Reality of a Skydiving career?

[billvon 2,990]

>$35.00 per jump, 1000 jumps per year is $35,000. I don't see 37,300 as being unrealistic.

It's rare to be able to make $35.00 for every jump. Often DZ's will have differing pay scales for tandem, AFF, static line, camera - and to make 1000 jumps a year you have to be willing to do all that.

There's also additional expense you incur by jumping that often. New main every two years, new risers twice a year, new PC's, linesets, jumpsuits, cameras etc. 1000 jumps a year is hard on gear. (It can be tempting to skimp on that, but we saw what happened to Koji.)

[riggerrob 643]

Not to mention the cost of your own gear.

[BoilingMidnight 0]

Is the dissatisfaction with this level of income the reason for the yuppie-phobia I sometimes see on this forum? And at some DZs?

"Iþ ik qiþa izwis, ni andstandan allis þamma unseljin."

[airtwardo 7]

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Is the dissatisfaction with this level of income the reason for the yuppie-phobia I sometimes see on this forum? And at some DZs?

Interesting take...what exactly is your definition of yuppie phobia?

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[rehmwa 2]

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Interesting take...what exactly is your definition of yuppie phobia?

I think it's a fear of some wierd stereotype of the phobic's person idea of what a yuppie is. (Actually, I think it's an impotent reaction of people that want to pose as laid back when they really aren't. So they have to find a demographic to mock to make up for their own inadequacies).

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[airtwardo 7]

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Interesting take...what exactly is your definition of yuppie phobia?

I think it's a fear of some wierd stereotype of the phobic's person idea of what a yuppie is. (Actually, I think it's an impotent reaction of people that want to pose as laid back when they really aren't. So they have to find a demographic to mock to make up for their own inadequacies).

You & I are on the same page, but I was wondering what 'his' defination was...

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[BoilingMidnight 0]

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You & I are on the same page, but I was wondering what 'his' defination was...

That's it exactly. Am I alone in sensing this thinly-veiled animus?

"Iþ ik qiþa izwis, ni andstandan allis þamma unseljin."

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

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You & I are on the same page, but I was wondering what 'his' defination was...

That's it exactly. Am I alone in sensing this thinly-veiled animus?

Not at all. Some of these "very laid-back" individuals will talk cash shit about you behind your back if they, for a minute, think you might be taking some of THEIR ramen money.

Listen, if you want to live a spartan dropzone existence, just do it. Don't, though, talk shit about other "part time instructors" with more jumps than you who would rather simply keep their real job during the week and jump alot on the weekends in order to maintain a higher standard of living. The "working" skydiving industry is very, very catty. It's one of the biggest "good old boy" industries I have ever seen. That said, once you are "in", you're in. That is until you get the DZO's daughter pregnant or get popped on a piss test or some other stupid reason. It's funny.

Chuck

[stratostar 5]

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Listen, if you want to live a spartan dropzone existence, just do it. Don't, though, talk shit about other "part time instructors" with more jumps than you who would rather simply keep their real job during the week and jump alot on the weekends in order to maintain a higher standard of living. The "working" skydiving industry is very, very catty. It's one of the biggest "good old boy" industries I have ever seen. That said, once you are "in", you're in. That is until you get the DZO's daughter pregnant or get popped on a piss test or some other stupid reason. It's funny.

For a MONKEY your pretty smart.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[airtwardo 7]

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That is until you get the DZO's daughter pregnant...

Why ya always gotta go there??

And it wasn't his daughter, it was his wife.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[towerrat 0]

look at it this way, I don't make a whole bunch of money. I make about a thousand jumps a year. I have several " friends" who live in town who are making basically nothing and killing themselves 40 hours a week. If you get on a dropzone that is relatively busy and stays busy, you should be able to sustain yourself reasonably. I have a decent place to live, a pickup truck and a motorcycle. I have no room mates and my home is furnished reasonably well. I have made much more money in my life, I've also made much less. I'm doing ok and I'm extremely happy in my life in general. So what if I make $30,000 a year. I'm fucking happy and my bills are paid.

If I frap in tomorrow I will probably be fucked, but one day at a time. The average teacher makes only slightly more than I do. No-one has these conversations with them.
My day consists of getting up late, showing up to work and drinking coffee. I make a few jumps, and go to the house.

Fuck it man I'm happy, and if you can't be happy in life then you've wasted the time you've been given.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

[airtwardo 7]

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and if you can't be happy in life then you've wasted the time you've been given.

And at the end of the ball game, that's all that really matters!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[skypimp.gzo 0]

All those comments made me really confused...
I have to say that I'm having a normal job now and I'm not making more than 2500$ in a month.
That's equal to an income of 30000$ a year.
I don't own a house or something, but I safe a lil and going on holiday once a year and skydive a lil. Not that much now, because I'm not in the U.S.
Actually, I have to say if it's possible to make 35K in a year, I'd be happy doing skydiving as a carrier. For a while at least. Maybe not for ever, but show me the job you want to do for ever?
If it's not skydiving what is it then?

