Hi guys,

I have been searching through the forum for some info that would give me an indication of what life is like as a kiteboard instructor but have had no joy in finding anything. Maybe you can give me an indication of what it is really like to start a career in this area. Been kiting for two seasons so far and have some experience teaching english, if that would help at all ~

Been working as an Engineer for the past 5-6 years and finding that it sucks ass for the most part. Maybe I am a dreamer but the office is sucking the life out of me and I need a change.

I am aiming to get accredited before this season starts so I can maybe find some work at the weekends to see if it is for me. My questions are:

1. What have your experiences been instructing. Positive/negative?

2. Is getting accredited abroad (eg Thailand) as good as getting accredited in Aus?

3. Is there much work around?

Any info/opinions on this would be much appreciated. The crossroads beckons

Cheers,

Pat

Life your dreams mate -

you only regret the things in life you dont do!

What kind of engineer are you Pat? I'm a Civil Engineer specialising in Geotechnics, so I spend a lot of time outside on site, which offsets the soul-sucking that is the office. I also spend a lot of time doings swings on mine sites, which gives me lots of time in lieu which, at the moment, I use to complete my Masters but in the future I'll be using to let me do other things I want. Since being back in Australia I have regularly been going to PNG and have done a stint in NT, with some awesome experiences.

When I lived in the UK I was working on contract basis and got paid such good money I could afford to take 3 month breaks over summer and not worry about saving pennies while I was travelling. I was even lucky enough to land a contract that had me working on a tunnel for 12 hour shifts, after which I was only 30mins from the beach. (The sun goes down late in the UK during summer!) My first job back in Melbourne had me based in Mordialloc which meant I was on the beach at 5pm every afternoon the seabreeze came in.

I would listen to the guys here - being an instructor (kiteboarding, snowboarding) is not as great as it is cracked up to be. Invariably you are caught in a lesson while its blowing a perfect 20 knots or you have just had 1m of fresh powder dumped overnight.

Sounds like you need a change within your career to get you inspired. Find a job within your profession that gives you the flexibility to pursue your favourite activities. The great thing about being an engineer is that your skills are in demand pretty much everywhere and you get paid well for it.

Either that, or save up take a break for a few months and head off to somewhere where the conditions are great and you can afford not to work for a few months. An engineer with 5-6 years of experience should be able to manage that pretty easily, you just have to "keep your eye on the prize"

Pat01 said...

Hi guys,

Been working as an Engineer for the past 5-6 years and finding that it sucks ass for the most part. Maybe I am a dreamer but the office is sucking the life out of me and I need a change.

I know exactly where you are coming from. I am in exactly the same position. I had the brain explosion this week that if I work for a company that installs wind turbines they would just send me to all the windiest places on earth to work...
The best you can do is save heaps while working as an engineer and go on kiting holidays.
Good luck.

Hey Pat,

I did the instructing thing for a bit and while it is cool to be on the beach teaching it does get pretty hard watching everyone ripping on the water while you're stuck on the beach.

Add in the fact that you're in the sun every day, you cop windburn on your lips because you dont have your back to the wind while riding and you're half blind because you spend hours on end staring up into the sun at your students kites.

Plus I still get requests from friends of friends of friends asking for free/cheap lessons 5 years after I quit (the money was actually pretty good though for a full priced lesson).

I think it was a good experience for a season, even though it was probably the least amount of kiting I've done since I started kiteboarding. And I still get stoked when I see people that were students absolutely frothing on the sport this far on. The rewards can be worth it, but it's not all it cracked up to be.

Dude just do it! Travel the world and get what you want from life.

I am in my 4th season of teaching and I frickin' love my life right now. I have been travelling for nearly 2 years and have done 2 seasons in Vic, 1 in FNQ, and I'm now in the Caribbean. I am living the dream and I wouldn't change it.

Yeah it sucks when your mates are kiting and you have to teach - that will always happen to some extent. The solution is to go to places that are always windy and you will still find you have plenty of time to kite as well as teach.

Yeah the money is not great - that can be a problem when there's no wind. The solution is to get yourself a little part-time job or some kind of skill that you can sell, and that you can turn to when there's no wind.

Do it for a few years and travel the world for free. You'll meet so many interesting people along the way and get to kite the best spots in the world if you're smart.

Good luck

All,

Thanks guys for all the opinions and info. They definately shed some light on the subject and I think I am not looking at the idea in such a rose tinted mannor any more. The answer - a job with flexi time :)

I don't think it would be a satisfying career being instructor. Not for me anyway. Was considering it but when you look into it the job doesn't seem that flash. There seems to be too many negatives.

Smedg - I havn't looked into these issues as regards insurance. But I think the course costs about $800 or so.

Olitwist - your situation sounds sweet, however I've spent good chunks of my 20's travelling already so not too keen on continuing that trend. Just turned 30 so must be freeking out a bit

Cheers,