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January, 2025

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My life in the future

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M.c
Posts: 122 - Karma: 148
Well hello, im stuck in a problem, i dont know which way i should go in my life, this is my last year in school, i have good grades (avarage 8.50) and my parents think to put me in a great university far away of a mountain resort (engeneering), however i love to ski and i dont imagine my life whithout skiing (and im really capable of being an instructor) . I dont know if my life could be the "worker "one, or more a " enjoy your life".
It would be great if you could apport something interesting from your own experiences or thoughts.

(im from argentina ,not good english)
thanks
Oct 27 2013 11:08PM
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cannaguts666
Posts: 504 - Karma: 256
You should probably learn to spell engineering before anything else.
Oct 27 2013 11:12PM
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t-the-east
Posts: 131 - Karma: 219
Allow me to quote the great Ferris Bueller -"life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around every once In a while, you'll miss it".

With that said, be the "enjoy your life" guy!
Oct 27 2013 11:13PM
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M.c
Posts: 122 - Karma: 148
And you should probably read all the post... it said " im from argentina,not good english... grammar nazi
Oct 27 2013 11:17PM
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cannaguts666
Posts: 504 - Karma: 256
well you didn't have a problem with that, did you?
Oct 27 2013 11:19PM
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JDUBSki22
Posts: 173 - Karma: 175
You can go to School of Mines in Colorado thats a great engineering school about an hour away from Key and Breck
Oct 27 2013 11:21PM
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ermz
Posts: 79 - Karma: 294
Engineer dude, skiing is a hobby and will only become a career for some that are lucky. Pretty unstable but you may be lucky. When you are an engineer you will have plenty of money to enjoy skiing.
Oct 28 2013 1:07AM
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PoopDollar
Posts: 296 - Karma: 423
I thoroughly entertained the idea of bumming it in a resort town due to my severe addiction to skiing. I made the intelligent decision to go to a top engineering school which happened to be hundreds of miles from any appreciable snow. I did well in undergrad and now I am getting paid by another top university to get my PhD in engineering at a university 50 minutes from the slopes. You can have your cake and eat it, too.

My advice: don't waste a great mind because you want to ski. You are young and will have plenty of time to ski in life and a lot more financial freedom to enjoy it once you receive your degree. There are plenty of reputable engineering programs within reasonable driving distance from the snow, just do your research.

Additionally, I don't see why you would pass up on the BUFFET of tens of thousands of experimenting young females on college campuses.




