Job as a packer?

[JumpsOffCliffs 0]

i feel like the "new guy" i always try to avoid, but i am a new guy, and dont know how things work at a "average" DZ

The point im trying to make though is; is it possible to get a job as a packer, for either a *profit*(assuming it works that way) or at least is it common place to be a packer and get some sort of free/discounts?

or any other suggestions that get me to jump on little to no income would be nice...

[Halfpastniner 0]

Packing at my dropzone is the only way I could afford to jump. Get a real job mon-friday then pack on the weekends and put it all towards jumping.

Plus if yours on staff you might get some discounted jumps.

BASE 1384

[JumpsOffCliffs 0]

well i cant get a job, and figured packing would be nice exposure to the sport, and cheap work on weekends.

it wont be so bad when some money legal issues get cleared up...but eh, its kinda of a tide me over thing

[Andy9o8 0]

If the only consideration is how much money you can make, look at what you might make on, say, a single weekend day as a packer, and then look at what you might make working about 7 hours at a minimum wage job.

Current minimum wage - $7.25 x 7= about $50, less +/- 18% withholding = about $42.
Packing - average about $5 or $6 straight cash per rig x however many rigs you personally get to pack at that particular DZ on that particular day. That obviously varies with the DZ, the day, the competition (other packers) and how much people are willing to trust you to pack their rig properly.

The non-monetary benefits to packing include learning a lot about gear (and that knowledge is priceless), becoming part of the DZ's community, learning about skydiving just by being at the DZ, etc. And if you help around the DZ between pack jobs, you might get compensated for that, too, either in money or in jump tickets (depending on the DZ).

[peregrinerose 0]

Packing is a job, and if you pack for a DZ, chances are you'll get hit with a 1099 at the end of the year for packing DZ owned rigs (student, tandem, staff) and depending on the DZ, sport rigs may be on there too.

I'm not sure why you 'can't' get a job, but better consider all facets of packing, including the tax/legal ramifications of it.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Andy9o8 0]

Good points. Of course, all earned income, even from, say, babysitting or mowing lawns, is considered taxable. Yes, that goes for packing, too. If you pack and get paid "through" the DZ, it's reasonable to expect the DZ to issue a 1099. A private transaction, strictly between a jumper and a packer (if the DZ permits that) would obviously be more difficult to monitor - although that still would not relieve the packer of the obligation to report and pay taxes on that income.

[peregrinerose 0]

Plus you actually pay more taxes as being an independent contractor, you have to pay both halves of social security tax.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Some thoughts on packers from the perspective of a customer:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3374197#3374197

It has been my observation that those packers without significant skydiving experience have a really steep learning curve... sometimes the CONSEQUENCES of gear issues are hard for the novices to understand.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[JumpsOffCliffs 0]

The minimum wage job just doesnt work out for me because the time requirements(college student...just every time i post i feel like im getting repetitive saying it over and over)
while i was hoping to be a weekend warrior type of packer, like helping out on saturday/sunday.
just to make like(shot in the dark)...50$ a day?

mostly for exposure and knowledge, a small bit of cash will be nice. just things along those lines

[Andy9o8 0]

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..50$ a day?

Depends. Which DZ we talking about here?

P.S. - you're a student skydiver, yet your profile says "Wing suit flying and base jumping." Explain?

[JumpsOffCliffs 0]

haha, i misinterpreted the question when it asked about discipline...wing and base jumping are what im interested in...but i am a student lol

i am still a student though...wanting to change that though

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

More on packers from my (customer) perspective:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3217786#3217786

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[JumpsOffCliffs 0]

you have very helpful posts glide, and i will admit that these are facets of a packer i did not think about.
Mostly because i imagined packing the tandem rigs and student rigs.
but i see how your advice/perspective/desire in a packer still stands, because the TI is still going to want the chute packed in a certain way, while the DZO may want a student rig to be different.

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

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just to make like(shot in the dark)...50$ a day?

Take a stab at the math:

-- I pay $6.00 for a pack job. (When I use a packer)
-- Assume you are a slow packer who takes 20 minutes to pack a rig.
-- Assume that there is enough demand that you have enough rigs to pack all day.
-- Assume that you work 8 hr days.
-- Assume that you have to pay $1.00 per pack job to your supervising rigger. FAR Sec. 105.43 The main parachute must have been packed within 180 days before the date of its use by a certificated parachute rigger, the person making the next jump with that parachute, or a non-certificated person under the direct supervision of a certificated parachute rigger.

That would be: $5 x 3 x 8 = $120/day before taxes.

If you can pack 4 rigs an hour = $160/day before taxes.

If you can pack 6 rigs an hour = $240/day before taxes.

I know packers who have done as many as 90 pack jobs in a day..... you do the math!

Good packers often get tips too!

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[Andy9o8 0]

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I know packers who have done as many as 90 pack jobs in a day..... you do the math!

I'm doing the math on how many malfunctions a day they pack.

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

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I'm doing the math on how many malfunctions a day they pack.

Remarkably... damned few.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[Titanman2789 0]

I'm a packer. Unfortunately, the 1099 does come (at least at my DZ) and it sucks to pay taxes on money you made the year before packing DZ owned gear. But at my DZ I can write off just about everything from gear I buy here on DZ.com or through the DZ itself - helmets etc., staff shirts, food, miles driven on my car, and whatever else you can think of that relates to skydiving. Though depending on how busy your dz is, you may not get to jump if you are working weekends. As a packer you will probably only get first and last load at a busy dropzone on the weekends.
These days I keep my ass on the ground on the weekends and jump during the week. Not as many people to jump with, but I still made almost $200 on thursday and made 7 jumps. Not bad

[Andy9o8 0]

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at my DZ I can write off just about everything from gear I buy here on DZ.com or through the DZ itself - helmets etc., staff shirts, food, miles driven on my car, and whatever else you can think of that relates to skydiving.

Not to be a buzz-kill, but I hope you don't get audited, because you might be told that not all of that is deductible as a business expense, even for a 1099 independent contractor. The IRS can be real dicks when reviewing the taxes of the self-employed. (As an aside: you and the DZ might even get told that you ought to be a W-2 wage-earner.) For example, if your driving is deemed "commuting" strictly between home and work (especially if you don't work out of a home office), that deduction might be disallowed. (But if you leave home, and then pack at more than one DZ before returning home, travel between one DZ and another one probably is deductible.) Food - maybe, maybe not. Staff shirt - maybe, but only if the DZ requires you to wear it while you pack. Helmet - for packing, probably not, unless actively jumping is a requirement by the DZ of your working there as a packer. Or unless the packers regularly get beaten with crowbars, in which case it's probably reasonable safety equipment for the job.