices.

Another idea is to look for packing work. It's easier to find, and easier to find where they pay under the table. You'll be working on a DZ, making money to jump with, and if you're there with a tandem rating and somebody calls in sick, or they have a busy day, they can pull you out of the packing room and get you in the plane.

[Andy9o8 0]

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Another idea is to look for packing work. It's easier to find, and easier to find where they pay under the table. You'll be working on a DZ, making money to jump with, and if you're there with a tandem rating and somebody calls in sick, or they have a busy day, they can pull you out of the packing room and get you in the plane.

Or to put it another way, if he's a pale-faced, English-speaking Euro boy in a niche market, people will wink and smile without a moment's moral angst. The indignation is reserved for sepia-toned wetbacks who give us cheap produce and mulch our gardens. Kind of like Animal Farm, where all the animals in the barnyard are equal, but the pigs dropzones are a little more equal. No double standard there.

Oh, shit - I'm being a real dick again. My bad.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Someone had to take my place.

[Andy9o8 0]

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Someone had to take my place.

Impossible - you're irreplaceable.

[davelepka 4]

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Or to put it another way, if he's a pale-faced, English-speaking Euro boy in a niche market, people will wink and smile without a moment's moral angst. The indignation is reserved for sepia-toned wetbacks

No, I'll put it this way - if another skydiver from anywhere in the world works his way to being qualified to become a TI, and then wants to travel to the US to spend the time, money and effort to earn the rating, then I have no problem with them hanging out and hauling some meat for the rest of the summer.

This is a small industry, and if they can find a DZ in need, then I'm in full support of them doing the work. We're talking about fellow skydivers who are looking to spend a couple of months in the states and make a few bucks. What will it amount to, $3000? If one of them orders a rig from UPT or Sunpath, the money comes right back.

If you want to turn this into something else, and compare it to a much bigger problem that impacts the US economy, then knock yourself out.

[Para5-0 0]

I respectfully disagree. Taking New TI's from over seas who are coming here strictly to make as much money as possible is not good for the sport. I see enough of these guys already who could care less about actually training a student, or what the winds are like. Each tandem is just another dollar they are taking with them as they exit the U.S. laughing.
These guys are in it for jump numbers only..And I am not saying the OP is like that, I am just saying, stay over there. Go to New Zealand, or here is an idea stay there and work.
Why would we want to babysit and waste our time educationg a guy who is clearly here to get as much as he can and leave? Sorry for being politically non correct so flame away.

[skydivex3m 0]

andy9o8 and Para5-0: I had no idea that you guys would be able to read so much about me between the lines... I gotta say Im really impressed.. It must be so easy to get to know people, when you just need a few lines, and then can tell some ones personality and their intentions.. I envy you...

And to all you others. Thanks for you replies. It has been a great help :)

https://icarusanddaedalusadventures.blogspot.com/

[Andy9o8 0]

Well, I guess I'll put it this way: I see a lot of American skydivers right here on DZ.com bitch bitterly and endlessly about people working in the US illegally (AND the people that hire/pay them) - in the food, hotel, construction and landscape industries (for example); they wax sanctimonious (not that I ever do that ) about the sanctity of US immigration and visa laws - and yet they seem to have no problem with, and even encourage, skydivers coming to the US on tourist visas violating US immigration laws (and probably tax laws, too) by working under the table in the skydiving industry. I find the double standard .... disappointing.

Just to keep the record clear, my initial comment to the OP up-thread (post #2) was simply to inform him of the status of US law and urge him "If you're not a citizen of the US, and you want to work legally in the US as a TI (or even, for example, as a packer), you need to get the proper visa to do so. So that should be your first step." That was it. It was only after further comments back and forth between him and others, clearly implying that he probably intended to work under the table, with others tacitly encouraging him to do so, that my own commentary took the further direction it did.

[Andy9o8 0]

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I had no idea that you guys would be able to read so much about me between the lines... I gotta say Im really impressed.. It must be so easy to get to know people, when you just need a few lines, and then can tell some ones personality and their intentions..

Excellent! Now you've insulted our intelligence, too. I have to say, you're doing quite well.