Oct 28 2013 3:16AM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
You should get your professional career going first, regardless of hobbies.Yes it sucks that you will probably only get to ski a few times a winter when you are on vacation from school but heres the argument. If you go the ski bum route heres what will likely happen. Yes you will get to ski more those first 4 years during college. After that thought if you dont get your degree, you'll be stuck working as an Instructor, or liftie or ski-shop rat. You'll be making shit pay, working tons of extra hours to support your habit, which in turn will cause you to ski less. If you end up with an engineering degree pulling in 50-60k starting and working within driving distance of some mountains, you'll be able to take plenty of vacation time and weekends. You'll ski more, you will have better gear and you will be able to afford to fly places to ski some of the best mountains on the planet. Sacrificing skiing for a few years is well worth it to make 25-30k more in the starting years, and depending on the type of engineering you do, and how far you take your education, youll be easily making 6 figures after 10-15 years. What can you ski more on when you are 35, 30-40k working some shit job or 80-100k? Not to mention the obvious benefits of making over double. (Women, bitches love money)
Oct 28 2013 5:44AM
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Suusataja
Posts: 314 - Karma: 1,113
If I were you, then I would go with engineering first, skiing later.. but I'm not smart enough so I'll have skiing first, something crappy later, haha. And I don't even know if it's a bad thing.
Anyways If you don't become a workaholic after graduating then you can get some sweet skiing like others said.
Oct 28 2013 6:10AM
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Vinci
Posts: 701 - Karma: 1,472
That decision isn't really up to you. You're either born as engineer or you're not...
If you'd only do it for the money, study something else... some economy crap or law... or some other shit nobody really needs.
Oct 28 2013 6:16AM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
Its not being a workaholic, a normal job requires you to work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. That still leaves 2 days a week to ski, more if you have a mountain with night skiing near by, plus vacations/ 3day weekends.
It is a bad thing, when you end up working 50-60 hours a week to pay the bills at some shitty retail job, thats when you will realize the mistake you have made, and by that point it will likely be too late.
Oct 28 2013 6:18AM
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Suusataja
Posts: 314 - Karma: 1,113
Yeah, by that I meant the people who have a good paying job, but still grave for more, ending up doing overtime and working weekends, never actually get to enjoy their money and free time.
Oct 28 2013 6:45AM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
Thats true, theres two sides to that though. If your in debt and need the money, thats all there is to it, you do what you have to to get by. I know people though who even though they pretty much dont have any problems will still take every OT shift they can get their hands on. Thats no good at all.
Oct 28 2013 7:19AM
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McFellon
Posts: 1841 - Karma: 2,005
The marketing director of my home mountain told me, "Get a real job and pay to ski."
There's ways to go to school and ski, and you can always take some time off after school before getting a real job to be a ski bum, that's my plan anyway.
Oct 28 2013 11:17AM
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henryeckert_
Posts: 65 - Karma: 287
Depends on how much you love skiing there should be no question weather you made the right move or not. Plus you don't always have to choose either or, theres always somewhere in the middle.
Oct 28 2013 11:26AM
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histonskiah
Posts: 467 - Karma: 1,834
I'm in pretty much the exact same position. I want to go to Montana State Bozeman, I hear they have pretty good engineering, but I could probably get into a lot better school. I'm thinking about Colorado School of Mines too which I know is a great school and I could Probably get into it, but I heard it is suuupppper hard and all the kids do is study and hardly have time to ski or do anything, and I hate studying but who doesn't. Not sure what to do.
Oct 28 2013 2:37PM
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Drail
Posts: 14041 - Karma: 10,293
No offence to you or your parents, but it's your life, not theirs. Do what YOU want to do with your life, not what they expect of you.

I'm not saying do the opposite of what your parents want, if what they want and what you want are the same, then by all means. But if you don't want to go to an expensive university far away from what you deem important in life, don't go. Is it worth going into crazy debt just to do "what is expected" of you?

I say at the very least, take a year off and decide for sure what it is you want out of yourself.
Oct 28 2013 2:52PM
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GrahamGould
Posts: 713 - Karma: 2,439
I would say that unless you really want to go into engineering, you should go to a small cheap school in the mountains, and go ski, while still having a degree. you will have so much more time on your hands, but you will still be doing something generally responsible with your life. You could get a degree in something that isn't quite as intensive as engineering, and then eventually get a job that allows you to ski as much as possible.
Oct 28 2013 3:05PM
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Montana_Hoodrat
Posts: 1953 - Karma: 1,481
It turns out an engineering degree is an engineering degree. Engineering majors from Montana state still get great jobs and get PAID. I'm a freshman now at MSU, and I'm glad I didn't go to some private school in california where I'd be working my ass off for the same degree. It's still a challenging program here, but there is definitely enough time to play and stay sane.

Colorado School of Mines would be an excellent school if you plan on focusing just on education, but being that close to mountains with no time to enjoy them might drive you crazy.

It turns out skiing is an expensive hobby. If you have the skills and motivation, Study hard, get a degree anywhere, and get a well paying job. Then you can afford awesome skiing adventures!
Oct 28 2013 3:35PM
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Miomo
Posts: 4302 - Karma: 14,135
On what scale?
Oct 28 2013 3:36PM
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CJ_S
Posts: 543 - Karma: 312
This, just watched that for the millionth time yesterday.
Oct 28 2013 3:37PM
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Mainah
Posts: 729 - Karma: 1,106
Went through the same thing man its a real tough decision and I think that no matter what you choose you're going to end up wishing you had the other thing. I'm at a top engineering school now and there are definitely times I wish I was chilling in the mountains as an instructor. But I've met a good group of people who love to ski as much almost as much as I do and I get to ski all the time.

