well, i tried the real world...

[Benny Profane]

Nurse. Great pay, you can live wherever you want, and work 3 days a week. I skied 100+ days last winter (yay for weekdays!), and spent most of the summer in Montana. I can take 8 days off without taking any vacation time or missing any shifts. It's radical. I'm not creative enough to make it another way... props to those that are! But I sure can't bitch about my life.

Yeah, I had a three day, one or both weekend days in there, for years, and that is a sweet schedule for skiing, especially with four weeks off and holiday comp days. Only downside are the inevitable overnight hours involved. 9-5 sucks.

[icelanticskier]

i always kinda liked the idea of a teachers schedule with summers off and all. easy nuff to manage rental properties on the side.

kudos to all of you that had the drive and motivation to further yer edu.

i just couldn't fathom it for myself. classroom/studying was like absolute torture for me. too distracted by what lay outside the institution.

carry on with the cool stories/successes my friends.

rog

[PowerWhore7]

Nurse. Great pay, you can live wherever you want, and work 3 days a week.

^this^

My wife is a nurse, 100k+ easily, works 3 overnight shifts a week 7pm-7am and then has the other 4 days off. A lot of times she doesn’t even work the full 3 days, 2 days on 5 days off...I on the other just celebrated my 3rd year without working even one day, well unless you are counting my housewife duties.

[AdironRider]

if the timing had been different i wouldn't have bought or sold when i did. my mortgages on each property were half of what each property was bringing in each month in rents (if the numbers hadn't been that good, i wouldn't have bought and just held on to my money at 5-7%), so if i never had sold em, it woulda been a win either way. after selling everything in 05' i waited very patiently for the market to dropt and in fall of 09' i bought again. good time to buy, again. now my properties bring in more than double my mortgage/taxes/insurance/water/lawn mowing, so another win as i wait patiently for the market to go back up so i can sell, get back the 100 grand i put down, plus profit, and boom! throw it all into my 6% annuity which will make me another grand a month tax deferred income based on another 150 grand tossed in. if the market doesn't go back up, i'll pay the properties off in cash and live on the rents. easy

rog

Thats some nice cash flow.

You never mentioned healthcare or any reserves for those rentals like if the roof needs replacing, etc. though, and those are still some huge what ifs (especially given your history of good luck in avi's etc). Sounds like you got it figured out though and ultimately, this is my goal in the next ten years.

[AdironRider]

^this^

My wife is a nurse, 100k+ easily, works 3 overnight shifts a week 7pm-7am and then has the other 4 days off. A lot of times she doesn’t even work the full 3 days, 2 days on 5 days off...I on the other just celebrated my 3rd year without working even one day, well unless you are counting my housewife duties.

On the flip side I know two nurse washouts who fucking hated it.

Primary reasons, you hang out with sick people all day, stress is pretty high, and you end up cleaning bedpans and putting catheters in all day.

[icelanticskier]

Thats some nice cash flow.

You never mentioned healthcare or any reserves for those rentals like if the roof needs replacing, etc. though, and those are still some huge what ifs (especially given your history of good luck in avi's etc). Sounds like you got it figured out though and ultimately, this is my goal in the next ten years.

i get excellent health/dental/401k + 6 weeks paid vaca at work. in another 2 years there i'll have 7 weeks paid and it maxes out at 8 weeks. the 6 weeks i get now can be stretched to 7 weeks easy.

i always keep 40-60 grand liquid cash on hand for rental repairs or if i all of a sudden couldn't work for a year or two.

that said, any property i buy is always newly-ish renovated/turn key as i'd rather pay more up front and not have to fix stuff. 3 years owning the current rentals and i haven't even put 2 grand into em yet. not bad when you figure i've brought in like 60 grand in rents on em so far on just 2 units. my other properties i bought/sold without ever having to do anything cept a bit o paint. i buy for instant cash-flow, not sweat equity. my free time is too precious for that shit.

every time my liquid reserves approach 60k i throw another 20k in my annuity. put 20k in in may and am already about to send my guy another 20k this month. being a bum roolz!!!

rog

[lpkdz]

Primary reasons, you hang out with sick people all day, stress is pretty high, and you end up cleaning bedpans and putting catheters in all day.

Yep, that's all I do ALLLLLLL day.

Haha, so ignorant

[lpkdz]

PS. You can pretty much do anything you want as a nurse. You want a desk job, be a case manager, want high adrenaline/lots of responsibility, work in the ER or ICU (or on a flight team!), want free ski passes, work at a ski clinic. It's pretty much a choose your own adventure job, so it burns me when people jump to the stereotype. When you get burned out of one thing, it's easy to move onto another. Nurse educators or nurse management staff have minimal if any contact with patients. I have a lot of friends that work procedural jobs putting in central lines all day, or working in the OR where you mostly just chart and can scrub in for surgeries if you want. Anyone could be a nurse, because there is pretty much a path for everyone. I work in an ICU and then part time at a ski clinic in the winter. I realize what I do is not for everyone, and I know that when I get tired of it I have a ton of other job opportunities. What I do at my job is completely different from what other nurses do at theirs. The options are limitless. It's amazing.

