Work or Ski or...?
October 1, 2017 4:52 PM Subscribe
I moved to Utah last year to ski and - with ski season approaching - am considering leaving my job next month in order to get more than the 1 day-a-week mountain time I'd have if I was working: is this a reckless thing to do?
When I was laid off a few years ago I decided to move to Utah as I really wanted to get in some serious ski-time, because it's really one of my few pleasures in life. My plan worked well last season, but now I've got a job and I'm thinking about how I'm going to manage skiing this season.
Skiing on Saturdays is kind of a bust here because it's super busy - in part because the Mormon folks don't ski on Sundays - so if things stayed the same at work, I'd really just get one day - Sunday - a week. I know it seems kinda whiny to say, "boo-hoo I only get one day a week", but I moved here to ski - and it turns out I really don't like the Utah summers - so living here and waiting all year to get one ski day a week seems a bit dumb.
I could of course try to negotiate with my work and see if I could change shifts to maybe 4x 10hr days or... I could just work for the next two months, hang up my hat, and hope I pick up something decent in April.
I can afford to do this financially, but emotionally I find being out of work a real drag and kind of lose confidence in my abilities. My current job pays well, but it doesn't really do much for me, and it's not one I'd consider as a long term option. Also, I commute 90 miles round-trip a day so I'm wondering (read: possibly using as an excuse) if that kind of commute through a Utah winter is going to be an additional significant factor.
When I was laid off a few years ago I decided to move to Utah as I really wanted to get in some serious ski-time, because it's really one of my few pleasures in life. My plan worked well last season, but now I've got a job and I'm thinking about how I'm going to manage skiing this season.
Skiing on Saturdays is kind of a bust here because it's super busy - in part because the Mormon folks don't ski on Sundays - so if things stayed the same at work, I'd really just get one day - Sunday - a week. I know it seems kinda whiny to say, "boo-hoo I only get one day a week", but I moved here to ski - and it turns out I really don't like the Utah summers - so living here and waiting all year to get one ski day a week seems a bit dumb.
I could of course try to negotiate with my work and see if I could change shifts to maybe 4x 10hr days or... I could just work for the next two months, hang up my hat, and hope I pick up something decent in April.
I can afford to do this financially, but emotionally I find being out of work a real drag and kind of lose confidence in my abilities. My current job pays well, but it doesn't really do much for me, and it's not one I'd consider as a long term option. Also, I commute 90 miles round-trip a day so I'm wondering (read: possibly using as an excuse) if that kind of commute through a Utah winter is going to be an additional significant factor.
Can you reduce your hours and work a couple days a week?
Can you get a job at a mountain - bartender, lift attendant, whatever?
I'd say do it.
posted by theora55 at 5:16 PM on October 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
Can you get a job at a mountain - bartender, lift attendant, whatever?
I'd say do it.
posted by theora55 at 5:16 PM on October 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
My brother quit working to ski for a year about 10 years ago, and it was fine for him. But he's a highly skilled software developer who was able to find new work without batting an eye when he was ready to go back to work. It seems like that kind of plan really relies on being in demand in an in demand field where work will come easily when you need it. It might have backfired if he happened to quit his job right before the tech bubble burst or something.
How much do you "hope [you] pick up something in April" and how much do you know you can without too much effort?
posted by jacquilynne at 5:18 PM on October 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
How much do you "hope [you] pick up something in April" and how much do you know you can without too much effort?
posted by jacquilynne at 5:18 PM on October 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: jacquilynne: I'm a business analyst, supporting SharePoint operations. Not "in demand", but specialized enough that there's not significant competition (in these parts) for positions when they become available.
posted by 7 Minutes of Madness at 5:26 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by 7 Minutes of Madness at 5:26 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'd try to negotiate my position first - even seeing if you could work Tuesday-Saturday to get Sunday and Monday for skiing. If you are considering quitting anyway, why not try to negotiate?
posted by Toddles at 5:46 PM on October 1, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Toddles at 5:46 PM on October 1, 2017 [9 favorites]
It's hard for any of us to give you helpful advice on this (beyond the suggestion to try negotiating for a seasonal part-time schedule) because, if you can't get your employer to agree to let you work part-time, it's really all about your personal appetite for risk.
I definitely know people who have quit jobs to pursue personal interests (heck, I quit a job to travel around Asia when I was in my twenties and I met a lot of people traveling who did the same) but a lot of them have seasonal jobs, or non-career-type jobs, or it's really easy for them to pick up work whenever. If you're in a sub-field where the job postings are few and far between, you might consider what you'll do if it takes you a few months after ski season to find another job.