[Elisha 1]

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All those comments made me really confused...
I have to say that I'm having a normal job now and I'm not making more than 2500$ in a month.
That's equal to an income of 30000$ a year.
I don't own a house or something, but I safe a lil and going on holiday once a year and skydive a lil. Not that much now, because I'm not in the U.S.
Actually, I have to say if it's possible to make 35K in a year, I'd be happy doing skydiving as a carrier. For a while at least. Maybe not for ever, but show me the job you want to do for ever?
If it's not skydiving what is it then?

Usually though, those non-skydiving jobs have these things call "benefits" - like retirement, 401(k) and most importantly Health Insurance.

[AFFI 0]

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Usually though, those non-skydiving jobs have these things call "benefits" - like retirement, 401(k) and most importantly Health Insurance.

yup...

Never was so poor than when I was jumping full time...

But still, best years of my life...
-

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

[Remster 30]

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Actually, I have to say if it's possible to make 35K in a year, I'd be happy doing skydiving as a carrier. For a while at least.

Remember: some days, or weeks, you may not jump at all: weather, small injuries, etc... Those weeks you'd have no income at all.

Again, some full commision jobs are like that too, so its just a case of knowing what you want in life.

Remster

[toronto_bill 0]

Keep the real job or switch to one that is just different.

Then if you have too much money, go to the tunnel, start a 'girls gone wild' 4way team, buy an RV, or pay for packing. buy and test canopies as a hobby.

Save for a few years then open a DZ. That the professional DZ job.

or there is this way....which is easier than a pro skydiving lifestyle

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/070411/K04119AU.html

Bill

[rhys 0]

Hi,

I partially agree with what Bigway has said but wouldn't go throwing such figures around.

to answer your questions.

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Just out of curiosity how much would you make a year in $NZD?

As a camera guy in Queenstown I was earning around nz$50,000 per year. I had political issues with the said company and went back to Australia to get my tandem rating as my old boss needed a guy.

There I would have been on about aus$30000 but doing AFF as well. It would have been more as they do only handicam there now, but I didn't have the required tandem numbers to use a handicam.

Back to the opposition in Queenstown I didn't earn much as the place isn't run very well and then tried the west coast of the south island. There I was earning good money but I had already committed to a job in Norway, tandems from a helicopter .

In Norway I was earning very good money per jump but not that many of them.

Here in Tanzania I have the opportunity to shape my own destiny as I am managing and running the dropzone along with only My fiance Leigh and the DZO that is never here! The dropzone is only 7 months old.
fortunately it is owned by a very successful business man in the adventure tourism industry.

We are lucky to be on a salary type deal with a retainer and extra earnings after about 25 jumps per month.

With the reduced living costs in Tanzania and higher standard of living (depending on how you look at it) it is more worth our while here.

We actually turned down positions in Taupo just now but we have very good reasons for doing so, otherwise we wouldn't have.

We will definitely return to New Zealand in the future and will expect to be earning between NZ$40,000 and $60,000 each per year.

In conclusion:

You can earn from almost nothing to NZ$80000+ a year depending on where you are working, what you are doing and what your attitude is like.

It does become work after a while if you are earning the money you will be hoping to, so it depends what you want out of life.

If you wanna earn money while you travel and remain jumping the whole time then it is the way..... but if you are a homebody that loves your free time then forget about it.

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I can do the course for $7,785 NZD as I'm an Aussie
so thats good.

that is good value, is the course subsidised by the Australian government too now?

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Where did you end up in Australia, what dropzone? What did you do there, fly camera for the summer?

I ended up at the Brisbane Skydiving Centre both times I went to Aussie. The first time was for 8 months as the full time camera guy there, I was not entirely happy as i was not earning very much but it was my first position and I was getting experience. This is the point that I realized the whole world does not have such a healthy tandem industry as you see in New Zealand. I got my AFF rating before I returned to NZ to work in Queenstown on camera.

The second time was to help my old boss while I got my Tandem rating. Immediate employment and experience is a must when gaining a rating. I also returned there to keep my AFF rating that was about to lapse. There is minimal AFF work in NZ.

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What's it like in that part of Africa? It's the first time i've heard of the country.

I hadn't heard much of Tanzania either before coming here, tanzania is beautiful and the people are really friendly even though there is an immense amount of poverty here. the country is officially only about 40 years old.

You would have heard of the Serengeti where all the lions and wilder beast hang out? Mt Kilimanjaro? the paradise and culture of Zanzibar?

We were just at a boogie in Zimbabwe jumping over the largest waterfall (by volume) in the world. around which there were elephants, baboons, warthogs, all sorts of antelope and giraffes all to be seen running wild around town and within our hotel complex.

