WWMD? - Job and/or Snow

[Incompetent Boob]

I am about 18months out of uni with a BEng(Mech). I work for a company that is a leader in its field and should offer plenty of opportunity for advancement. The job I've been working for the last 15 months or so does not excite me, actually, it shits me (although it does get me sent around asia a bit which is ok). My manager told me he is happy to keep me in his department, but there has been talk higher up of moving me into another (as yet undecided) department. I've also had another manager talk to me about a job that will come up mid-next-year that would be a significant promotion and more interesting than what I'm currently doing. I also get the impression that I've been ear-marked for management if I avoid major fuckups.

Before these developments in the last week or two, I'd been planning to quit at Christmas time and go to Fernie or Hakuba for 3 months. Now the company is planning for me to spend the 2nd week of Jan in Japan, so I have the option of maybe taking 4-6 weeks leave (if they'll let me) to ride in Hakuba. Or I could just quit at Christmas like I planned and go hang out in Fernie or Hakuba with some mates who are already there. WWMD, accept a 30-odd day season and keep a job with good potential for advancement, or fuck it all and go snowboarding for 80+ days then be poor and unemployed again?

[XtrPickels]

This has been covered in MtBakerskier's thread, but he had the opposite situation. The general concensus seemed for him was, give it a shot, make some cash if you don't like it quit.

I think you gave it a shot and you're company sucked.
Ski, havefun, ski, repeat.

[alpinepronghorn]

so I have the option of maybe taking 4-6 weeks leave (if they'll let me) to ride in Hakuba.

If they'll let you take that kind of time off, well, that's not such a bad gig. But that said, I'm in a similar situation, and I'm kinda feeling like you only live once. It's like David Halberstam once said: "Did it ever occur to you that the fact that they're willing to pay you so much might mean it's something you don't want to do?"

[Incompetent Boob]

I think you gave it a shot and you're company sucked.
Ski, havefun, ski, repeat.

It is not so much the company that sucks as the job I'm in. They did let me take Jan-early April off to go riding this year (although, I told them in my interview that I'd be taking the summer off).

[AntiSoCalSkier]

I was in your situation. I graduated in 2001 and went to work for a defense contractor as an electrical engineer. I was bored most of the time, but I kept thinking my job might get more interesting if I just stuck around a bit longer. The job never did get interesting, so I quit last Jan. I spent the winter skiing (and instructing), and the summer working as a math and physics tutor, and I plan to ski again this winter. I went from absolutely miserable to happy in about a week and a half, and I haven't gone back to being miserable since I quit. In my case quitting was clearly the right decision. In your case, you might want to give it a shot, or maybe you should see if you can find a job that excites you (I've been told that there are fun engineering jobs out there, but defense contrators apparently aren't the place to look for them).

[rossibandit]

Before these developments in the last week or two, I'd been planning to quit at Christmas time and go to Fernie or Hakuba for 3 months. Now the company is planning for me to spend the 2nd week of Jan in Japan, so I have the option of maybe taking 4-6 weeks leave (if they'll let me) to ride in Hakuba. Or I could just quit at Christmas like I planned and go hang out in Fernie or Hakuba with some mates who are already there. WWMD, accept a 30-odd day season and keep a job with good potential for advancement, or fuck it all and go snowboarding for 80+ days then be poor and unemployed again?

First of all, if you come to Fernie you want to get rid of that snowboard and get a pair of skis

Second, you have an BEng (mech) degree. How hard will it be to find another job when you get back to OZ. If you don't like the job, why continue so early in your career.

Third, when you come to Fernie, you can get a job at the ski hill as a liftee for $8/hr and work outdoors in minus 30 degree weather. Then you will really like your old job quickly again.