Wondering if anyone else is in the same position as me? I don’t really like my job, but keep it for kiting purposes. I work 7-3 or 3.30 at Mascot airport, therefore can be at Brighton/dolls by 3.45 at the latest every day. Anyone else keep a bad job for their being blessed (or burdened??) By getting hooked on kiting.

I've got the best of both worlds.....got a job that I like that allows me to kite. Work 07:00 to 15:00, on the water by 15:45

I work for a skydiving operation that lands on the beach where I kite so when its 20kts no more work and I can check out the conditions at work It has its ups and downs though!!!

ZoeNZ said...

Become a kitesurf instructor. Then you can travel the world and live on the beach - that's what I do!

How's your teaching going mrbonk??

Hey Zoe!! When are you guys coming over this way again??

Teaching was going well, until I injured my shoulder . Just waiting for an MRI to find out what's wrong with it before I continue lessons.

I should not complain that much about my job. The best bit is my girlfriend also kites as much as I do and we also run a Kiteboarding School after work. So my life is not that bad.

The best part about the school we run is that my partner is the instructor!!! I still get to go kiting

I used to only work nights, i mean 12-3 or evenings 5-9 and only 2 nights per week which gave me heaps of time for kitesurfing. It payed the bills, rent, food, party drinks and petrol but that was about it and it's always nice to have some extra cash to buy new gear and whatnot why I got another job:)

Best jobs you can get that gives you heaps of time are casual ones. I used to work for Staging Connections, setting up audio and visual gear for conferences and exhibitions around Perth and that could be any time during the day or night. Best part was being casual staff I could say yes or no to shifts, depending on what the wind would be like. I liked that job very much too but now trying to save some money why I got a more steady income so I can have a decent vacation this winter for the first time in many many years

working for KBM means im forced to kite

WORK FROM HOME. I'm lucky enough to own a business that allows me to work from home or anywhere with an internet connection.

If the wind is good.. i'm out there.

im a sales rep can kite everyday start early finish early can also check conditions throughout the day and check spots out all over metro area.
on another note use to dislike summer too hot no waves and always windy thats now changed since i took up kiting.

Don't believe harry surfer, i can confirm that he finishes early for a kite and check the spots 4 times a day but doesn't start early either

It is definitely not a kitesurf instructor... :)

2 days 2 nights 4 days off enough for me to kite.

I drive trains and get rostered daily , change days off and starting times to suit waves and wind, as most of the drivers like day work . But the girl reconds she comes second best ,seems like ya can't get it all your way without pissin someone off

I work in shipbuilding, right near woodies (when I'm in WA). I start at 6am and work to 4:30pm Mon-Thurs (still plenty of time to kite in daylight saving) 6-12 Fri and I can work 6-12 Sat if I want some more overtime.

Make pretty good coin too.

Not as good as some guys jobs, but not bad at all.

D

I've the veteran of this post. I've started this thread 3 years ago and posted it a few time for the Quest of that ultimate kite surfing compatible job.

I used to wonder how the guys were out every afternoon at Brighton (QLD) when there was wind I used to wonder what jobs they did to allow them to get out. After starting kiting I had to make some big career changes to quench my new addiction.

After I got shafted and redundant from the airline industry 3 times and only to be hired as a contractor a month later each time doing more work and more hours doing exactly the same job I decided to ditch the airlines altogether. The quest was now on for the ultimate kite surfers job. You quickly relies that it's not that you don’t want to work it's just you don’t want to work when it’s windy. Why doesn't your boss ever understand that? lol

I worked in numerous different jobs from wrapping plastic around luggage at the airport to doing filing for the Brisbane city council. I kept working in numerous high turnover jobs contracting for all sorts of things until I got a job working in a Kitesurfing store for a year. It was a fantastic experience but really at the end of the day it’s a bit of a compromise. I really enjoyed the job because of the people and helping other get into something fun and exiting that you love doing. I mean how many jobs do people do where you feel like your helping people have fun!

I found after awhile that you don’t kite surf much at all and it’s real career. You discover that when you run a shop you're constantly working and working after hours fixing other people’s gear pretty much 7 days a week it takes away the excitement of the sport. It's like mixing business with pleasure it starts to get all mundane. When anything goes wrong you are on the frontline to take responsibility for everything. When you teach kite surfing you get pretty tiered hanging about in the water and it’s torture teaching when the winds up! It really sounds a bit gloomy but if I’d Won the lotto and didn’t have to work for a living I’d probably get back into something like this as a hobby because in smaller doses it’s really rewarding.

After previous posts I worked out some stats from Brighton:

20% of the kiters that kite everyday are just bums who dont have a job and live off centrelink or they go through a range of odd jobs they never keep for a long time.

40% were tradies that started early and knocked off early. They got a decent wage and had a real career. These guys had it pretty good.

15% were retired or semi-retired and they didnt' have to work.

5% were grommets who were not really in the same boat as us because mum and dad had intervention so to all those grommies, appreciate it while it lasts- this figure has changed since I started kiting

The remaining 20% were business owners split into 2 categories:

10% of them struggled to get out trying to run a 9-5 business and worked all the time.

The other 10% were their own boss in their business and were able to run a successful business and go out and kitesurf nearly anytime they wanted. - I had to ask these people what they did!

I now work in Real Estate I have a real career and I now kite nearly anytime the wind is up. I arrange my appointments for ‘board meetings’ if it’s windy in advance from say 1pm to 5pm and if I need to I’ll come back and work from 6pm – 8pm if I need to sell a home or get paperwork signed off. There is absolutely no problem going out kitesurfing in the job, your boss actually doesn’t like you sitting in the office all day! But it wasn’t all peachy when I first started and I have to admit that I nearly gave it all away early in the piece because I had to work when it was windy but when you establish yourself and get a good routine happening it’s a very combination because I really really enjoy Real Estate.

That’s my little story but if you want to find out more about how you can find a job that allows you to have flexibility may I suggest some reading material like Robert Kiyosakis book ‘the Cash flow quadrant’