Some Advice Needed- Skiing instead of a "Carreer"

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Originally Posted by elchupanebre4

Also a question for those in the know. Does it really look that bad to take a few months off before going to work in the eyes of future employeers.

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I am a recruiter, specializing in accounting and finance. A few months gap in your resume is something I can easily explain, just don't make it a few years, like someone else said, don't let your skills get old.

As for the accounting and finance profession, there are many areas to go that won't be affected my the "standard" tax season, Y/E stuff. All areas of finance in a corp enviro will be affected by Y/E but we're talking about one or two weeks of your year. Month end is a couple days each month, etc. Don't overthink think this. Gather your info, get your cash together, take you trip, then PM me with your resume when you get back. You might end up working in the midwest, but you can get 50+ days on our little crap and have some cash in your pocket for a couple weeks each year out west, or down south.

I would be interested in knowing a little more of your education, what you're currently doing in your internship, etc. PM me if you're interested and Iwould be more than happy to go over different options with youfrom a career standpoint.

Good Luck,
Jay

I'm kind of in the same situation that you will be in after a few years. I just graduated from the University of Texas with degrees in Business Honors and Management Information Systems after 3.5 years working 40 hrs a week. Needless to say, I was burned out. I decided to take my savings from working so much (my employer also paid my tuition so it was a pretty good deal), buy a nice SUV, and move to Salt Lake City to finish out the ski season. I moved in January and ski at least every other day. The warm temperatures have tricked me into thinking the end of the ski season is imminent and I'm faced with the decision to start my career or just work enough to get by. I do a lot of freelance programming work and consulting for my former employers, but it's not enough to buy a house with or anything.

So enough about me, I think the best thing you could do is to use ski bumming as a motivation to finish up your degree. Moving to South America in the summer is seriously going to hurt you financially, and then when you graduate you are going to be faced with mountains of debt (or maybe your parents pay for your school...). Spend the next few years saving up money, graduate in December and then finish out the ski season at your location of choice. If you like it there, find a job there that satisfies you, and work on your passions on the side. Maybe you'll have a bright idea along the way and be able to support your own business and have the ability to make your own hours.

good luck!

try going to a school in close proximity to a good mountain (it reduces the burnout factor tremendously) and i might suggest trying to get into an abroad program. i can't think of a single one of my friends who left school saying they were burnt-out who returned and completed their degree. That degree opens up a whole new range of possibilities. maybe a co-op or internship at a mountain?

-aaron

ahh good thinking all around..... I dont think it looks bad to take some time off at all. I think you can do 2 years before it really starts to hamper you....as long as you spin it right in the interviews and make it a benefit. ....."Why hire an immature kid who might bail in 6 month because he is not ready when you can hire me, someone who does it right and wants to be completely ready to commit to a career " "hire me because i thought about it and i know this is what i want to do" " hire me because you know you wanted to do this and bold, smart people with the balls to set goals and take calculated risks make good hires"

Go for it, just check you landing (future plans) and keep your eye (keep your skills relevant) on it while you rip Las Lenas Pow.


such a great thread....

To clarify I'm graduating in the begging of May, so I'm not taking school off or anything, just some time off afterwards. I got out in three years to save some money, but that meant school in the summer and 21 units a semster while working close to 40 hrs year round. Needless to say I'm tired of the routine. I'm not to bad off debt wise, so I have options.

MNfly- thanks for the offer. My degree is Econ and Business (small private school, they cut the accounting degree my Freshman year), with a second major in English Literature. without going into specfics I had two internships. One last semester with a private CPA doing mainly Corp/Individual Tax and payroll, and one this semster with the largest firm in town doing almost solely individual tax. My weakness is I only have two accounting classes, so while I know as much if not more than some of the interns at my firm, I don't have credentials on paper to even get on any Big 4 firms radar.

Also while I thank you, I might have learned my lesson in going to school in Santa Barbara. While I love the DH riding and climbing, I find myself on TGR all day for want of snow. While the Midwest is a great place to live for some people that just isn't for me. If you had some connections near Reno, Denver, or SLC (maybe even Seattle) I'd be all over that, but I'd just spend the extra money I'd make trying to get to the mountains, and that's not what I want to do with my spare time. Ideally I'll find some job this fall less than an hour from skiing, and put in my dues. My hope is one day to be a controller in a ski industry company.

Don't really want to go in to more specifics in public, but if you know of any other recruiters who work in West I'd appreciate the lead.

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Originally Posted by elchupanebre4

To clarify I'm graduating in the begging of May, so I'm not taking school off or anything, just some time off afterwards. I got out in three years to save some money, but that meant school in the summer and 21 units a semster while working close to 40 hrs year round. Needless to say I'm tired of the routine. I'm not to bad off debt wise, so I have options.