The play is to go to school somewhere you can get to a mountain in a reasonable amount of time and do what you can to have a car nearby. Being an engineer means a shit load of work and 5 classes when most people can get away with three. I kill myself with classes fall semester so I can ski in the spring. This spring I got 4 classes, no class friday, and a car so I can't complain too much I'm going to ski 3 days a week at least with people I wouldn't be skiing with otherwise. I also plan on taking a year or two after I graduate to bum around in the mountains. Then I have an engineering degree so after a year or two of bumming I can go make bank.

Go to school and do well, bust your ass during the week to keep weekends free from school work, keep the mountains close, and get to do everything you want alongside getting your edumnication.
Oct 28 2013 7:24PM
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Stuntfreak
Posts: 106 - Karma: 239
Went through both of it... i spent lots of time in university getting my mechanical engineering degree, as well as a minor in business - and slummed it on the weekend in the park/mountain.

Skiing afforded me a release on the weekend and was always my biggest passion - but engineering offered an academic/brain outlet that was satisfying on a completely different level.

I found the time during school to continue to push my semi-pro career - contests, ski trips, weekend shredding and a few bucks on the side working as a park tech - but never lost site of the long term goal and ultimately long term stability planning of a good education and potential for a good job.

I'm sure other guys have said it before - but there are only a very few who actually make it skiing as a professional (though i'm not sure that is what you are interested in...) and there will always be other opportunities in life to continue skiing.

i feel as though putting my post graduation efforts into engineering gave me a whole new appreciation for skiing again - the same drive i had when i was kid was re-born. I found (and continue to find) that the balance between the both continued to make me appreciate both even more.

I say go for engineering - at least you will have that as a great fall back. Knees break, but brains last forever.

Plus - you could always use your engineering degree to design something ski related and really hit a home run.




Oct 28 2013 9:04PM
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keenandesplanque
Posts: 162 - Karma: 1,395
https://vimeo.com/63961985 Whenever I ask myself what to do with my future I watch this video. Best of luck you bro! and if all else fails just future spin to see what happens.
Oct 28 2013 9:19PM
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rare_earth
Posts: 44 - Karma: 59
fuck money people and experiences will make you happy
Oct 28 2013 9:59PM
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coldcuts69
Posts: 3718 - Karma: 1,888
This is my last year of school too, and I'm taking the "enjoy your life" route.

No doubt.
Oct 28 2013 10:14PM
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~bagelz~
Posts: 1105 - Karma: 1,067
i have similar grades to you op but my parents support me when it comes to skiing. im gonna go to a college where i can get a good engineering degree and also ski because i couldn't stand not being able to ski for 4 years.
Oct 28 2013 11:33PM
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wildbillchill
Posts: 79 - Karma: 219
Money is not necessarily the key to happiness, however it doesn't hurt. If you have the capacity, which it sounds like you do, get an education so you can comfortably support your self and your love to ski in the future. I for one never considered letting skiing go from my life, not even temporarily. But i was also not willing to start closing doors to my future just so i could ski. Turns out you can do both.
I attend the University of Utah, which is by no mean a prestigious school, however it is still a very good school with a well respected engineering program and many more. There is plenty of skiing to be had here in SLC, plus a very low in-state tuition can be acquired in only one year. My house-mate is about to finish up his engineering degree within the net year and i would say he has had a little more than his fair share of skiing, plus i bet when i see him with his shiny new after-college job, he will sporting some sweet new gear. The way i see it i can live like i'm in college (sharing a house with many men, working hard all summer, working hard during school, not owning a car, living pay-check to pay-check, ect.) for only my college years and then moving on to bigger and better, or by not going to college run the very high chance of living like a college kid for the rest of my life. I also know that most parent are plenty happy to help get there kids threw the financial challenge that college poses, but if you want to be a ski bum your probably going to get left high and dry when you "can't quit cover rent this month".

