skynewb

Wow, thanks Phreezone! I wish people at my dropzone would tell me stuff like that. I knew that I should definitely have another job other than skydiving and not rely on that 100% for income... not only will I not make a lot of $, but its going to be very physically taxing im sure and not very flexible. What I would really love is to find a job that pays well and requires the least amount of education/training or time to complete... haha dont we all! But I am just weary over the idea of spending 4 years in a classroom, because I am very hands on and prefer to learn things a bit at a time. That's why I thought perhaps flying would be good? I'm still young, 21, but I have a one year old daughter to think of as well. I really want to be able to secure an income, but I just feel that with my crappy unqualified jobs right now at least I'm making an income rather than being in school and not having anything for a couple of years, you know? Anyway, thanks phreezone and the rest of you.

yes, I have thought of maybe learning to fly planes and perhaps becoming an instructor, or flying skydivers, or being a private pilot. At least that way I'm still connected to it in some way, and will probably enjoy flying since a lot of my friends are pilots and I get involved in their conversations, but use skydiving to relate. skydivers that i respect a lot have told me that its wise to have another job to bring in a better income for skydiving since its so expensive, but i just dont have anything im interested in that would bring in a huge income. does flying pay well? i would just like something im not as tied down to as university, in a perfect world. that i can do a bit at a time. maybe aviation is my best bet?

Hi, my name is Michaela and I'm new on here. This is my second year in the sport of skydiving and I have 25 jumps. I know I'm very new to the sport, relatively speaking, but I am damn passionate about it. The reason I am posting this is for advice. When I did my first jump, I was amazed by the sense of community at my DZ and knew I wanted to be part of that. I have struggled in order to afford getting the training, given up a lot of my old lifestyle habits in order to find extra cash, because I really want to keep doing this and keep getting better and better. I've never had a passion like this before, and I just know that this is it for me, I have to do this for life! Problem is, there is some sort of sense of rivalry and exclusivity at my dropzone. Whenever I talk to the more experienced jumpers about how I truly want to do this for a living one day, and that this is what I want to do with my life, they laugh at me. They tell me that its just the rush and that it will ware off, I will get bored and move on. It's almost like they don't want me to do it. But I know inside of me that it is about much more than that. This really discourages me. For me, getting into the sport has just lit a spark inside of me that I never knew before. Whenever I learn something new in skydiving, no matter how frustrating it is at first, the sense of accomplishment is like no other. I have seen all of my friends from high school know what they want in life and go after it with not very much experience in that field, so I don't see why it is so far fetched for me to give skydiving my all. Is it because its a sport, and people dont take sports seriously? My sister has been horseback riding since she was six and is now grown and pursuing a career as a trainer and instructor, which doesnt seem to be so far-fetched for people because she has been doing it for over ten years. But I couldnt have started skydiving when I was six! The people at my DZ tell me to go to university or college and just keep skydiving as a hobby. First of all, I wouldnt know what to go to school for because the only passion I have ever had is skydiving. That's what I want to do! It takes money to be trained in school, and it takes money to be trained for skydiving. I'd much rather spend my money on becoming a skydiving instructor. Am I crazy for thinking this? I just know if I go to school, I won't have any money to skydive because I'd already be borrowing money just for tuition and I'd have no extra time to have a part time job even. All the experienced jumpers at my DZ treat me like a quack... but am I one? I mean, how does anyone really know what they want to do for a living? If I went to university for business or something, I'd be much less sure that I wanted to spend my life doing that as I am sure with skydiving. It really is more than a rush for me... skydiving changed my life, I think about it day and night, about setting that next goal and beating it, about challenging myself and continually finetuning my skills until one day I can help other people do the same. I wanted to write about it on here because I can't talk like this with anyone who knows anything about it at my DZ... any advice?