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Engineering opportunities in the ski Industry

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jakedubas
Posts: 69 - Karma: 428
I’m currently studying mechanical engineering and my dream is to work for a ski company designing or manufacturing skis, boots, poles, anything to be able to combine both my passion for engineering as well as skiing. I plan on transferring and moving out west from the east coast for more opportunities in the ski industry, as well it’s been a dream of mine since middle school to live out west. I was just wondering if anyone that’s an engineer student now, or graduated, really anyone, has any guidance or tips for finding engineering internships or opportunities within the ski industry for a college student, or even someone that has been in the same shoes that I am in and is passionate about both skiing and engineering like I am. I’ve found that a lot of engineering students are able to get internships, or get connections at job fairs, join clubs, etc., for jobs they would love to have after they graduate. Wanting to be an engineer in the ski industry isn’t something that you can easily find connections for, or at least for me, even find another person that understands what I mean. And while internships are great for experience and getting connections, I still want to know what to know what engineering opportunities in the ski industry are out there or how to even go down that path to get there. Any tips are helpful and much appreciated!
Jan 26 2020 11:05PM
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5441 - Karma: 11,938
Take some materials science classes as well. Lots of opportunities in Salt Lake. Maybe WNDR will need interns?
Jan 27 2020 12:44AM
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fries
Posts: 2978 - Karma: 7,521
Threads, just wanted to chime in and say I'm considering on declaring environmental engineering. I'm not expecting to work in the ski industry but I'm just curious what opportunities the major would bring.. Especially with resorts pledging to go carbon neutral and curb their environmental impact and all that.
Jan 27 2020 12:49AM
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ScootSkiLyfe
Posts: 1043 - Karma: 5,608
Where you going to school? Thinking of doing mechanical engineering myself but I’m not sure.
Jan 27 2020 3:11AM
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Andi_G
Posts: 3086 - Karma: 15,116
I'd say focus on stress testing especially with fatigue cyclical stress, some eco friendly material science, and gaining relevant experience that you can apply to skiing. I think it helps gaining some experience so you can show what you offer to the company besides just your passion.
Jan 27 2020 9:59AM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 3011 - Karma: 23,076
1. Research potential companies you would like to work at.

2. Build your resume and tailor it to the field you are looking to get into.

3. Build a cover letter (1 pg long). Use it as a template for each company you apply for.

4. Build a Linkedin profile and upload resume, experience, contact info and interests.

5. Add desired companies on LinkedIn and add as many of their employees as possible to connect with. Reach out to the right guys in the right position and explain who you are and what you goal is. Ask for any opportunities and say why would be be a good fit. Just be honest and direct. Send them your cover letter and resume.

6. Keep networking and you will make the right connections. It’s up to you, it’s how much time and effort you put in. You gotta just dive in and put yourself out there.

GPA and work experience helps.
Jan 27 2020 1:07PM
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jakedubas
Posts: 69 - Karma: 428
ScootSkiLyfeWhere you going to school? Thinking of doing mechanical engineering myself but I’m not sure.

I go to The university of Pittsburgh Johnstown currently
Jan 27 2020 1:10PM
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skiitsbetter
Posts: 133 - Karma: 309
I've seen an ad for an engineering job at G3 in the past so they are obviously doing some engineering there so maybe contact them to see if they have a position for a student. I don't remember the description but I think it was looking for 5+ years of experience. Typical. You could do your 5 years in the real world then take a huge pay cut to work for a ski company.

Want to live in a ski town? I'd look more towards jobs that every small town needs: civil/structure engineering stuff or mining /smelting equipment if you're a mechanical. Even electrical, I'd be living in a ski town right now if I had an electrical degree instead of mechanical...
Jan 27 2020 1:36PM
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bakedpow
Posts: 8770 - Karma: 10,467
Finishing my systems engineering degree this spring and it's like landing any dream job. prepare yourself and resume to stand out in that field. take certifications, extra courses whatever to separate yourself.

Most of all making connections in the ski industry is important. apply, apply, reach out and bug companies.

build your own ski press, vacuum bag set up or something of the like to show you have the drive to take it upon yourself to learn.
Jan 27 2020 2:19PM
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Casey
Posts: 7891 - Karma: 24,913
It’s like all the struggle and hard work of getting that education, to work for a company that can’t afford to pay you shit.