College is an opportunity that many people do not get once, and even less get twice, I encourage you not to miss your opportunity.
Goodluck
Oct 29 2013 2:30AM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
This, so much this. Listen to this man.
Oct 29 2013 5:48PM
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JayB
Posts: 107 - Karma: 38
It's much easier to pursue a challenging career that enables you to make a decent living and work skiing into your life than it it do make skiing your life and make a decent living. It can be done, but the odds are against you.

A lifestyle that's a dream-come-true for a 20 year old can start to get seriously old by 30 and downright depressing and empty by 40.


Oct 29 2013 7:28PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
but Mines is like 10:1 guy/girl ratio
Oct 29 2013 7:29PM
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Montana_Hoodrat
Posts: 1953 - Karma: 1,481
Yeah, the "Colorado school of guys" is even worse than "Brozeman". Good luck finding girls at any engineering school in the mountains.

My friends who went to California are loving it right now. The sacrifices we make for skiing...
Oct 29 2013 11:12PM
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Vinci
Posts: 701 - Karma: 1,472
10:1? Lucky bastards.

The past 5 years of my university education I've had classes with EXACTLY 3 female beings...
Oct 30 2013 6:41AM
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Spiri7o
Posts: 2163 - Karma: 1,100
Hahahahaha
Oct 30 2013 9:26AM
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M.c
Posts: 122 - Karma: 148
Hi, its been a while since i entered newschoolers . Started to see my old threads and this one was mindblowing. I thank everyone with their responses.
In an update with my life:
I finally choose to study engineering. And thankgod i choose it. I cant believe how the college open my mind and the dope friends i made. Also living with my brother is quite an adventure.
I still ski and enjoy it althought its 2 weeks per year and not the same intensity. But i still enjoy it as much i enjoyed before.
Also found another sport to compansate the lack of ski during summer (kiteboarding!).

Again, gracias to those who really get into ther comments by opening their lives and experiences.
M.c
Sep 10 2017 9:50PM
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avarda
Posts: 60 - Karma: 215
M.cHi, its been a while since i entered newschoolers . Started to see my old threads and this one was mindblowing. I thank everyone with their responses.
In an update with my life:
I finally choose to study engineering. And thankgod i choose it. I cant believe how the college open my mind and the dope friends i made. Also living with my brother is quite an adventure.
I still ski and enjoy it althought its 2 weeks per year and not the same intensity. But i still enjoy it as much i enjoyed before.
Also found another sport to compansate the lack of ski during summer (kiteboarding!).

Again, gracias to those who really get into ther comments by opening their lives and experiences.
M.c


I cannot believe the commitment here haha.

In any case, happy it worked out for you.
Sep 10 2017 10:05PM
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avarda
Posts: 60 - Karma: 215
M.cHi, its been a while since i entered newschoolers . Started to see my old threads and this one was mindblowing. I thank everyone with their responses.
In an update with my life:
I finally choose to study engineering. And thankgod i choose it. I cant believe how the college open my mind and the dope friends i made. Also living with my brother is quite an adventure.
I still ski and enjoy it althought its 2 weeks per year and not the same intensity. But i still enjoy it as much i enjoyed before.
Also found another sport to compansate the lack of ski during summer (kiteboarding!).

Again, gracias to those who really get into ther comments by opening their lives and experiences.
M.c


I cannot believe the commitment here haha.

In any case, happy it worked out for you.
Sep 10 2017 10:05PM
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M.c
Posts: 122 - Karma: 148
Hi everyone, it's been a while since my last post, and I decided to check back in with the community. I came across this thread and thought I’d share an update (if anyone from the old days is still around). A few years ago, I graduated with an engineering degree and now work in the field. I'm really grateful I chose this path. Life’s been great—I've made new friends I can truly rely on, and I’m enjoying a life I’m proud of. I’ve picked up another sport that I love, but I still save a few days each year for skiing. Now that I'm older, I can’t quite hit the jumps like I used to, haha, but I’m loving carving these days (my younger self would probably be shocked to hear me say that).

Well goodbye see ya in 10 years
Oct 8 2024 9:00PM
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