I have had the opertunity to see a lot of areas around Canada through it to. Even developed a bouldering area just south of the Yukon boarder in BC... also put up a couple routes in the Yukon. Both areas were done after working 12 hour shifts logging core, but hey... summer in the Yukon, light out till midnight, why not climb. Oh, if you do climb up where I put in those routes, bring some bear bangers, or a shotgun... I would recomend the shotgun personally Nothing like a big ol' griz' looking up at you while your attempting to hand drill off of hooks all whil eon a rope solo
(This post was edited by the_climber on May 15, 2007, 10:19 PM)
Not the army. Unless you enjoy flat, shitty deserts, months spent preparing to go to said desert, 15 month deployments, under a year of time back with your family in which they squeeze 3-4 months worth of field exercises, crappy pay, bad eggs, and idiots. If this still sounds like fun, go talk to your recruiter.
Trades are good. You can make good money, you get hired pretty quick (and can go a lot of places). Getting laid off isn't a big deal 'cause you take a month or two road trip and then come back and usually get hired on again pretty quick. Extra bonus if you pick something with a lot of manual labour....gets you and keeps you pretty strong for climbing.
Something profesional....kinda sucks. I'm yet another engineer here, you're tied to your job and limited to the vacation your company will give you. You get paid well, but you miss out on a lot of freedoms.
Question to others in the engineering field....after my husband finishes with immigration stuff I was planning on quiting and going travelling for maybe a year or so. How hard after a year hiatius is it to get another engineering job (controls engineer specifically) with only 4 years experiance?
I'm sick of my job.
Depends, they will ask why he took the year off, he will to dirt bag around, they will think "hmm, he will leave us to go dirt bagging, lets take someone else".
Once he has 10 years, the he should go dirt bagging.
Not the army. Unless you enjoy flat, shitty deserts, months spent preparing to go to said desert, 15 month deployments, under a year of time back with your family in which they squeeze 3-4 months worth of field exercises, crappy pay, bad eggs, and idiots. If this still sounds like fun, go talk to your recruiter.
Combat engineer ---- then at least you to blow shit up.
Not the army. Unless you enjoy flat, shitty deserts, months spent preparing to go to said desert, 15 month deployments, under a year of time back with your family in which they squeeze 3-4 months worth of field exercises, crappy pay, bad eggs, and idiots. If this still sounds like fun, go talk to your recruiter.
Combat engineer ---- then at least you to blow shit up.
Not nearly as often as you would think. I've worked with some engineers... Just grunts with a heavier pack from all the detcord and blasting caps.
Not the army. Unless you enjoy flat, shitty deserts, months spent preparing to go to said desert, 15 month deployments, under a year of time back with your family in which they squeeze 3-4 months worth of field exercises, crappy pay, bad eggs, and idiots. If this still sounds like fun, go talk to your recruiter.
Combat engineer ---- then at least you to blow shit up.
Not nearly as often as you would think. I've worked with some engineers... Just grunts with a heavier pack from all the detcord and blasting caps.
Yes, you got to be an educated combat engineer, not a pfc, no education just means your a mule to haul shit from one end of the camp to the other on your off days as busy work. (been there done that, got educated quick)
What about the general labor jobs? I'm sort of at a point in my life I don't want to think to hard about what I do, I just want to haul shit, break shit, lift shit, swear at work, and build shit.
I still would like to make 30-40K a year, work 3-5 days a week, and have medical/dental insurance.
Is this possible? I'm 28 with no blue collar experience, where would I even start?
Just find something illegal you can do on the side to make merely enough to keep you climbing year-round. I would recommend setting up a small sweatshop somewhere in the South America's. You would need to swing by no more than once every few months to boost moral and check up on everyone, but other than that you're free to travel.
(This post was edited by mangiacapra on May 16, 2007, 12:08 AM)
I'm a carpenter, I like it. Good money get paid to go to school 6 weeks per year for 4 years. Every day is diffrent, every day I see change. Trades people are in demand and are paid well.
Put it this way. Say in the first 4 year of apperentiship you make $30k per year(very very low) in 4 years thats $120,000 you would have made. Plus after 4 years you now have a ticket a Job and make $50,000 a year or better.
Or go to university @ $5-$10k per year payed for by loans After 4 years you owe $20-$40 and your not even employed. You have to look for work then start at the bottom of the ladder!!
Basic Math: You likley $160,000 better off getting a trade.
My Wife is doing the RCMP thing, she is at Depot right now. Its six months of HELL. But a good Job at the end of it all.
molecular biologist. Lotsa school, but flexible schedule and possibility for extended time off and ability to move around the world. Oh yea, and it's really difficult and requires quite a bit of work to get to that point.
Get a trade right out of high school!!! (plumbing and electrical are best. Then by the time your 22 you will be a jurneyman. Able to make Big$$$
Then persue what ever you want for a career after that. Be a Rock guide, and make cash on the side with your trade. Do what ever you want and have a super solid back up.
Oh, Buy property as soon as you can!