[AdironRider]

PS. You can pretty much do anything you want as a nurse. You want a desk job, be a case manager, want high adrenaline/lots of responsibility, work in the ER or ICU (or on a flight team!), want free ski passes, work at a ski clinic. It's pretty much a choose your own adventure job, so it burns me when people jump to the stereotype. When you get burned out of one thing, it's easy to move onto another. Nurse educators or nurse management staff have minimal if any contact with patients. I have a lot of friends that work procedural jobs putting in central lines all day, or working in the OR where you mostly just chart and can scrub in for surgeries if you want. Anyone could be a nurse, because there is pretty much a path for everyone. I work in an ICU and then part time at a ski clinic in the winter. I realize what I do is not for everyone, and I know that when I get tired of it I have a ton of other job opportunities. What I do at my job is completely different from what other nurses do at theirs. The options are limitless. It's amazing.

I never worked in the profession, just have two of my best friends with nothing but horror stories.

They relate to what you have said, but currently, the word is out on nursing and the opportunities for a freshly minted RN are not the world is your oyster as you describe above. Those established in the field different story, but this has turned into a find a gig in the mountains type thread, and its going to be tough for a ski bum to suddenly get money ski time and the like without paying their dues.

They also arent the most "long term" minded people and probably flaked at the rookie biotch type stuff they had to so like anyone in a new career, but seriously, be real here, its not rainbows and unicorns.

[ClarkleberryFinn]

I've been trying to work out what do job/career wise a lot the last couple of years - want to live in the mountains, ski a lot, but also earn enough for nice house/car/kit/holidays/food/etc... and I keep coming back to teaching. I've just moved to Austria, teachers here work 20h a week (in school - not counting marking and shit, but that's easy to fit around other priorities) so plenty of ski time, start on about €28k a year (guaranteed pay rise most years) and still get a shit tonne of holiday, especially in summer (hello summer skiing in Chile/kayaking in Norway/etc). Plenty of schools in/near ski towns, shortage of teachers generally, in particular high-demand for native-English speakers... Happy days (hopefully) - downside is another 5 years of studying to get the gig (current degree isn't recognised properly, getting my german down), but that's basically 5 more years of skiing and drinking.

[TahoeJ]

I have several nurses in my extended family... and they all agree that it's a pretty great gig in terms of good money, lots of flexibility, and tons of free time in your average week. But yes, I've also heard that many hospitals / companies / whatever really put them through a bit of a hazing period to weed out the ones who aren't truly committed, which does make sense given the benefits.

[rmnpsplitter]

^this^

My wife is a nurse, 100k+ easily, works 3 overnight shifts a week 7pm-7am and then has the other 4 days off. A lot of times she doesn’t even work the full 3 days, 2 days on 5 days off...I on the other just celebrated my 3rd year without working even one day, well unless you are counting my housewife duties.

FTW!!!! This guy has got it figured out. Holy shit, been reading everyone's different take on the way to make it happen but this is the first guy who has suggested finding yourself a suger momma. Damn I gotta get me one of them...

BTW, how did this thread turn into the debate of whether nursing is a good job?

[Scotsman50]

BTW, how did this thread turn into the debate of whether nursing is a good job?

TGR= Dentists, Male Nurses and Advice Columnists.....hardcore skiers are on ALpinezone.

[summit]

They relate to what you have said, but currently, the word is out on nursing and the opportunities for a freshly minted RN are not the world is your oyster as you describe above. Those established in the field different story, but this has turned into a find a gig in the mountains type thread, and its going to be tough for a ski bum to suddenly get money ski time and the like without paying their dues.

This is true. There is a glut of new nurses in most markets and a glut of experienced nurses in mountain markets. The 4 closest mountain medical centers and hospitals to me are quite blatant in saying they want 2-3 years of ICU/ER before they'll consider you. In Denver, the ICU and ER jobs want 2-3 years of general experience if you don't have specialty experience. The entry level jobs want 1-2 years of experience and they don't want LTC (aka nursing home). There's ton lot of new graduate nurses who haven't found any job after a year, are fighting for night shift nursing home jobs, or are moving out of state to places like West Texas and North Dakota to get their 2-3 years of experience.

That isn't beating the real world or gaining the mountain life.

Sent from my DROID4 using TGR Forums

[Turnipking]

My advice, if you can make it work, move to the mountains and giv'er. However, if you're like the rest of us and need to make a decent wage, then move to a city close to the mountains (I live in Calgary). I'd love to move right into the mountains but my wife is a doctor in a very small specialty which means she has to live in the city. So I work a 9-5 job that I don't mind too much, but I'd still drop it in a heart beat if I could. I live about an hour from the nearest mountains and get around 30 days a year, but have enough money to pay for some pretty cool ski vacations too (Cham a couple of years ago; got a cat trip and a week at a ski lodge booked for this year). Med insurance isn't an issue since I live in Canada. Mind you, I had to put in 7 years without much skiing to go to school... But if someone tried to drag me farther away from the mountains than I am now, I'd go kicking and screaming.