One other thing - let's say you do quit and then get another job soon after ski season ends - what will you do next year? Will you quit again? If skiing is really important to you and you expect it to continue to be important, you might want to think about looking more into seasonal work on a permanent basis. Or maybe you can go out on your own as a consultant, since you have such specialized knowledge, and just take less work in the winter.
Oh one other thing - make sure you have access to, and can afford, good health insurance through ACA or otherwise. This is important for everyone but especially if you'll be skiing all winter. You don't want to quit your job, have high-deductible health insurance, and then break a bone on the slopes.
posted by lunasol at 5:59 PM on October 1, 2017 [5 favorites]
I definitely know people who have quit jobs to pursue personal interests (heck, I quit a job to travel around Asia when I was in my twenties and I met a lot of people traveling who did the same) but a lot of them have seasonal jobs, or non-career-type jobs, or it's really easy for them to pick up work whenever. If you're in a sub-field where the job postings are few and far between, you might consider what you'll do if it takes you a few months after ski season to find another job.
One other thing - let's say you do quit and then get another job soon after ski season ends - what will you do next year? Will you quit again? If skiing is really important to you and you expect it to continue to be important, you might want to think about looking more into seasonal work on a permanent basis. Or maybe you can go out on your own as a consultant, since you have such specialized knowledge, and just take less work in the winter.
Oh one other thing - make sure you have access to, and can afford, good health insurance through ACA or otherwise. This is important for everyone but especially if you'll be skiing all winter. You don't want to quit your job, have high-deductible health insurance, and then break a bone on the slopes.
posted by lunasol at 5:59 PM on October 1, 2017 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: lunasol: thanks - good points. With regard to the future, I'm a UK citizen with a green card - I can apply for citizenship this time next year, so I only really plan to do this/ stay in Utah for the next 18 months (don't know what's after that - just know that the Utah/ ski phase is temporary).
posted by 7 Minutes of Madness at 6:08 PM on October 1, 2017
posted by 7 Minutes of Madness at 6:08 PM on October 1, 2017
Came in to say heck yes GO SKIING, with the caveat that you MUST have very good health insurance the whole time, as lunasol said above. Would your personality fit with being a ski instructor?
posted by scrubjay at 6:15 PM on October 1, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by scrubjay at 6:15 PM on October 1, 2017 [3 favorites]
Disclaimer: longtime Utah resident, never-time skier, never-time business analyst:
Be really sure that the job market HERE in your field resembles the one you're used to back home. Companies sometimes move operations here for the bare minimum number of years required to get some juicy tax incentive, and then they un-ass the state because...Utah. Thus they leave a wave of talented transplants unmoored in their wake, with a rising cost of living and a salary history that didn't rise proportionally. So, on top of the wider cultural idea that the CURRENT safe-bet careers will magically REMAIN safe bets indefinitely, just remember that many industries look at Utah and think, "Why buy the cow...?"
If you'd be willing to relocate after a year of sowing your wild...ski-oats(?), that's another matter. Once a week is a lot more often than you used to ski, but it's a lot more often than I ever did/will, so I can't speak to whether a sabbatical will scratch the itch.
YMMV; best of luck; stay healthy in the upcoming winter inversion!
posted by armeowda at 6:15 PM on October 1, 2017
Be really sure that the job market HERE in your field resembles the one you're used to back home. Companies sometimes move operations here for the bare minimum number of years required to get some juicy tax incentive, and then they un-ass the state because...Utah. Thus they leave a wave of talented transplants unmoored in their wake, with a rising cost of living and a salary history that didn't rise proportionally. So, on top of the wider cultural idea that the CURRENT safe-bet careers will magically REMAIN safe bets indefinitely, just remember that many industries look at Utah and think, "Why buy the cow...?"
If you'd be willing to relocate after a year of sowing your wild...ski-oats(?), that's another matter. Once a week is a lot more often than you used to ski, but it's a lot more often than I ever did/will, so I can't speak to whether a sabbatical will scratch the itch.
YMMV; best of luck; stay healthy in the upcoming winter inversion!
posted by armeowda at 6:15 PM on October 1, 2017
If you're in-demand enough that you're not worried about quitting your job, you're probably in-demand enough that you can negotiate for seasonal ski-time accommodations. Could you work Saturdays and take a weekday off? Or maybe go down to part-time during ski season?