[davelepka 4]

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Taking New TI's from over seas who are coming here strictly to make as much money as possible is not good for the sport. I see enough of these guys already who could care less about actually training a student, or what the winds are like. Each tandem is just another dollar they are taking with them as they exit the U.S. laughing.
These guys are in it for jump numbers only..And I am not saying the OP is like that, I am just saying, stay over there. Go to New Zealand, or here is an idea stay there and work.
Why would we want to babysit and waste our time educationg a guy who is clearly here to get as much as he can and leave? Sorry for being politically non correct so flame away.

There's nothing wrong with what you said, but I don't think that this situation is representative of what you said.

You're talking about an established, rated, TI coming from overseas to work for the season. These guys will call ahead, and have a slot reserved for them at a DZ where they will be a full-time staffer, and probably spend very little money. They will take work away from the locals who have 'day jobs' and only work weekends at the DZ. I'm not a fan of those guys either.

The OP is talking about coming to the states to get a rating, which involves spending upwards of $1000 on just the course and the jumps. After that, he wanted to spend a couple of months trying to use the new rating.

The differences are that he's comining into the work market mid-season. The only place he'll find work is a DZ is understaffed. The opportunity for US citizens to work at such a DZ was present at the beginning of the seaon when the OP was still in Europe with no rating. If they didn't take advatage of the opportunity at the beginning of the season, then the work is up for grabs.

Beyond that, if he does find a mid-season slot, there's no way he'll be taking work away from the local staffers. We all know how it works, the full timers, and jumpers with seniority get the work when things are slow. There's no way that an out-of-towner, who shows up mid-season, with 12 paid tandems to his name is going to get work over a local staff member on a slow day.

The guy is coming to the US to spend money. If he wants to look around and see if he can pick up some scraps at a DZ somewhere, so be it. He's not looking to secure a slot for a full season, and he's not offering to work for $15/jump. Maybe he'll get something, maybe he'll get nothing, but there's no way he's going to take work away from an established, deserving, local staff member.

[airtwardo 6]

The guy is coming to the US to spend money. If he wants to look around and see if he can pick up some scraps at a DZ somewhere, so be it. He's not looking to secure a slot for a full season, and he's not offering to work for $15/jump. Maybe he'll get something, maybe he'll get nothing, but there's no way he's going to take work away from an established, deserving, local staff member.

...and to add to that, what better way to quickly become a quality instructor than to experience several different approaches regarding student operations.

I kinda see it as a win win all around, the OP gets to see something of the U.S. by traveling/working, shorthanded DZ's get a TM with some 'color' (boring people don't do stuff like this)...and the sport in general gets an instructor that's well rounded with several teaching experiences under his belt.

I suggested to the OP in a PM that he also check the boogie schedules during the summer, they too are often short handed and might be an ideal place to not only get temp work but also network a slot for a while at an established DZ.

I wish I had the time and 'spirit' to be a traveling tandem gypsy for a summer...talk about memories for a lifetime, we're a small community, even considering 'worldwide' status...we should encourage people in our ranks. It's always more interesting to help someone achieve a dream than dismiss it for GP.

Hate the game not the players!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[jf951 1]

give lodi a shot.
i know bill dause hires enough TI's in the summer that he could start his own country.

but ppl on here don't like lodi so there wont be many backing this up.

Jump more, Bitch less.

[Para5-0 0]

"And I am not saying the OP is like that"

Must have missed the above line when you read the response. If I have misjudged, I apologize, but let us know why would you come to the States for three month's? The appearance is:
1. Get experience (Jump Numbers)
2. Make money in the U.S.
Is there work where you live?

Unfortunately money is the bottom line in many of these situations. I can not say I blame you or that I may not do the same. The bottom line and at the end of the day we all know what the deal is, we have seen it over and over again. If it makes you feel better there probably is some DZO's that will hire you and let you make as much as you can. If you make the effort to do it the legal way then so be it. Let us know your motives and plans so we do not have to make assumptions based on loosely asked questions.

[hairymango 0]

I really wish that you would get laid and chill the f@ck out