If you first Get a trade, buy property skip the new car put in your 4 years you will be 10years ahead of most by age 22!!! Even if you never pick up your tools again after you get you ticket.
Not the army. Unless you enjoy flat, shitty deserts, months spent preparing to go to said desert, 15 month deployments, under a year of time back with your family in which they squeeze 3-4 months worth of field exercises, crappy pay, bad eggs, and idiots. If this still sounds like fun, go talk to your recruiter.
and if you want to do it the RIGHT way... Call the Marine recruiter ;)
How about just becoming a career student? You can build up a huge debt and you have the summers off. Well that is unless you fail classes and have to retake them in the summer. This is a surefire way to get time in to climb while going into debt! It's a method proven by me!
Get, and stay into, education. Can't believe there aren't more teachers cheering for their jobs. First you get to be a career grad student for a couple of years. No problem there. Go in the humanities (forget science, you actually have to work and study in those fields). If you have what I like to call street smarts, you'll be better off than 90% of grad students in the humanities, and the remaining 10% will be your beer buddies. You'll get plenty of funding, scholarships, fellowships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and other "-ships" you didn't even know existed. Trust me: street smarts. No debts.
Then you simply move to the other side of the desk. The higher level you teach (i.e. High school, college, university) the less actual teaching you have to do and the more you get payed. No king's ransom there for sure, but it's all about the time off. You can definitely get by on a teacher's salary, and you'll be able to afford your yearly road trip. I get 15 weeks of paid vacation per year, and I teach 12 to 15 hours per week during the term. I'm new to this gig, but right now it simply sounds too good to be true. It's certainly one of the best jobs around for a climber (or for anybody really). You have to get through years of schooling, but like I said, street smarts will make these very enjoyable years. And hey, there's no such thing as too much education.
Another vote for education (though nursing and some of the other suggestions are also good).
It is hard to beat the academic life in terms of a balance of rewarding work, standard of living, and flexibility for climbing, etc.
Some big positive things about academia: 1. Although I also publish, advise students, etc., the 9 hours I teach and the 6 hours of official office hours are the only "fixed" work time in any given week--that's only 15 hours I have to be "on" at a specific time. Everything else--reading, writing, grading--can get done at my own pace. 2. I get to spend my time reading and writing about things that interest me. 3. No suits. 4. I'm "working" when I'm sitting in a coffee house talking with students. 5. Pays well (its a solid upper middle class job). 6. 14+ weeks off in the summer 7. 3-4 weeks off in the winter 8. Lots of other holidays off. 9. The flexible schedule mentioned above means midweek climbing and three day weekends are easy to take very regularly. 10. Very rewarding. 11. Sabbaticals! (Every 7th year it's a half year off at full pay, or a full year off at half pay).
A few drawbacks to academia: 1. Much of the vacation time is fixed to the academic calendar (hard to get out for mixed routes in AK during late-April early-May). 2. Grading (which can poison otherwise great relationships with good students). 3. It is not "portable." If you are an accountant or nurse you can move anywhere you want. As an academic you have to go where the job is. I lucked out by landing in California (Yosemite, Josh, Red Rocks, the Needles, Sierras, etc. all in easy striking distance), even if I am in LA (not so good for after work climbing, though Malibu works OK). 4. You can never turn it off. When I worked in construction, I never thought about the job once I punched out. As a professor, things related to work (my writing) are always popping into my head on road trips, etc. This is OK, because I am interested in it; however, it is easy to let yourself work long, long hours because of this (if you let yourself).
A few other comments...
If you love climbing, don't assume you will love guiding. I love climbing, and I love teaching; but I worked for years as a guide and I can't really say I loved guiding. Lots of guiding is babysitting, not climbing. For those who do love guiding, more power to ya.
I love climbing, and I've been at it for well over two decades, but climbing is not all there is to life. I suspect that as you grow older you will find that you need more than one thing to be really fulfilled. Consider this as you choose how you are going to be paying the bills, and don't sell your soul or sell yourself short.
Money is not the most important thing about your job. I know being poor gets old after awhile; I've lived out of cars several times. Nevertheless, money will not buy you happiness. Everyone says this, but you need to believe it. Find a fulfilling job that will make you enough to satisfy your basic needs and give you the freedom to live--no one dies wishing there was more money in the bank account, or wishing they had spent more time at the office.
Good luck...
Brian
(This post was edited by btreanor on May 16, 2007, 4:03 PM)
Question to others in the engineering field....after my husband finishes with immigration stuff I was planning on quiting and going travelling for maybe a year or so. How hard after a year hiatius is it to get another engineering job (controls engineer specifically) with only 4 years experiance?
I'm sick of my job.
Depends, they will ask why he took the year off, he will to dirt bag around, they will think "hmm, he will leave us to go dirt bagging, lets take someone else".
Once he has 10 years, the he should go dirt bagging.
He?