Sounds like a good plan OP
Jan 27 2020 7:43PM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 3011 - Karma: 23,076
Let us know how it goes! I was in your shoes once (as a Civil Engineer), but didn’t follow through with the skiing related field. I respect your passion but the guy above has a point. Industries have different pay scales and benefits.

**This post was edited on Jan 27th 2020 at 8:10:59pm
Jan 27 2020 8:09PM
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SavageBiff
Posts: 3483 - Karma: 14,752
That’s what I was thinking
pitt Johnstown is one of the best mech engineering schools in the country too as well as my hometown
Gluck op
CaseyIt’s like all the struggle and hard work of getting that education, to work for a company that can’t afford to pay you shit.

Sounds like a good plan OP
Jan 27 2020 8:24PM
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jakedubas
Posts: 69 - Karma: 428
STEEZUS_CHRI5TLet us know how it goes! I was in your shoes once (as a Civil Engineer), but didn’t follow through with the skiing related field. I respect your passion but the guy above has a point. Industries have different pay scales and benefits.

**This post was edited on Jan 27th 2020 at 8:10:59pm

will for sure keep you guys updated on what going on, I am going to be sending out all my applications to transfer within the next week or so, and will hopefully be able to finally get out there. I really appreciate all the tips and feedback from everyone, and was next expecting to have so many people respond within just a day. I really just wanted to see what other engineers in the same boat as me, past or present, have gone through. Its really hard to find people who understrand what i'd actually like to do. While obviously I would love in the future to have a career working for a ski company, while also making pretty good money, My main goal is just go finish school out west and see what the future holds for me. Thank you all for the advice, anything is useful knowledge!
Jan 27 2020 8:46PM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 3011 - Karma: 23,076
SavageBiffpitt Johnstown is one of the best mech engineering schools in the country

Source?
Jan 27 2020 8:49PM
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zsturtevant
Posts: 244 - Karma: 231
If you want to design skis, boots, poles you should look into material science as a major. Mechanical Engineering involves moving parts, e.g. designing a ski lift.
Jan 27 2020 9:22PM
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bakedpow
Posts: 8770 - Karma: 10,467
zsturtevantIf you want to design skis, boots, poles you should look into material science as a major. Mechanical Engineering involves moving parts, e.g. designing a ski lift.


reality is that any ski company should take a mechanical engineer. if youre graduating from a program of any worth the skills in any engineering field should translate easily to ski building.
Jan 27 2020 9:34PM
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zsturtevant
Posts: 244 - Karma: 231
Bakerpowreality is that any ski company should take a mechanical engineer. if youre graduating from a program of any worth the skills in any engineering field should translate easily to ski building.


You're not wrong, engineering degrees gives a lot of flexibility for finding jobs. But if you know you want to design skis and boots why not get a degree that relates directly to that? Material science degree would set you up much better.
Jan 27 2020 9:41PM
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dolanslebensraum
Posts: 5959 - Karma: -13,100
i always thought it would be cool to work for a ski lift company. Nothing too fancy, just good old meathead engineering.
Jan 27 2020 10:00PM
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b0ss
Posts: 806 - Karma: 6,259
Top that off with an associates degree in ski/snow business and youll b well on ur way to suxess
Jan 27 2020 10:03PM
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JAHn
Posts: 496 - Karma: 2,655
I’m a mechanical engineer too and also spent quite a bit of time thinking about how to make a career in the ski industry. I was lucky because Oregon State had internships built into the engineering program. My advice is to get any engineering internship you can. Then focus on getting into skiing once you have experience for the resume. Use the internships to figure out what kind of work you like (design vs manufacturing. etc.).

I ended up working at a couple companies doing manufacturing engineering for outdoor consumer products. I’m at Leatherman now. It turns out that I love it. I’m an hour and 15 minutes from Hood and can hit skibowl any day after work. The point is, there are other cool options besides the limited opportunities to design skis and boots.

