Approximately 10 million Americans hit the slopes on a regular basis. For this number to increase, many more ski instructors should become available to the public. A good ski instructor is the difference between a student skiing once and a student finding a lifelong passion, and there’s room for more instructors in the skiing sector. To become one, you just have to follow the proper steps.
Build Up Experience
The first step is building up skiing experience. No one wants to take lessons from a novice skier, but you don’t have to be an expert to teach basic skiing; you can be an intermediate skier to teach beginners. Basecamp, a ski and snowboard instructor school, recommends that applicants possess, at minimum, level 3 skills. At this level, you should be a confident skier but not necessarily a technical skier.
Take The Course
Once you have the requisite experience, you can take one of the ski instructor courses offered by many organizations. Basecamp’s courses last between two and 14 weeks and offer British Association of Snowsports Instructors certification. Snow Trainers, out of Colorado, offers four week-plus courses based on American Association of Snowboard Instructors certification. Such courses will elevate your skill level, improve your teaching acumen, and instill in you an ethic of safety. The latter is necessary in order to prevent workplace injuries from happening to either you or your students. Ski instructors have one of the highest injury rates of all professionals, so workers’ compensation for instructors is essential in order to keep you covered in the event of an accident: this will be necessary should you decide to start your own business.
Apply To The Resort Of Your Dreams – Or Start Your Own Business
Now you can apply to ski resorts and companies all over the world – just make sure you have the exact qualifications that they require. At the time of writing, resorts with job openings for ski instructors include Whistler Blackcomb in Whistler, Canada and Three Rivers Park in Plymouth, Minnesota. American ski instructors can expect to make anywhere from $9 to $20 an hour. You can make more as a private instructor with a large client base, but this takes a lot of networking and advertising. It can be done, but going private is not recommended for ski instructors who haven’t spent significant time in the public sector.
Pursuing a career as a ski instructor is easy if you know the process. A combination of skiing ability, proper certification, and employment opportunities will set you up for a successful career. Ski instructors are in demand the world over.