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Unlocking Financial Success in the Ski Industry: How to Thrive Financially as a Ski Instructor
Some of you may be surprised to find out that the ski industry is not too well paid. It's a tourism, hospitality, and holiday activity industry in which our jobs rely on people wanting to come on holiday and spend their money having a good time with us. Unlike many of the other coaching jobs in the world, ski instructing even at its highest levels of athlete coaching and private lessons, still doesn't pay the big bucks. Being an instructor is not a retire-rich type of job by any means unless you find a way to turn happiness into dollar bills, I've never seen a scowling unhappy instructor, we all live the dream.
So is it possible to work in this industry and afford a better-than-average lifestyle? If so, how?
While I’m still on a journey to finding out the best way for me, and I’m open to new ideas and pathways, here are a few things you can do to further your financial success inside and alongside the ski industry.
Article contents
Be the best at your job
It isn’t rocket science that being one of the best in the industry is a sure way to get paid the bigger bucks. That said, it’s not a guarantee and takes a huge amount of effort and being in the right place at the right time with the right people.
Tips
This is a tricky subject since it is expensive to get a lesson, especially a private one but you can see the disparity. You may pay $100+/hr for a lesson with me, but I may be making $13/hr. So if you have a good lesson, a rule of thumb is 10-20%, like a restaurant.
Train and gain higher certification levels.
Just like any career, the more time and effort you put in to gain further qualifications and experience, the more money you earn and the higher potential for salary negotiation you will have. This is true for the most part, ski schools usually have a pay structure based on your qualifications and whether you are returning to the company or are a new hire. Sadly at current, I am yet to find a ski school that takes into account your years of experience and additional qualifications such as children’s certification, Freeski / park certifications, adaptive certifications an volunteer hours. That said, don’t let this discourage you from doing these lessons since they do open the door to more priority for work to rack up the hours as well as enhance your skills as an instructor to be able to sell yourself more easily as an experienced private instructor to get that request rate.
Go the extra mile
There are a few extra things you can offer your clients at a small extra charge which can earn you a few more pennies. One of these could be using your own action camera to film your guests’ lessons/holidays and editing the footage into an impressive holiday snapshot video. A second offering could be childcare services. Many of the families we teach are at the resort on holiday and would like to enjoy an evening without the kids, it’s not always easy to find a sitter last minute if they haven't managed to pre-book, especially during peak weeks. I personally love looking after kids in the evenings because the children already know me, they feel comfortable with me and therefore make the job of finishing dinner, playing games, and putting them to bed very very easy money. Get creative with the ways you can offer extra services - pre-booking restaurants for guests, offering chauffeur services on and off the mountain, charging to help them sort their rental equipment and lift passes etc. If you have any more ideas please reach out, we would love to hear them!
Earn a private request rate
You’re not going to make it if you’re going to rely on “walk-in” clients and group lessons. Typically the best pay is for “request privates”. So, you’re going to need lots of folks who ask for you by name.
You need to know how to schmooze your client and make them feel like they’re the most important thing on the mountain. They’re going to need to feel like the hundreds of dollars they’re spending on you (of which you get a small cut) are worth every penny … and more. I say “more” because the real money to be made is in tips … even for well-qualified instructors the hourly rate is fairly low - somewhere around $20/hr if you have advanced certifications and lots of experience.
However, you only get paid that rate while you’re actually with a client. You’ll be required to be at the resort on your scheduled work days … but if you’re sitting around waiting for an assignment, you’re not getting paid. Client cancelled? Not getting paid. Shitty weather? Not getting paid.
Right place, right time, right people
These factors aren’t totally out of your control. You can very much choose where you’re going to work. Some resorts around the world pay more than others and tipping culture varies massively across the world. In Japan, for instance, doing a good job in a private lesson can bring in tips quite regularly. It is possible to supplement your income heavily with tips and/or free lunches on the mountain. In New Zealand however, tipping culture is almost nonexistent (something I’d really like to change since we really do deserve to be tipped since we don’t earn much more than the servers of the world and we work so much harder to be able to do our job let alone day to day performances).
Being somewhere at the right time can also be a big advantage to you financially. When it comes to working peak season for instance, you want to be teaching private lessons, ideally, those who plan to come back year after year, guaranteeing your workload year to year and tip potential as well as making your job easier as you know who you're expecting, thus allowing more energy expenditure on the new guests and enabling you to work more days of the peak season since you will be able to manage your energy levels more efficiently.
Knowing the right people is arguably the most important factor in earning more money. Knowing the right person can mean the opportunity to join a new company offering you more money or the chance to work in a better location or to teach more affluent, richer, more generous clients. It definitely pays to be nice, talented, and professional in this industry. What’s more, if you’re not planning for instructing to be your long-term main gig, it can be the perfect opportunity to network your way into a different industry or to gain more knowledge about an industry should you be about to start studying or are taking a year out from your main gig.
Work your way up to supervisor/management role
Typically the most reliable way to actually make money in the Ski School is to get into the Supervisory/Management positions, as these actually pay a salary albeit a generally small one and benefits.
Work in the kids’ department full-time
Another route is to work in the all-day kids’ programs. Now this route varies from ski school to ski school and not all of them that I’ve worked at or heard from offer these benefits so do your research before you commit yourself to 5-13 yr olds for the entire season.
If you’ve got enough seniority, you’ll typically work every day you show up for lineup. You get 6 hours of your base pay plus a “per head” bonus for each kid in your group. This job is no cakewalk though. You’re going to be solely responsible for your group of kids.You’re outnumbered by a bunch of little kids in a somewhat chaotic environment and you are responsible for keeping these little bundles of energy and attitude safe and in a cohesive group, all while trying to teach them new skills. It can be a handful. At the end of the day, you’ll be hoarse from yelling over the wind all day, and exhausted from hiking back up the hill every time that one kid who just can’t stay on his feet (and can’t/won’t get up on his own) falls down.
Freelance
You could also try to take on freelance instruction jobs, outside of the mountain’s schools. This will likely mean teaching without the support of a resort, one-on-one for instance. Then all of the money for a lesson is yours, but of course, you need to have enough reputation to get clients.
Start a side gig
An easy way for anyone to make a few extra dollars on the side of their main career is to start a side gig. There are thousands out there. Be careful though, as there are many scammers out there looking for your personal information without being a true job offer.
Sell your gear
Are you a ski instructor if you don’t have a slight ski gear addiction? We all end up collecting items that no longer serve us over the years, I urge you to sell them, a few items at 50 bucks each starts to add up after a while!
Get yourself a second job
Wouldn’t this be succumbing to failure? It is almost admitting you can’t make enough money in your main job so you have to work extra hard even more hours on your feet earning money in a separate job. Not ideal, but if you also enjoy it, it can be quite fun as well as a way to guarantee work you can continue to do into the off-season months.
As I tell people in staff training, "If you are here for the money, you messed up." Money is important, but being an instructor is a hard way to make an easy living.
Get a handle on your expenses
Earning more money doesn’t necessarily mean you have more money. That is very much dependent on how much of it you spend day to day, paycheck to paycheck.
Ski instructors eventually learn that a little can go a long way if you have the know-how. Cheap rent, a well-planned out meal prep and grocery shopping list, and a beer budget, those who are lucky can try to live off tips alone, avoid having a car, and take the bus or cycle and walk instead. Eat local, eat less meat, eat at home more.
I wish you luck on your journey to earning more money in a financially broke industry.
If you’re also interested in saving the money you do earn or you want some help prioritizing what to spend it on, check out this article. 10 ways to save money on your ski season.
TheSkiNomad
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