Give it a shot though! I had a coworker who worked as an engineer at K2 in Seattle and then moved to Smith Optics in Portland. Those are a couple places to look when you start applying to jobs. Goodluck!

**This post was edited on Jan 27th 2020 at 11:29:50pm
Jan 27 2020 11:26PM
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BambooSucks
Posts: 18 - Karma: 70
the happiest guy I know built his career around his hobbys, not trying to get an all in one, work on the degree and be open to finding a job near mountains that would let you ski in free time, ski industry jobs are limited and usually not incredibly well paying, gl for sure, dream big
Jan 28 2020 12:12AM
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Casey
Posts: 7891 - Karma: 24,913
JAHnI’m a mechanical engineer too and also spent quite a bit of time thinking about how to make a career in the ski industry. I was lucky because Oregon State had internships built into the engineering program. My advice is to get any engineering internship you can. Then focus on getting into skiing once you have experience for the resume. Use the internships to figure out what kind of work you like (design vs manufacturing. etc.).

I ended up working at a couple companies doing manufacturing engineering for outdoor consumer products. I’m at Leatherman now. It turns out that I love it. I’m an hour and 15 minutes from Hood and can hit skibowl any day after work. The point is, there are other cool options besides the limited opportunities to design skis and boots.

Give it a shot though! I had a coworker who worked as an engineer at K2 in Seattle and then moved to Smith Optics in Portland. Those are a couple places to look when you start applying to jobs. Goodluck!

**This post was edited on Jan 27th 2020 at 11:29:50pm


I actually looked up K2 job openings because I had basically assumed they outsourced everything to China and had like 5 employees, but actually are doing quite a bit of hiring in marketing and customer service. Not my jam but the jobs are out there for the right people.
Jan 28 2020 12:19AM
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SavageBiff
Posts: 3483 - Karma: 14,752
STEEZUS_CHRI5TSource?

ME
no lol
my statement was a shit at two friends of mine that went there , they got great jobs but that schools kinda average , it’s where you go if you can’t get into CMU
goodluck again OP doing what ya loves waaay more important than income
Jan 28 2020 7:19AM
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bakedpow
Posts: 8770 - Karma: 10,467
JAHnI’m a mechanical engineer too and also spent quite a bit of time thinking about how to make a career in the ski industry. I was lucky because Oregon State had internships built into the engineering program. My advice is to get any engineering internship you can. Then focus on getting into skiing once you have experience for the resume. Use the internships to figure out what kind of work you like (design vs manufacturing. etc.).

I ended up working at a couple companies doing manufacturing engineering for outdoor consumer products. I’m at Leatherman now. It turns out that I love it. I’m an hour and 15 minutes from Hood and can hit skibowl any day after work. The point is, there are other cool options besides the limited opportunities to design skis and boots.

Give it a shot though! I had a coworker who worked as an engineer at K2 in Seattle and then moved to Smith Optics in Portland. Those are a couple places to look when you start applying to jobs. Goodluck!

**This post was edited on Jan 27th 2020 at 11:29:50pm


Ohhhhh I want your friends contact info:)

had a buddy who graduated ahead of me from WWU with plastics composite degree and is still at K2 i think working in the boot design department. Trying to land any job at an outdoor company is essentially my goal for this summer.

Currently trying to get a job at cascade designs (they own MSR, featherlite, Thermarest and some otheres) but theyre located in seattle and do lots of different types of engineering.

we should start an skiing/engineering forum and all pass around conctact info and hiring tips haha.
Jan 28 2020 9:08AM
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HaydenB
Posts: 1074 - Karma: 8,186
@FruitBootPro
Jan 28 2020 10:20AM
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jakedubas
Posts: 69 - Karma: 428
BakerpowOhhhhh I want your friends contact info:)

had a buddy who graduated ahead of me from WWU with plastics composite degree and is still at K2 i think working in the boot design department. Trying to land any job at an outdoor company is essentially my goal for this summer.

Currently trying to get a job at cascade designs (they own MSR, featherlite, Thermarest and some otheres) but theyre located in seattle and do lots of different types of engineering.

we should start an skiing/engineering forum and all pass around conctact info and hiring tips haha.

