become a ski instructor

Now that I’ve finished my stint at Perisher for 2007, here is the lowdown.

Great things about being a ski instructor:

the satisfaction of seeing new skiers loving the sensation of skiing
working outdoors on beautiful days
lots of in-house training from top instructors to help you improve your technique
the great comraderie amongst ski instructors – they’re generally a fantastically friendly bunch
awesome discounts on ski gear (and tax deductibility!)

The things that are hard to stomach:

the pay is REALLY crap
teaching on beautiful days when you just want to be free skiing
the ski instructors who think they’re God
standing around waiting for work and not being paid for it
your patience constantly being tested by students that are just not very athletic (why can’t people understand that skiing is a sport??)
crying kids!

I made it! I’ve been offered a job as a ski instructor at Perisher Blue!

I only have to pass a knee scan before I can start teaching, but I’m really looking forward to it. The snow has been dumping down at the resorts in the last week, so this season is looking very promising indeed!

I spent the weekend down at Perisher for the opening weekend of the season, and the first session of the new instructor course. There had been a modest amount of snowfall last week, but the rain that fell all day on Saturday basically turned it all to slush.

Front Valley was the only run open, and only a part of it at that. Why any sane person would come down on the opening weekend is beyond me, but there were a fair few people packed into that section of Front Valley. On both days of the course, we ran through skiing skills and also how to run a beginner class for both adults and also for kids. On a beautiful blue-sky Sunday, they actually opened the Early Starter double at Blue Cow just for us folks in the instructor course.

It seems to be pretty competitive, especially for the snowboarders where there are over 90 people vying for 20-odd full and part-time instructor positions! The odds are definitely better for skiers, with about 45 people vying for 55 positions. Not a sure thing though, since they’re apparently still assessing people based on people skills and skiing ability.

It was great fun, and I got through successfully to the second session this weekend. So another long drive ahead, but my skiing has definitely improved and this whole experience has been very worthwhile, even if I don’t make it through this weekend for a ski instructor job. Fingers crossed though!

I’ve submitted my application form for the new instructor course at Perisher and I’m so excited!

To be a part-time instructor, you only have to work a minimum of 20 days in the season. I think that I will take two weeks off work to hit the slopes and also a handful of weekends to accumulate the 20 days. I may have read somewhere that one of the employment benefits is free ski lessons, so hopefully my skiing will improve out of sight this year too.

I haven’t always dreamt of being a ski instructor but when I think of my top 5 dream jobs, being a ski instructor is one of them (along with being a rock star, a food critic and a travel writer!).

I have decided that this is the year to do something about it, so I’m intending to apply for the New Instructors Recruitment Course at Perisher Blue. I’d love to be able to instruct part-time for the moment and maybe use it as something to fall back on in case I ever get sick of a finance career.