I attached a couple of photos from the boogie you could say this part of africa is... 'Not too Bad'



good luck in your final decision.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[rhys 0]

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It's rare to be able to make $35.00 for every jump. Often DZ's will have differing pay scales for tandem, AFF, static line, camera - and to make 1000 jumps a year you have to be willing to do all that.

Ahh no!

In NZ it s most common for TM's to do just tandems and shit laods of them. At around US$30.

My friends did 200+ tandems each, per month, in January and February this year. That is 400 in only 2 months. They jump all year and that is not at the busiest DZ in the country. It is not uncommon to do over 1500 jumps in a year if that helps your calculations any more. Most usually it is around 1000 jumps per year though.

How many times can you say banana in 12 months?

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[spiceberg 0]

The Monkey man hits the nail right on the head.

This is a lifestyle choice.....not a career with longevity. Dropzones employ contractors for a reason, because the industry has so many liabilities....weather, tourist seasons, injuries, owners moods etc. In new zealand the big owners love employing young people who are desperate for ramen noodles, they pay them peanuts for driving vans and cleaning up, occasionally dangling a carrot of a camera slot to keep them keen.

As for doing the diploma, I have a suggestion for anyone thinking about it as a way into skydiving. Ring up a few dropzones and ask them to pay for your course. The glossy brochure clearly emphasizes the demand for graduates. Wont happen......a few very lucky (young) people like Rhys and Leigh get camera slots (after 12 months+ of menial duties), but most dont.

Listen to Monkey. Yes you can make 50k a year in skydiving. You can make 50k a year doing anything really if you put the hours in (and you will be in skydiving). Its like any hobby that becomes a job......in the long run....boring.

Never confuse a hobby with a career.

Dont do the diploma, spend the money on your hobby. Good Luck

[rhys 0]

No Name,

who are you spiceberg?



monkey boy, hmmm............. let me guess.

????

I'm applying to take a diploma graduate at the current dropzone that I am 'managing'.

this student will have a camera slot as soon as they are ready!

they will be responsible for manifest, editing some sport packing etc. They will also have free slots in tandem loads as we do.

graduates are being employed in the U.S., Spain, Australia.... The graduates can choose where they want to go.

So if you call a dropzone and say "pay for my diploma course" obviously they will laugh at you.

if you say "i am doing the diploma course and I want to come and work for you for 3 months 'for free' and after that you can decide whether you want to employ me or not."

then you will be welcomed with open arms, if you work hard and show that you have passion and dedication, they will be silly to not employ you.

like I have said previously;

you get out of it what you put into it.

By simply hanging out at a D.Z and 'doing it the slow way' you will take at least 2 times longer to get where you want to go.

I don't believe I am lucky, I emptied rubbish bins and packed tandems for free, then I did it for a little bit of money until i decided I would be waiting too long at that DZ for a camera job so I applied to 40 DZ's and had 3 job offers the next day. I then sold all my assets aside from a few clothes and my skydiving gear and went for it.

8 months later the DZ that I left asked me to come back! they knew i wanted it and they klnew i would do it well.

I have worked hard to get where I am and have gambled my wellbeing on order to get here.

Now I am loving it! all in 6 years!

shit it doesn't seem that long!

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[DAMO 0]

Hey t0n3z,

I wouldn't base your decision on most of the info you have received in this thread, while I am sure everyone means well all of the US based info is basically irrelevant if you are based in OZ and thinking of working in NZ. There is nowhere else in the world that does the number of tandems that is done in Taupo and you can make a good living, a lot of the jump staff in Taupo have families, own there own homes and live a good lifestyle.

Now I am not saying it is all good, there are pro's and con's just like anything, its up to you to decide if the pro's outweigh the con's.

I have been a full time jumper since 2000, within the next 2 to 5 years I will be in a position of not having to work at a job any more, all built from a skydivers income. If you want more info on full time jumping in OZ or NZ drop me an email and we can have a chat through Skype or something.

Later.

[stayhigh 2]

go to a dz and spend atleast month living there..
and you'll find all the dz politics, bs, and more..

every job sux,, even skydiving job.

but you'll atleast do something you love everyday.

my view of skydivng career is basically you spend ton of money to become dz homeless, but I ENVY that.

I still wanna jump/work at DZ for a living but that road is way far ahead.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[riggerrob 643]

Usually though, those non-skydiving jobs have these things call "benefits" - like retirement, 401(k) and most importantly Health Insurance.

[riggerrob 643]

It's rare to be able to make $35.00 for every jump. Often DZ's will have differing pay scales for tandem, AFF, static line, camera -

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..

How true!

Recently our manifestor was over-heard mumbling about how PFF Instructors deserved to be paid twice as much as tandem Is.
Too bad she could not talk the boss into that!
Hee!
Hee!