JT_76 0 #1 January 6, 2006 I'm just getting started in the sport but I love it and think it would be great to someday be a jumpmaster. I know a lot of these guys do it for a living and I was just curious as to what kind of money one could expect to make in the field. Pilots also if anyone knows. Thanks a lot! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #2 January 6, 2006 Enough to eat ramen noodles. Top Ramen if you have a really good week! Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NelKel 0 #3 January 6, 2006 Millions!_________________________________________ Someone dies, someone says how stupid, someone says it was avoidable, someone says how to avoid it, someone calls them an idiot, someone proposes rule chan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GravityGirl 0 #4 January 6, 2006 It really depends on what drop zone you are at. Is it seasonal? What kind of volume do they do? I used to "live" on my income as an AFF JM. I lived in a van and headed south every winter. If I chose to work at a DZ like Skydive Chicago or Perris, it would be a different story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peckerhead 0 #5 January 6, 2006 I make almost enough to pay for my jumps. ....Almost Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wrightskyguy 1 #6 January 6, 2006 I support myself and my twelve brothers and sisters on my instructor pay with enough left over to feed a small Peruvian village, our DZO does give premium pay. John Wright World's most beloved skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
micro 0 #7 January 7, 2006 kinda interesting that you didn't get many serious answers, eh, and even then, not even any ballpark dollar amounts. but the non-serious ones do tell you something about the reality of the situation, don't they. i had lunch recently w/ a tandem guy at a mid-sized mid-western dz and asked him the same questions, at least related to making money just doing tandems. he said that if you have your 500 required jumps and pay your $800 for the course/rating or whatever, you can make that back in a couple of weeks if you are at a busy tandem dz. at this particular dz, he makes $35 per tandem. since he started doing tandems, he hasn't paid for any of his own gear or any fun jumps. that has been subsidized (sp?) 100% by his tandem income. however, the downsize is that he doesn't fun jump as much as he'd like, since this dz is mostly a weekend dz. hope this helps some. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #8 January 8, 2006 Not enough to quit my day job. Living in Seattle, with all it's bad weather, I make about 2oo jumps a year, with maybe 80 being tandems. That payes me about $2500 a year. I don't take money home, I just use it to pay for fun jumps for me and my wife. Some people do make a living skydiving, but it can be a pretty austere lifestyle unless you own a business, such as a successful DZ, video company, or gear manufacturing company. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NelKel 0 #9 January 8, 2006 Working 7 days a week at Spaceland I was jumpig between 70 to 100 tandems a month during the summer. I was earning between 1000, and 1500 every two weeks. It was a really good living for a Tandem I. It paid for the tandem course in less that a month. However getting on at a full time turbine DZ is not easy. Good Luck!_________________________________________ Someone dies, someone says how stupid, someone says it was avoidable, someone says how to avoid it, someone calls them an idiot, someone proposes rule chan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazydiver 0 #10 January 8, 2006 At many of the busy DZs a person can make 40-50 jumps per week. I was at a mid sized DZ this summer and averaged between 30 and 40 jumps per week, of which 20-25 of them were on just each weekend alone. Tandems you can do more numbers and than AFF and tandem skydives involve a lot less work than AFF. With AFF and video, a person must jump and put wear and tear on their personal gear as well. All in all, as stated before, unless a person has a successful rigging business or DZ or what not, its not a very good paying job. At a busy DZ a person can expect to make between 400 and 1000 work jumps per year...which may sound like a lot, but after taxes..its not much. You do the math. Cheers, Travis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NelKel 0 #11 January 8, 2006 which may sound like a lot, but after taxes..its not much. You do the math. <<<<< Tax shelter. Anytime you buy gear it is a write off._________________________________________ Someone dies, someone says how stupid, someone says it was avoidable, someone says how to avoid it, someone calls them an idiot, someone proposes rule chan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazydiver 0 #12 January 8, 2006 Quote Tax shelter. Anytime you buy gear it is a write off. Yep. And I do. However...the more tandems you do, the less gear you need. I know some poeple who do tandems and don't even own their own gear anymore. Not much to write off after gear. Some people manage to squeeze mileage in there somehow. Cheers, Travis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akey 0 #13 January 8, 2006 Just out of interest, in the UK, the typical tandem is about £220 (about $390). If the instructor is only making about $35 (£20) does that mean the DZ is getting like £200? If this is the case, does the DZ make loads of money, or am i missing something here... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #14 January 8, 2006 QuoteJust out of interest, in the UK, the typical tandem is about £220 (about $390). If the instructor is only making about $35 (£20) does that mean the DZ is getting like £200? If this is the case, does the DZ make loads of money, or am i missing something here... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> DZs have plenty of overhead expenses. For example, this month I have to ship 4 reserves and a couple of tandem harnesses to the factory,_ for inspections. We also have to re-line two or three tandem mains. I also have to send a few Cypri for inspections and replace batteries in a few others. All during a month when we will probably not sell any jump tickets. Airplanes, hangars, manifestors, etc. are all expensive. Then Northern European and Canadian, etc. DZs still have to pay for equipment laying idle during the winter months. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #15 January 8, 2006 We did the math several years ago so I don't know if it's still accurate... But we needed to make about 60.00 per jump to be set aside for the Tandem 'Rig' alone....that's paying off the initial costs and the maintenance & repairs needed throughout it's useful life. Add to that, as you say, the Instructor fees, Pilot fees, aircraft costs...on and on... It becomes clear that no-body's getting RICH off the tandem trade. Profitable? Yes...but not the cash cow some might envision! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