Hell yeah man, hope it all works out for you!

Ski/Engineering forum wouldn’t be a half bad idea after seeing all the people on here that are engineers. Love the idea
Jan 28 2020 10:42AM
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Andi_G
Posts: 3086 - Karma: 15,116
Bakerpowwe should start an skiing/engineering forum and all pass around conctact info and hiring tips haha.


Super down for this as I've been working my first engineering job out of school to build resume and then will be looking to get into the outdoor industry after this one.
Jan 28 2020 11:04AM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 611 - Karma: 6,611
I don't know your feelings on relocating to Europe, as that's where the majority of the jobs are on this site, but if you're looking for jobs with sports companies a decent variety of companies post vacancies on https://www.ispo.com/en/jobs , especially over the next few days as the ISPO trade fair is on right now. If you're not up for moving continent, there might be a North American version of this from Outdoor Retailer trade show or somebody, not sure.

**This post was edited on Jan 28th 2020 at 11:53:01am
Jan 28 2020 11:35AM
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bakedpow
Posts: 8770 - Karma: 10,467
Those of you interested in ski building reading through this would take a while... but there is a ton of valuable info throughout

https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/thread/651776/Official-Ski-Pressing-Shaping-Building-Constructing-Thread
Jan 28 2020 11:40AM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 611 - Karma: 6,611
BakerpowThose of you interested in ski building reading through this would take a while... but there is a ton of valuable info throughout

https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/thread/651776/Official-Ski-Pressing-Shaping-Building-Constructing-Thread


Yeah, this thread (where Fauna spawned from) or if you've got specific things you want to know, the searchbar on this forum : http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/ is a goldmine for valuable info on ski building.
Many hours have been well spent trawling this site for solutions and ideas.

**This post was edited on Jan 28th 2020 at 11:54:31am
Jan 28 2020 11:44AM
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CabbyArrant
Posts: 780 - Karma: 4,128
STEEZUS_CHRI5TLet us know how it goes! I was in your shoes once (as a Civil Engineer), but didn’t follow through with the skiing related field. I respect your passion but the guy above has a point. Industries have different pay scales and benefits.

**This post was edited on Jan 27th 2020 at 8:10:59pm


I agree. I also suggest not mixing your profession and hobbies/interests. When you do that your work can negatively impact you in ways you wouldn't expect. I have a friend who had one of his lifelong passions ruined by a poor company culture maintained by his employer. Engineering is a hard field, but I love how my salary enables me to ski how
Jan 28 2020 12:55PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 611 - Karma: 6,611
FaunaSkisI don't know your feelings on relocating to Europe, as that's where the majority of the jobs are on this site, but if you're looking for jobs with sports companies a decent variety of companies post vacancies on https://www.ispo.com/en/jobs , especially over the next few days as the ISPO trade fair is on right now. If you're not up for moving continent, there might be a North American version of this from Outdoor Retailer trade show or somebody, not sure.

**This post was edited on Jan 28th 2020 at 11:53:01am


I found the North American version of the ispo jobs site from SIA. https://snowsports.org/jobs/
Jan 29 2020 11:09AM
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5441 - Karma: 11,938
Bakerpowwe should start an skiing/engineering forum and all pass around conctact info and hiring tips haha.

I'd be into that.
Jan 29 2020 12:10PM
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Mafiaverde
Posts: 3 - Karma: 14
Hi guys,

So I studied mechanical engineering and had a specialisation in composite materials. My goal at the time was also to work in the ski industry and if it didn't work, I could switch to the aeronautic industry as it uses material composites as well. I am french so since we make skis and planes , it made sense.
From my experience, if you wanna give a try to pursue your dreams, you should try to find an internship in the ski industry. I personally spent time on exoticskis.com and shot as many emails as I could to the companies listed.
I ended up having an internship in Reno,NV at PMGear, designing skis. Basically I built skis, did some CADs and got baked for 6 months. Back in France, I tried to get a job at Rossignol using my University's network and it didn't work out and I realized that the salaries in this industry are pretty low since there is a bunch of people trying to get into it. Also, on the technical aspect/ engineering, R&D in the ski industry is more driven by the marketing than the technology so it's not really that complex and challenging.
Long story short, give it a try and you might like it!
Jan 29 2020 12:43PM
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PeppermillReno
Posts: 4866 - Karma: -820
Get 2 years good experience and then look for shit close to hills. I’m not sure what you expect from an industry that operates 4/12 months a year.


