Skydiving Instructor?

World War III

World War III

"Too weird to live, and too rare to die."
Has anyone on the boards ever committed to a career in skydiving instruction? I'm really fascinated by the sport, and would like to know more about total costs and time to instructor status.

A little bit about myself before I go on: I'm a soon to be graduate of an ATC program, but don't have my fingers crossed on getting hired any time soon. On top of that, I've got wanderlust like you wouldn't believe, and I think I'd enjoy jumping out of planes a bit more than I have flying them. I think I'd like to jump head first into skydiving while I'm young enough and crazy enough.

Thoughts?
 
Um... if you like being even more poor than a pilot. It's not a career. You might be able to cover rent and food if you work at a very busy turbine DZ.
 
Poor choice of words on my part, but I would really like to know about a "job" as a jump instructor. I'll still be a college student for the foreseeable future. Was thinking more along the lines of "something to do during the summer or breaks". And of course, if I do begin jumping regularly (which I would like to do), it would be nice to get paid once in a while for something I'd enjoy. I have a job now, just not one where you hit 120 mph from 12,000ft. regularly.
 
Currently reading the Skydivers Information Manual like it's the bible, thanks. Just seeing if any forum users here have gone that route.
 
Best of luck! Still being a baby jumper (only have 60 jumps so far) here in the UK, I know of a few of my friends that have taken the instructor ratings (RAPS, AFF and tandem), although most tend to do it as a sideline as opposed to a full time job. There's good money in cameramen skydivers too, and always a need for them :)
 
I worked as an instructor. I also paid for my PPL that way. Of course, I also worked a full time job during the week and bartended on the weekends after jumping all day.

The guys "making a living" doing it are at the mega DZs which crank out tons of students. They also have a lot of experience gained working smaller weekend DZs. You would need a few years and several hundred jumps to be competitive.

I had a blast doing it and met a bunch of good friends along the way. It just didn't pay the bills
 
There is no money in it and you will work your butt off.

People make it work though.

It's a lot like the heli ski instructor frievd of mine. She is 47, and rents a room for 500/month in someone's house. She has no savings to speak of, no retirement, no steady health insurance, an old beater car, etc. of course she is also pretty damn happy.


It would take years and many thousands to get the experience and ratings.
 
If you're looking for the fastest way to make a buck in Skydiving, become a videographer. It requires no ratings, just the trust of the skydivers/instructors that you will be jumping with. Often, you will make the same (per jump) pay as the instructors, but you may not get as many working jumps (not every first jump student gets video).

There are some downsides. You will have to buy and maintain your own gear, and it will cost you thousands of dollars to do so. You may even need two sets of gear to be employable in some situations.

One plus to this route is that experienced jumpers are often willing to pay someone to video their jumps, so you don't have to rely on a student operation for clientele. Sometimes you may only get your slot on the aircraft covered, other times you may make a buck, but it all adds up in experience, and it all goes in the logbook. You will also meet some fantastic people in the skydiving world.

Best of luck!
 
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