And yes, once she starts pulling in the big cash, seriously considering the whole house husband thing.

[Slaag Master]

[Slaag Master]

i hate powder!!!!! i love my cubical!!!! break room has coffee, beer, and stacked salad!!!

[Mrogers21]

Good for you. I left the office a few years back and it was the bet decision of my life.
Money should never be a motivating factor in making life decision but if it is a concern I would recommend doing what some others have mentioned and join a wildland fire handcrew/engine or get on as a AD somewhere. Or if u really want cash, try to get on a hotshot crew, pay is the same but you're gone all summer and never get a chance to spend it.
After 6 months of work, you're sitting pretty all winter.

[Meadow Skipper]

Good for you. I left the office a few years back and it was the bet decision of my life.
Money should never be a motivating factor in making life decision but if it is a concern I would recommend doing what some others have mentioned and join a wildland fire handcrew/engine or get on as a AD somewhere. Or if u really want cash, try to get on a hotshot crew, pay is the same but you're gone all summer and never get a chance to spend it.
After 6 months of work, you're sitting pretty all winter.

Wait a minute...I know this guy. How you doing Rogers? I'm headed out the door to work on the Peak. Refresher in 4 weeks.

[KenJongIll]

This is true. There is a glut of new nurses in most markets and a glut of experienced nurses in mountain markets. The 4 closest mountain medical centers and hospitals to me are quite blatant in saying they want 2-3 years of ICU/ER before they'll consider you. In Denver, the ICU and ER jobs want 2-3 years of general experience if you don't have specialty experience. The entry level jobs want 1-2 years of experience and they don't want LTC (aka nursing home). There's ton lot of new graduate nurses who haven't found any job after a year, are fighting for night shift nursing home jobs, or are moving out of state to places like West Texas and North Dakota to get their 2-3 years of experience.

That isn't beating the real world or gaining the mountain life.

Sent from my DROID4 using TGR Forums

Shocker, they actually want experience before someone moves into a critical care arena. That's common by the way. You really think a nurse right of school should be allowed to work in ICU, ER or OR in a lead role?
If someone doesn't have the "intestinal fortitude" to put in a whole 3 years of work to get to their ultimate goal then fuck'm.

[AdironRider]

Shocker, they actually want experience before someone moves into a critical care arena. That's common by the way. You really think a nurse right of school should be allowed to work in ICU, ER or OR in a lead role?
If someone doesn't have the "intestinal fortitude" to put in a whole 3 years of work to get to their ultimate goal then fuck'm.

Kinda defeats the purpose to give up the real world, but have to spend 3-4 years in a hellhole like Texas now doesnt it?

[Bromontana]

Kinda defeats the purpose to give up the real world, but have to spend 3-4 years in a hellhole like Texas now doesnt it?

not if you plan to live past 30

[summit]

Shocker, they actually want experience before someone moves into a critical care arena. That's common by the way. You really think a nurse right of school should be allowed to work in ICU, ER or OR in a lead role?
If someone doesn't have the "intestinal fortitude" to put in a whole 3 years of work to get to their ultimate goal then fuck'm.

It's just a market reality that is very different than what it used to be years ago, or what many people believe it still is. My point was to make sure people know the reality of the market. My point was to dispel the myth that people can walk into a 3-day work week on a day-shift at a mountain hospital's med/surg floor right out of nursing school, and thus, everyone who wants a good mountain life should head off to nursing school to escape the real world.

A lot of people were fed a load of BS about what the nursing field entails. That makes for bitterness, disappointment, and waste.

You seem more interested in who "should" be allowed to do what job based on how much they've "done their time." The market gets what it can.

[KenJongIll]

It's just a market reality that is very different than what it used to be years ago, or what many people believe it still is. My point was to make sure people know the reality of the market. My point was to dispel the myth that people can walk into a 3-day work week on a day-shift at a mountain hospital's med/surg floor right out of nursing school, and thus, everyone who wants a good mountain life should head off to nursing school to escape the real world.

A lot of people were fed a load of BS about what the nursing field entails. That makes for bitterness, disappointment, and waste.

You seem more interested in who "should" be allowed to do what job based on how much they've "done their time." The market gets what it can.

I hear you man. Wasn't trying to bust your chops in particular.

I'll only disagree with your last paragraph. I don't think anyone would want their kid or wife in ICU being taken care of some BroBrah a year out of nursing school, who's main concern or thoughts on any particular day was on skiing and not keeping my loved one alive. So, who should be allowed the higher paying nursing gigs are those who are qualified and are proven, and I don't think you disagree.

Bromontana was also right. If 3 years is eternity to anyone then your just fucked, or spoiled.

[rockcreek]

Another murse chiming in about the perks of the job........Hours are amazing but...... Summit is right on. Last year both my bachelor's prepared significant other RN and I attempted to procure positions in Seattle... Not so much luck with only a year of experience under our belts. So we hang in small town Montana work 3 twelves a week and enjoy the fruits if Montana's teet or however that goes. It all makes for a pretty sweet life.


shit the murses hijacked this thread.......