Looking for some advice from those of you who have made a career out of content creation.

Hello,

While I do not have very specific advice regarding the ski industry and content creation within it, I think I might have some experience and info that might help you out. The first thing that I want to start out by saying that do not expect money to just flow in. The ski industry is a tedious market to get into and then you want to branch into content creation which cuts your potential market down even further. With such a small market, bigger companies dominate that sector of the industry thus limiting your options for employment.

All that being said, what you have started to do in regards to getting connections and time behind the lens is the way to go. Unfortunately, that doesn't make you any money. You mentioned it and I am going to recommend it.. getting a college degree in whatever major you chose will help you immensely in your field. I have a few reasons for this. Being a content creator is more about what you can do with a computer and some footage more than what your resume says on paper; but you have to be able to get your foot into the door. A resume is the easiest way to attract attention to yourself in regards to a career. If you do some research on positions open at any solidified company they will all say they want a degree. A degree is a sure fire way to show an employer you are in this for the long haul, willing to learn, and have a solid base of knowledge in your toolbox. That is the first reason but the second reason is because in that field, ESPECIALLY in a market like the ski industry, your content needs to stand out. Your target is not avid skiers on newschoolers most of the time as its not a big enough audience, but rather your target is to the general skier and making the content have an impact from the Texan to the guy who gets 200+ a year. This is something that takes practice and having mentors and constantly adapting and learning all the time. Schooling will help with this, it will help your content, thus helping you in your career.

Overall, if this is your passion you'll make it work either way. If you do chose to go to school do not forget about connections and lens time as those will be as resourceful as your degree when it is all said and done. Put in the work now so that you can play later, trust me it will be easier that way. Going to school as much as people say it is a lot of work, it is, but you also have an immense amount of time on your hands where you can continue to do those side jobs to bring in some income. Also, the last quick note I have is while I know you want to be in the ski industry you can be, but when you are searching for a job even with a company like TGR, Northface, Vail they will not want to hear that you only are interested in the skiing side. You have to market yourself to them, once your in and on their payroll you can work towards skiing and if your good at what you do probably wouldn't take more than six months for you to slowly transition into that realm.

I want to reiterate I don't have all the answers or the perfect solution in regards to your situation and I wish you the best of luck but I would carefully consider this advice!

Sincerely,

Austin

I'm not much older than you, but I'll offer what I do know.

I set out at the end of high school/beginning of college to become a ski photographer, that was my goal. I owe a big portion of what small successes I've had to Newschoolers. I started posting, and shooting as much as I could. Soon enough I was covering events like Dew Tour for NS. I certainly wasn't making money then. Over the years, NS has opened a lot of opportunities via the network I've started to create.
A handful of years ago, I heard writing was a good way to get photos published. I thought I was a decent writer, so I gave it a shot.Today, I write far more than I shoot.
I graduated college a semester early while continuing to pick up freelance photo jobs, mostly through NS. The spring after I graduated was the most consistent freelance work I have done. I did okay, but not enough to live on comfortably. (if you want to know more about the financials, PM me).
Now, I work at evo in Seattle as an ecommerce assistant. I still do a lot of writing, most of which is content designed to drive organic search traffic to our website. I like to think I found a pretty good balance with this job. I still plan on doing some freelance work as it becomes available this winter.

I guess as far as advice, I'd say:
- Seek feedback, make yourself and your work vulnerable, really listen, never stop trying to learn
- Don't pigeonhole yourself, especially early on. Try everything, shoot photos, video, edit, write. I never thought I'd be a writer, but here I am.
- Networking is obvious
- College can definitely be helpful, but isn't the only way. Jamie (1337 on here), and I had very similar trajectories as far as setting out to become pro ski photogs. I went straight to school, got a business degree, dabbled outside of skiing, and found a job that's related to skiing and content. He didn't go straight into a 4-year college, shoots every day, has held marketing positions at ski areas, and is well on his way to being a successful full-time ski(focused) photographer. I think whether or not you go to school, it's still on you to make it happen.

I'm going to try and reply to this quickly, if you have more questions hit me up.

That being said, the #1 key to progressing in the ski industry is don't stop working. Take every free gig you can get, contact ski brands, contact the mountain, film your friends, etc. I started off doing tons of free work, or would trade work for gear. Film some riders, slap the logo on the edit, get some gear. Build your resume, keep working, don't stop shooting/posting/working. Consistency is key and as your work gets better, people will notice.