MNfly- thanks for the offer. My degree is Econ and Business (small private school, they cut the accounting degree my Freshman year), with a second major in English Literature. without going into specfics I had two internships. One last semester with a private CPA doing mainly Corp/Individual Tax and payroll, and one this semster with the largest firm in town doing almost solely individual tax. My weakness is I only have two accounting classes, so while I know as much if not more than some of the interns at my firm, I don't have credentials on paper to even get on any Big 4 firms radar.

Also while I thank you, I might have learned my lesson in going to school in Santa Barbara. While I love the DH riding and climbing, I find myself on TGR all day for want of snow. While the Midwest is a great place to live for some people that just isn't for me. If you had some connections near Reno, Denver, or SLC (maybe even Seattle) I'd be all over that, but I'd just spend the extra money I'd make trying to get to the mountains, and that's not what I want to do with my spare time. Ideally I'll find some job this fall less than an hour from skiing, and put in my dues. My hope is one day to be a controller in a ski industry company.

Don't really want to go in to more specifics in public, but if you know of any other recruiters who work in West I'd appreciate the lead.

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PM on it's way

Jay

1) Nothing wrong with taking a post-graduation break, and I don't think anyone worth working for will look askance at the fact that you took a few months off "to travel through Latin America" after graduation from college or even a year to work at a ski resort up north post-graduation.

2) $5K is probably cutting it close at best

3) If you go to LL, not a bad idea to bring two pairs of skis with you end-of-season clearance Northern Hemi can be sold under the counter for a nice profit in Las Lenas land.

I chose to take time off the rat race before I went to grad school, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Its amazing what 100-150 days on snow will do or your riding and your love of the sport.

Good Luck.

Im wondering if anyone has info related to question 1 in the original topic... I am also looking for some kind of spanish instruction/classes in Las Lenas.

If you don't want to have a career, you likely won't have money. This means you'll have to do things cheaply. Services like South America Ski and casatours are not the cheap way.

If you do things the cheap way you could spend way more than a season for $5k.

www.coined.com.ar was a Spanish school that came highly reccomended - they don't operate in Las Lenas (big surprise) but they do in Bariloche and Ushuaia (where you might actually have a chance to use the Spanish)

You could always tutor ak_powder_monkey in english and typing.

an accounting degree only gets you 30k out of school? That sucks!

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Originally Posted by cj001f

If you don't want to have a career, you likely won't have money. This means you'll have to do things cheaply. Services like South America Ski and casatours are not the cheap way.

If you do things the cheap way you could spend way more than a season for $5k.

www.coined.com.ar was a Spanish school that came highly reccomended - they don't operate in Las Lenas (big surprise) but they do in Bariloche and Ushuaia (where you might actually have a chance to use the Spanish)

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I'm liking this idea more and more as the deeper I look the more expensive this trip gets. Bariloche seems like the best option just becuase there is more info and decent skiing 20 minutes away. Any suggestions on which city? Advantages and disadvantages of both? What about bus service too and from the cities to the resorts? While I googled this stuff I didn't get a ton of info, but this route definatly sounds a whole lot more intriguing. Only problem with the whole language thing is thier program is a program of set classes during the day from what it appears. I need one long class a night or something. This is starting to get a little more expensive than I might be able to swing.....

If the SA thing doesn't work out, here's something you might think about:

1) Summer job in AK. There are more seasonal tourism jobs up here than ... eagles ... or something. A lot of them have been filled already (we're almost done hiring) but there is still stuff open. There's no skiing, of course - although the tram at Alyeska was open into at least mid-May last season, and with the snowpack they have this year, probably will be again. There is a huge amount of other outdoor activities, though. In Anchorage, there's serious mountain biking, fishing and hiking right out of town. And if you're in one of the parks, add rafting and some serious wilderness time. You can make a good amount of money - I made about 20 grand last year from May-September. That is by no means typical, but you can fairly easily walk away with a good amount of cash nonetheless.

2) Bolt for SLC or some other ski town in October. I moved to SLC and worked for BC.com earlier this winter. It doesn't pay well, but with money saved from the summer, plus discounted season passes and gear, I still had plenty of money left. Oh, and work somewhere with a schedule so you can ski every day (shouldn't be too hard).

3) Repeat if desired. I have a friend who's on his third year of this cycle with no end in sight, and loves it. I bailed in February for a great job offer (I make decent money and will be able to take a month+ off every winter, plus random snow days), but could have done it for another year easy.

Send me a pm if you want more on summer jobs up here.

The fact that you're posting this on a ski forum indicates you've already made your mind up to follow where your heart is.

If you *really* wanted to follow your career, you'd be posting this on an accountancy forum. Excel stoke, anyone?

Living in another country and soaking up the culture is something for which there is no substitute.
It'll change make the rest of your life richer, and you'll never forget it - or you could sit in an office. Your choice.

As everyone else has already said: do it before you have things that tie you down!

DO BRING

A few of the "great" books (Dante, Homer, Shakespeare, Whitman, Plato, the big boys - you'd be surprised how even an accountant's brain opens up to great literature once you're in a different culture :wink: )
Condoms

DON'T BRING

A girlfriend