flyhy 0 #1 February 11, 2003 ... this is my thought pretty much every time I walk back from the PLA and look up to the sky where I just came from. Aren't we just lucky to go up every day and throw ourselves into the air?! And some of us are even more lucky to get paid for that! What do you think? Is there any reason to not just spend all money on jumping and become professional instead of going to uni and learning a 'proper profession'? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyIvan 0 #2 February 11, 2003 Dude, I'm an IT professional (fancy term for computer geek) and if I needed to change careers because of the economical situation, I'd become a professional skydiver (freefall photog), I love this sport, even though I'm still a student (DAMN WEATHER!!! ), but is just matter of time and dedication. __________________________________________ Blue Skies and May the Force be with you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyhi 24 #3 February 11, 2003 QuoteDude, I'm an IT professional An IT with a light saber...what are the odds?Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 273 #4 February 11, 2003 QuoteIs there any reason to not just spend all money on jumping and become professional instead of going to uni and learning a 'proper profession'? Depends. Do you want to be able to afford to do anything other than work jumps? Would you be happy living in a beat up trailer in "the ghetto" across from the dz? Are you okay with not owning the newest and neatest toys? Do you have a deep and abiding love for Top Ramen, potatoes, eggs and other very inexpensive food items? Would you be happy driving a car that's worth less than your rig? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skything 0 #5 February 11, 2003 I like the shit as well, but don't " cut a way your life". There are more things in life than jumping and somethimes it is very nice NOT to jump. It's very tempting to " cutaway" but you will never cut away from yourself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mustard 0 #6 February 11, 2003 I've seen more than a few jumpers who decided to go professional end up being crappy instructors because suddenly it was a full-time job and not fun anymore. I really have to watch it, since I put maybe a third of my jumps with students. And when it get to be much more than that, I'm not as effective, or having as much fun. Skratch calls it making sure I get my "nutritional" jumps, ones that nourish me and have nothing to do with making a living. *** DJan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blewaway5 0 #7 February 11, 2003 I'm almost positive that every new skydiver has the feeling that they want to make a living off of skydiving some day once they ahve the experience. Not to shoot any dreams down here, but 99% of us all just don't have that mentality. Like the Bytch said, you are not, repeat NOT, going to get rich in this sport. Have you ever seen how the top teams live and train? They are the cream of the skydiving crop, and I guarantee they are a long way from rich. Some of them are a long way from middle-class even. My point is that a job skydiving is just that, usually, a job. No job is fun all the time, even a skydiving job. Now don't shoot me for saying that, I'm just the messenger Truman Sparks for President Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #8 February 12, 2003 Dude, Heed all the above advice. Invest in a trailer, two or three rigs and two or three ratings before you cutaway from your daytime job. Often it is the boring, non-skydiving rating (i.e. plumber) that will keep you in noodles during the rainy season. The happiest instructors are often the guys with real jobs who only teach a couple of days per week. Rob Warner jumping for 25 years, full-time for the last decade FAA Master Parachute Rigger Tandem Instructor X 3 Static line, IAD and PFF Instructor CSPA Coach 2 Studying for a commercial pilot license Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #9 February 12, 2003 There's been some really good imput on this one. I love to skydive, but as Lisa says it's hard to pay the bills doing just that. Your priorities may change also as you get older. I now have two kids in college and I feel lucky to have a decent job to pay the bills. When I was younger I figured I'd be happy if I could just hunt and fish all the time, (to hell with working). But my priorities changed when I got married off, and started having kids. When I was younger it was all or nothing to me. I'd devote all my time and energy into one pursuit at a time. But I finally figured out that I need balance in my life to be happy. I love to skydive, but I think I'd probably burn out at it, if I did nothing else. Right now my priorities are family, bringing home the bacon, and skydiving. I'm not really crazy about my job, yet there are times when it too is rewarding, and it pays the bills and buys me jumps. Steve1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,118 #10 February 12, 2003 >What do you think? Is there any reason to not just spend all money > on jumping and become professional instead of going to uni and > learning a 'proper profession'? I did that for a few years; did tandems and AFF two or three days every week while still working at my old job. Made around $12,000 one year just from skydiving. I remember thinking "you know, if I lived at the DZ, that's $1000 a month! I could live on that if I had no rent." I'm glad I didn't. Tandems went first after a few hundred of them; it was getting to be a job. Take up yet another payload, roll them out the door, get 50 seconds to relax and cool off, then release the drouge and get back to work steering the monster back to the DZ, just to say "congratulations" and have them get back in their car and drive away, never to be seen again. With an attitude like that, I realized I should stop doing tandems. I wasn't looking forward to them any more. I used to dread Cathy the manifestor's high-pitched squeaky voice saying "Beel? Beel? We have a tandem . . ." over the PA. AFF lasted a lot longer, since I got to know the people doing it, and many of them became skydivers. Some of my proudest moments were seeing people I had as students becoming AFF-JM's themselves, getting world records, and joining teams. But there were downsides to that too - I had to basically cut them loose after 7 jumps to deal with the next batch of AFF students, and rely on coaches to do the rest of the training. Nowadays I don't do tandems and I occasionally do AFF. I'm glad I never got to the point where I hated AFF, but if I had kept up with my schedule of a few years ago (10-12 AFF's a weekend) I would hate it now. Skydiving's a pretty amazing thing - don't turn it into a job if you don't have to. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumperconway 0 #11 February 12, 2003 A common saying I've heard @ dropzones by full time employees is, "If you work here, you get to WORK here. If you work somewhere else, you get to JUMP here! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dreamsville 0 #12 February 13, 2003 This would be my concern about making a living from jumping after having done it for fun. It wouldn't be that special candyland to which one "escaped" anymore. I suppose making it a day job would change things for me as well,. |I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