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:15 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:15 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ski bums exist. Do ittt.
posted by Grandysaur at 6:18 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Grandysaur at 6:18 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Adding to my previous comment: just saw that you're here from the U.K., so please apply my caveats about employability to wherever you might land after your 18 months, and please add my voice to the chorus of people warning you about being uninsured or underinsured in America.
posted by armeowda at 6:20 PM on October 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by armeowda at 6:20 PM on October 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
You have quite a few choices.
You mentioned 4x 10-hour days, and with your commute, that is an arrangement that can help you even starting now.
Another possibility is to ski evenings. Maybe take off once a week just a few hours early, and do some night skiing. Also, night skiing on Saturdays is bound to be less busy than during the day.
Night skiing on Friday can work pretty well too-- you can rest up the next day if you don't want to go on Saturday.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 6:43 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
You mentioned 4x 10-hour days, and with your commute, that is an arrangement that can help you even starting now.
Another possibility is to ski evenings. Maybe take off once a week just a few hours early, and do some night skiing. Also, night skiing on Saturdays is bound to be less busy than during the day.
Night skiing on Friday can work pretty well too-- you can rest up the next day if you don't want to go on Saturday.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 6:43 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
They have night skiing in Park City and at Solitude up Big Cottonwood Canyon. You can also save your days off, and use them during the season. You can also ask to work Saturday, to get a weekday in skiing.
posted by Oyéah at 8:00 PM on October 1, 2017
posted by Oyéah at 8:00 PM on October 1, 2017
Have you checked out Ogden? I don't personally ski, but I have lots of friends here who do. They often go to Snow Basin on weekdays after work, and I'm told that even on Saturdays it's not super crowded. There's a couple other ski destinations really close that are so much less crowded than the ones in the Park City area.
All I'm saying is, don't give up on Utah. You might just be in the wrong area.
posted by TooFewShoes at 10:46 PM on October 1, 2017
All I'm saying is, don't give up on Utah. You might just be in the wrong area.
posted by TooFewShoes at 10:46 PM on October 1, 2017
I only really plan to do this/ stay in Utah for the next 18 months (don't know what's after that - just know that the Utah/ ski phase is temporary).
Oh well then hell yes, quit and ski all winter.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:57 PM on October 1, 2017
Oh well then hell yes, quit and ski all winter.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:57 PM on October 1, 2017
The 4x10 thing is a thing that a lot of fairly established companies are starting to handle fairly well. Especially with winter coming, I wouldn't rush to even seriously considering other stuff until you've gone to your boss with that idea and worked through whether it's plausible, because I think it's got a reasonable chance of working out. I work for an incredibly boring place, albeit not in Utah but in a very conservative part of the country, where I've got coworkers who do it, and BA kind of work tends to fit very well into work that just needs to get done and where there's very unlikely to be emergencies that require you to routinely be available five days a week.
posted by Sequence at 11:10 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Sequence at 11:10 PM on October 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
yah, do 4 10hr days and make one of them Saturday, maybe ask to work Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat.
posted by at at 12:55 AM on October 2, 2017
posted by at at 12:55 AM on October 2, 2017
I've structured my adult life around skiing for the last 20 years. Do it. Quit your job, ski everyday. Figure out what's next in May. Get a night job at the resort or in town.
posted by trbrts at 6:03 AM on October 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by trbrts at 6:03 AM on October 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Regarding the "really don't like the Utah summers" part, I moved to SLC to ski when I was younger, discovered rock climbing, and skiing ended up becoming a secondary activity. If you have any interest at all in trying climbing, Utah is world class, and you'd have a great way to spend the other 6 months of the year.
posted by doctord at 9:14 AM on October 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by doctord at 9:14 AM on October 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've got a "regular career" (technical consultant for .NET apps) and I've balanced that with skiing 1 full day and 2 or 3 nights per week, every winter for the last 15 years.
Post your query on ski-specific forums like pugski.com and you'll hear back from hundreds of other ski bums who've made it work.
As a Sharepoint BA, can you go virtual as a remote contractor on a flexible schedule?
posted by wutangclan at 4:33 PM on October 2, 2017
Post your query on ski-specific forums like pugski.com and you'll hear back from hundreds of other ski bums who've made it work.
As a Sharepoint BA, can you go virtual as a remote contractor on a flexible schedule?
posted by wutangclan at 4:33 PM on October 2, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by insectosaurus at 5:16 PM on October 1, 2017