m529gft 0 #1 September 28, 2012 Hey all, Am a Brit graduating in the next 12 months and would like to spend some time in the US. I was after to some info about whether many people out there have travelled to the US and worked out there as a packer and living on or near a dz for a few months or a year or so and how one would go about this? Is the packing cert different in the states? Is it difficult to find employment? Cheers! Werewolves not swearwolves Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverek 63 #2 September 28, 2012 Are you looking for legal or illegal employment? Totally different answers there . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Southern_Man 0 #3 September 28, 2012 Do you have experience working as a packer? A rigging ticket? Do you have a work visa? Those are all crucial questions before anybody can begin to give you any useful answers."What if there were no hypothetical questions?" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
5.samadhi 0 #4 September 28, 2012 what I've found...if you can walk onto a DZ with no reptuation as being a dependable reliable person/packer and get a job, then its probably not a place you WANT to pack at (DZO is a dick, the business is low, whatever). This is not always true, but mostly true I have found. The great packing jobs are usually coveted positions as the packer makes 200+ USD/day which is good wages for unskilled labor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RiggerLee 61 #5 September 28, 2012 $200 a day? What a shit hole. I've seen people adverage $700 a day on the weekends and top $1000 on a good long day. LeeLee lee@velocitysportswear.com www.velocitysportswear.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #6 September 28, 2012 Quote $200 a day? What a shit hole. I've seen people adverage $700 a day on the weekends and top $1000 on a good long day. Lee That's a L O N G day! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tmccann 1 #7 September 28, 2012 My fingers hurt just doing the math on that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverek 63 #8 September 28, 2012 Quote $200 a day? What a shit hole. I've seen people adverage $700 a day on the weekends and top $1000 on a good long day. Lee Tax free ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
5.samadhi 0 #9 September 29, 2012 Quote $200 a day? What a shit hole. I've seen people adverage $700 a day on the weekends and top $1000 on a good long day. Lee You can pack 58 tandems in one day? At 10 minutes a tandem packjob (which would be sloppy imo) that would be 9.677 hours of continous packing with no break for eating, drinking, peeing, pooping, waiting for an unpacked rig, resting. B U L L S H I T Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GLIDEANGLE 1 #10 September 29, 2012 Bullshit? Maybe not. Lets assume the following for a skilled packer of sport rigs (NOT tandems) at a busy dropzone. 12 hours of jumping (a summer day with jumping from 0800-2000 [8:00am to 8:00pm]) Subtract 2 hours for meals, breaks, and other delays. 6 minutes per sport pack job. $6 fee per sport pack job + 15% tip = ~$7.00 per pack job (rounded to the whole dollar) Given the above: 12 hours jumping - 2 lost hours = 10 hours of packing (10 hours x 60 min per hr) / 6 min per pack job = 100 pack jobs 100 pack jobs x $7.00 per pack job = $700 per day Last weekend I made 13 jumps in 2 days and paid my packer $95. I rounded the pay UP from $91 to $95 to thank him for some high pressure quick calls and his positive attitude. Since I am only ONE of his MANY customers, I think that he probably had a VERY lucrative weekend. Why don't I pack for myself? Simple, when I have less than 20 minutes to debrief the last student or gear up the next student, practice the exit @ the mock-up, do two gear checks, move to the loading area and grab some fluid to drink... I simply don't have time to pack for myself. Am I the kind of jumper who is dependent on my packer because I cannot pack for myself? .... NO. I can pack just fine for myself, thank you. On a hot summer day of fun jumping I would rather conserve my energy for jumping a lot, rather than tire myself packing and jump less.The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #11 September 30, 2012 QuoteQuote $200 a day? What a shit hole. I've seen people adverage $700 a day on the weekends and top $1000 on a good long day. Lee You can pack 58 tandems in one day? At 10 minutes a tandem packjob (which would be sloppy imo) that would be 9.677 hours of continous packing with no break for eating, drinking, peeing, pooping, waiting for an unpacked rig, resting. B U L L S H I T Once again proving you don't know shit.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scdiver89 0 #12 September 30, 2012 I've seen my buddy pack 63 tandems and 28 sport rigs in a single busy Saturday at a boogie....its def. do-able Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
5.samadhi 0 #13 September 30, 2012 ok maybe do-able but is that typical? I certainly don't think so. But i've never been to a dz that flies more than two turbines so what do I know (as diablopilot pointed out ). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #14 October 1, 2012 never been to a dz that flies more than two turbines Quote Check out Rosharn International Airport during the summer months...not only more than two turbine but more than two KINDS of turbines! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theonlyski 8 #15 October 1, 2012 Quote never been to a dz that flies more than two turbines Quote Check out Rosharn International Airport during the summer months...not only more than two turbine but more than two KINDS of turbines! I thought that airport was solely for running drugs?"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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
