Working Hard (for no money!)

[WorldWarIII 0]

I'm sitting at an airline ticket counter, midway through my third (of four) 12 hour shifts in a row. Outside the window is a cloudless, blue sky. I'm going crazy.

...but every 15 minutes I'm earning enough for about a second of AFF freefall!

So, in honor of you floor mopping, window washing, food cooking, underappreciated bastards like myself, tell us a little about the lengths you go to pay for that next jump! (Sold grandma's dentures, pawned some bling, organ trade, etc.)

P.S. If you're driving your BMW to the DZ, I won't hold it against you . But let's hear it for the folks pushing their rust-bucket jalopies to the limit to make it in time for the next load!

MODS: Feel free to move to a more appropriate subforum, as you see fit. I got a little lost on my way to the bonfire...

"Some kind of high-powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."

[dwhenline 0]

my advice would be to dont jump. You should be using any extra time and money to educate yourself and work towards getting a good job. There is plenty of time for jumping and other sports. Get yourself in the position to be able to not worry about the cost of a jump ticket, or the cost of new vs used container.
you need to live with one foot in the present and one foot in the future,
Or as some one else might say "live in the present but plan for the future"
don

[WorldWarIII 0]

I'm just in post-college limbo waiting for the next big opening in my field of choice (government, comes once a year, think Christmas). Time I've got enough of, money just enough to fit in the hobbies with the bills. Truth be told it's far from being a balancing act (thank you overtime!).

But thanks for the advice anyway! Ramen doesn't taste so bad

So, in the interest of keeping this light hearted and back on topic, what kind of crappy jobs (full disclosure, mines crap but still fun) do some of you have?

"Some kind of high-powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."

[skyjumpenfool 2]

Are you any good on a stripper pole?

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[WorldWarIII 0]

skyjumpenfool

Are you any good on a stripper pole?

If only...

"Some kind of high-powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."

[wmw999 2,452]

I packed parachutes, got my rigger's ticket, and my jumpmaster and instructor's tickets when I was struggling financially. Got my jumps paid for that way. Rigger came first (find a local rigger that you can train with; it's a huge learning curve, and well worth it).

Bought used gear, and jumped it way past when it was fashionable. Had a roommate in my (cheap) apartment, and drove well-used cars that I repaired myself. Yes, I can drop a radiator, change a water pump, alternator, etc. -- much of the stuff that breaks on a well-used car. I cooked for myself instead of eating fast food or eating out.

Some of those things aren't as easy as they used to be, but you can still talk to the DZ about maintenance, washing the airplane, or any of the other unattractive occasional and/or regular off-hours jobs that no one wants to do. And if you take your payment exclusively in jump tickets, the pay rate might be better, because there is no cash trading hands.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[JohnnyMarko 1]

Packed tandems. Lots and lots of tandems. Made enough each weekend in college to pay for jumps, gas to the DZ, and a shitload of ramen for the week.

[Andy_Collins 0]

10 hour shift , followed by a couple of hours to rest, straight in to a 18 hour shift, that was a few days ago, but it's not exclusively because I'm desperate for jump money, but sometimes needs must and all that.

I guess everyone does what they need to to be able to jump

[jimjumper 25]

Re-enlisted for 4 years.

[theonlyski 8]

jimjumper

Re-enlisted for 4 years.

That's the line I wouldn't cross!

To the OP: you should save some money, the sky isn't going anywhere! The trick to skydiving is to get paid doing it. I started off as a packer, became a coach, rigger, video guy and then finally went and got my AFF-I and T-I ratings. I made plenty of jumps where they paid ME! Great thing about being a rigger is there's always someone that needs a repack or something fixed, or even helping someone out at a boogie so they don't have to drag their rig around on their flights home with the reserve pilot chute out.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[WorldWarIII 0]

The irony of all of this is that my car is completely and utterly beyond repair now, just a few days after my original post! Hello new car payment ! Broken rods are quite a nasty surprise.

Luckily I'm not so far into AFF that a break from the sport would be detrimental. Maybe I can start learning some packing and rigging skills in the meantime. A student in my first jump course was looking to apply his Army Airborne credentials to that pursuit. Seems like a decent way to kill some spare time on the weekends.

"Some kind of high-powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."

[3mpire 0]

Quote

The trick to skydiving is to get paid doing it

Meh. Debatable. For me, the trick to skydiving was picking up one or two extra non skydiving jobs in addition to my day job so I could afford to jump and fly in the tunnel.

Upside to this is you get to skydive on your own terms, and you're not beholden to an employee/employer relationship that dictates your passion.

When you work on a DZ you are not your own man, and you make many sacrifices in order to get paid to be in the sport.

For some, that's exactly the right decision. For others, like me, no way. YMMV

[wmw999 2,452]

Quote

my car is completely and utterly beyond repair now...Hello new car payment

Well, if you buy an old used car, that'll be a very short car payment period. You can get something ugly but driveable for a couple thousand easy; for a thousand if you look.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)