There is a very good chance it won't pan out in the ski industry, but that doesn't mean your work will go in vein. Experience is experience, the best thing about creating content around skiing is you get 6+ months of non-winter months where you can film biking, skateboarding, surfing, whatever you want really. Action sports are basically all the same when it comes to the content side, some are bigger (surfing, skateboard) but that doesn't mean you can't break into them. You might not work in the ski industry in the future, but if you work hard and put in the time, you will be doing something.

Prepare yourself to work hard for very little and don't expect big paydays for a long, long time. I've been creating content in the ski industry for over 10 years now (im 28) and I have a job that I make enough money to survive (I'm great at budgeting i might add) and I'll be lucky if in 5 years (ill be 33) I'll be making enough to save money/support a family. But, there's nothing stopping me from pivoting to a different sport, or a different job other than my absolute love for skiing. Basically anyone you see working in the ski industry is making a sacrifice to work with skiing, because they love skiing. Thats my two cents, if you have any specific questions post em here or message me.

This is coming from a more broad content creation pov. I recently got a full time job as the in-house photographer and videographer for a destination marketing firm. It's opened up a ton of opportunities to network with people in the tourism industry and is something you should look up.

I create content to help get people to visit my city so I get to go to literally every event in town (for free) and take photos and shoot video. All in the spirit of tourism. It is a lot of fun. I have a degree in advertising and sports comm, but luckily had good enough skills in photo and video to land this job. So check out your local or nearest "convention & visitors bureau" and maybe find an internship there. If you're in big ski country, then skiing will definitely be something they will push to get people to visit their town. Then in the summer, they'll promote all of the rest of the great outdoor things they have to offer.

I've been putting alot of thought into this lately as well. I love getting behind the lens and filming any action sports, particularly skiing and I think i've gotten better over the years and thats what keeps me going, because I love it and it is an amazing creative outlet for me. Now that I'm going into my senior year studying geology at Montana State i've been thinking about the what I want to do after school.

Obviously I could go geology and make a good career but I feel like never going for something in film / content creation would be a mistake after I've spent all these years on my craft. But to be honest the money thing is tough for me. I feel like as a cinematographer, making good money is really hard and somewhat comes down to luck. (this is just what i can see after reading and talking to people in the field) Obviously you can make enough to live and do what you love but supporting a family and things down the road seems much harder

I guess this was more of just throwing my thoughts out there, trying to decide what path to take, do you play it safe and make the money or follow your passion and maybe sacrifice other things down the road....

enjoyed reading all of your posts, its inspiring to see people making a career out of this!

eheathyour work will go in vein.

heroin is so trendy tho

Go to school #1. I kind of went to school and went for a film degree and in retrospect, it's useless. I badly wish I went for something more applicable like business perhaps. You can learn all the film tech stuff from other sources, some of the best photographers I know.... actually all of them thinking about it now... didn't go to school for photo. Hell, Erik Seo went to school for landscaping!

As everyone else said, be ready to struggle and do dumb stuff for free. Don't be above any job, and please for the love of all that is good, remember that park skiing isn't the only thing in this world. Don't market yourself as that, go out and shoot anything and everything. Have a solid (modest!!!) head on your shoulders and be respectable to everyone. You will never know if that kid you just talked trash on will one day be the guy that is in the position to give you a paying gig.

Bottom line, work hard, be passionate but realistic, don't be a dick, and think outside the world of just skiing. Whoever talked about the tourism thing is on top of it. Tourism gigs are really good to go after, chase after those people as they actually have some money. Instead of doing a SICK SKI EDIT!!?!?!$$%^$# for ski company "x" figure out something that is awesome about what you are interested in, figure out who would be into it (and who has money at that), and then tailor something you think they would be psyched on. And totally last point, don't be afraid of being a sell out, sell outs get (some)money.

Thank you guys so much for all the responses, they have been tremendously helpful in making my decisions.

I'll be starting school up in BC in a week as a business major, I plan on doing as much filming as possible in my free time so I can possibly get an internship with a local company (maybe something like MEC or Arc'teryx) as a way to get my foot in the door and meet some new people. Hopefully I'll end up seeing some of you around one day haha.

Cheers!