I figure it might not be the easiest to get another engineering job if I choose to take a year off, but what can you do? If it is hard for me to find another job then maybe my husband can take his turn at supporting us . (he's a carpenter btw)
(This post was edited by granite_grrl on May 16, 2007, 12:08 PM)
Although I voted once already, for nursing, I'm gonna give it a second vote for education. I'm doing the grad school thing now, and as a science major I get a full tution waiver, plus a pretty generous stipend. Read that sentence again - I get my tuition for free, and I'm PAID to go to college. My stipend is good enough that I own my home. This is fairly typical in the sciences, too - I can't think of a single friend who's in a PhD program in science who isn't on a full tuition waiver. The school I'm at charges 30k a year for a humanities PhD student, and I'm getting that for free!
So what did I have to do to get this sweet deal? Spend two terms TAing a lab, and one term co-teaching a class. After that, my thesis advisor started paying me out of his own grant money, so I will be completely supported during the rest of my education. Yes, I work hard on research, but I also purposely chose an advisor who's easy-going and flexible with lab time. I can organize my schedule where I work like crazy for a week, then take a week off. Between that, and the flexibility of the GF's nursing schedule, we can take off for several-day trips pretty much any time we want. Not too shabby.
don't get stuck in a job you don't want blue collar sucks theres no money very little vac. bosses are pricks and a-holes you tend to get trapped and feel like yer doin nothin for nothin MAN I need a new career
Or go to university @ $5-$10k per year payed for by loans After 4 years you owe $20-$40 and your not even employed. You have to look for work then start at the bottom of the ladder!!
I agree with your math on the trades, but not the student stuff.
$5-$10k per year?! Pfft, Pahlease I wish. Try more like $12-$17 depending on your major!
As far as starting at the bottom of the ladder, well, you get summer employment in you field of study while still being a student = experiance. Decent pay, but only for a few months a year. Now field work is where the money is at.
[rant] So If your in something/go into something like Geology, Mining engineering, and in some cases biology get in the field. After a couple summers you'll be in the field working for the equivalent of $27-$35/hour 12hour/day, 7days/week, typically on a 3weeks on 1 week off rotation (sometimes 4 on 1 or 2 off). Clearing $5500/ month after taxes, but your still a student, so that almost $2000 in taxes you'll get back at tax time.
Note: This doesn't work as well if your not in a position to do field work (ie. engaged/married with puppies/kids, and fatherinlaw with poor health... which keeps you out of the field.... but hey I still have full benifits, death and dismemberment insurance for both myself and my other half, and I'm in the $45k range with a year left in my degree)
[short version]Educating cost higher than you think. Workign while in uni, mostly in summer. Get work experiance in your field of study during summers. Get expensive piece of paper saying your smart. Get payed good. pay off debts while Getting $50+k a year your first year out of Uni.
Math will work out equivalent to trads over a 5 to 6 year period. If your succesfull with education route you'll make more in the long run...
That said, if you're not as smart as that paper says, your better off in the trades and will do great![short]
I would have a house on an acreage with horses and my Toyota would be fully built up with badass paint job and custom roll cage.... if I had gone straight into the trades, I would already have that.
It really evens out in the 10 year range... one you suffer when you start, the other you break your back for an extra 20 years or so...
Edit to add: Expect at lease a $50k to $60k debt minimum on the Education route now (rent and tuition are only going up!)
(This post was edited by the_climber on May 16, 2007, 2:55 PM)
$12-17k? what the hell school did you do to! My undergrad, taking 6 courses a semister rather than the typical 5 and with expensive texts cost me ~$4k a semester, $8k a year.
Either you took classes 12 months a year, or you are factoring in your living expnses, which you will have whether you are working full time or going to school full time. The big diff is there is no money coming in while you're at school.
It is hard to beat the academic life in terms of a balance of rewarding work, standard of living, and flexibility for climbing, etc.
Brian, seeing how you put it so eloquently, I almost wish I had dropped the mild sarcasm and cynicism of my original post. You really sum it up nicely.
In reply to:
I love climbing, and I've been at it for well over two decades, but climbing is not all there is to life. I suspect that as you grow older you will find that you need more than one thing to be really fulfilled. Consider this as you choose how you are going to be paying the bills, and don't sell your soul or sell yourself short.
Money is not the most important thing about your job. I know being poor gets old after awhile; I've lived out of cars several times. Nevertheless, money will not buy you happiness. Everyone says this, but you need to believe it. Find a fulfilling job that will make you enough to satisfy your basic needs and give you the freedom to live--no one dies wishing there was more money in the bank account, or wishing they had spent more time at the office.
Now this part is worth repeating. I agree with every single word. You can dream about being a fully-sponsored climber, just as you can dream of being a rockstar or a movie star, but unless you actually become one, the reality is that you'll spend more of your time working and less climbing. Choose something you actually feel like doing. The paycheck is important, but if you let it dictate your life, you'll feel cheated in the long run.
5 /
7%
Nothing like a big ol' griz' looking up at you while your attempting to hand drill off of hooks all whil eon a rope solo