But I’m sure that degree will get you hired many places for lift maintenance. You could then get employee housing and have a good resort job that lets you take plenty of laps during the work days. If you don’t expect to make a lot I’m sure that’s an easy plan to pull off.
Jan 29 2020 10:32PM
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little1337
Posts: 8283 - Karma: 48,713
I'm in Ocean engineering and so far all my classes have been the same as the Mechanical engineering ones and I agree with the material strengths courses. Also structural analysis and Fluid flow type courses could be applicable too as well as some computer modeling courses to get a good background on designing and modeling stuff. I think Mechanical is the way to go too, it gives you a lot of freedom with where you want to work and if you want to be in the skiing field, there are definitely jobs looking for mechanical engineers.
Apr 21 2020 9:54AM
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That_One_Dude
Posts: 1050 - Karma: 760
I've been out of school for almost 5 years now so I'll try to give you some perspective from someone who didn't end up in the ski industry but came from the East Coast as well and has a passion for skiing still.

I graduated Mechanical Engineering from Penn State in 2015. I too am also from Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) and grew up skiing small east coast mountains. In college all I wanted to do was get a job out west in the ski industry. Unfortunately I quickly learned that in that industry, unless I hit a home run or had an in with someone, I wasn't going to make great money.

I ended up moving to Michigan to work for one of the auto OEMs which at first was tough because the "mountains" here are even smaller than in PA. I would do it all over again though as I got a great starting pay that only continued to go up. It has allowed me plenty of flexibility to take multiple ski trips each season out west. I get 15-20 days a year and though the mountains are small, it snows a lot and I can afford a few trips out west a season. If i want something a little bigger than my local hills I can drive to PA, or up North.

Another thing to consider, is that more and more companies are allowing remote work. If you were lucky enough to land a fully remote engineering job you could live wherever you want, make good money, and ski all the time. You could work from a ski lodge and take lunch laps. In the wake of all this COVID stuff, my company has us working remote full time currently. If traveling and skiing were an option right now, i'd be out west doing my same job.

As with any company, show them your passion, and like others have said tailor your resume and cover letters to specific companies you want to work for. I've helped with recruiting a bit and you can tell immediately when someone has a generic resume that they've sent to 20 companies. If you get to talk to a recruiter, instead of telling them you want to work there, ASK them what you can/need to do to set yourself apart. Engineers are a dime a dozen right now so anything you can to do set yourself apart is going to go a long way. Sometimes catching the right eye is all it takes. I've also found that one of the skills I learned at school that's given me the biggest advantage coming into professional work was getting well versed in CAD software as just about any engineering job will use some amount.

TL/DR: I didn't take a job in the ski industry, but did end up with a great job that lets me still ski 15-20 days a year, and with a good company on my resume I've got the flexibility to move west in the future. Life Hack, find a job you can work remote and do it in a ski town.
Apr 21 2020 12:37PM
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dolanslebensraum
Posts: 5959 - Karma: -13,100
I wanna engineer sintered bases
Sep 20 2020 11:04PM
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dolanslebensraum
Posts: 5959 - Karma: -13,100
I wanna engineer the ultimate sintered base, better than durasurf
Sep 20 2020 11:05PM
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CatdickBojangles
Posts: 6210 - Karma: 63,060
jakedubasI go to The university of Pittsburgh Johnstown currently


Eat shit Pitt! In reality Pitt is a great school I'm just a WVU fan. Where you planning on riding this winter?
Sep 21 2020 9:46AM
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CalP
Posts: 12 - Karma: 51
I was wondering the same lol, also studying ME.

**This post was edited on Sep 21st 2020 at 11:14:01am
Sep 21 2020 11:12AM
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GrandThings
Posts: 3182 - Karma: 32,212
How many Mechanical Engineers does it take to design a product that's already been invented?
Sep 21 2020 11:38AM
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