Many snowboarders out there would love a job in the snowboard industry, but are they really willing to work for it? And would they actually like that job if they did somehow get it?
Here’s a few points to consider.
1) It’s not all partying and snowboarding
Don’t assume that just because it’s in the snowboard industry that it means you’ll be partying and snowboarding all the time. The reality is there are very few of those kinds of jobs.
The average snowboard industry job will still have you pretty busy and you’ll still likely be working the 9 to 5. There are jobs in the industry that will allow you a lot of snowboarding time, but those are few and far between.
It’s great if there’s a job in the snowboard industry you want to aim for, but go for it because you truly enjoy it, not because you think it’ll mean you get to slack off and snowboard all day.
2) Pay your dues / It’s who you know
Okay, so you decide that you’re going to go for it, well don’t assume you can get one of those awesome jobs that let’s you get lots of snowboarding time without working your butt off and knowing the right people.
Jobs in the industry are competitive, even those jobs working retail at the snowboard shop can be tricky to get. You know who ends up with most industry jobs? Ex-pros, shop sponsored kids, local riders, friends of friends.
You still have to start from the bottom, which often might mean working at a snowboard shop for minimum wage and making connections with reps. You know how people always say “It’s all about who you know”… well they’re right.
You’ve got to put in the hours working crappy jobs and making those connections. I’ll tell you right now if you really want whatever that awesome snowboard job is for you, I’m 100% sure you can get that job, but you need to be prepared to work your butt off to get it.
What you really want in a snowboard job:
Don’t look for an industry job solely because you want to party and snowboard all day. Aim to do what gets you excited and pumped and do what ‘just feels right’.
You know those people that end up with the awesome snowboard jobs in the industry doing what they love? I guarantee you 9 out of 10 of them didn’t go into it aiming to end up in that job. They were simply snowboarding and doing what they enjoyed and they stumbled into that job.
Let me tell you a story.
Many years ago I wanted to become a pro snowboarder. I thought man, that would be epic right? Getting paid to snowboard? That’s the dream!
Well, I put in the time and I kept snowboarding simply because I loved to do it and I kept working on becoming a better snowboarder and doing the occasional competition and the closer I got to my goal the further it seemed to take me from what I loved to do.
I found that I didn’t want to become some big pro snowboarder anymore. I didn’t want someone else telling me when and where I could snowboard. So I took a different path and I ended up here today.
I loved snowboarding and somehow all that time I spend doing what I loved put me in the position to see how I could build awesome snowboard training products that would not only help other people learn snowboarding, but that will also allow me the freedom the snowboard as much as I want.
If you love snowboarding then go snowboard a lot. Period. Focus on the areas you love and enjoy and look for opportunities to build that into a business. I guarantee it can be done and you can end up with an amazing job that you love in the snowboard industry.
Now don’t take this to mean that because you love snowboarding that you’ll be able to do that all day, every day and be lazy and it’ll somehow get you that dream job that lets you keep snowboarding all day.
No. If you love to snowboard then yes, snowboard a lot, but also keep your eyes open for opportunity and when you find that opportunity, have the balls to go for it and be willing to work your butt off for what you really want.
- Jed
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