-- Last Updated: Nov-23-06 3:49 PM EST --
what carees are availible involving paddling??
Chek urr speling
sou wee undastend 
if you want to paddle
a lot:
stay away from it and keep it a hobby!
You can become:
instructor, guide, business owner/dealer,
manufacturer, shuttle service owner, author, film star, movie advisor, stuntman,film maker…
or all of the above
But you won’t get rich on it (maybe with some of the above you could…) and you’ll propably spend less time actually paddling then right now.
It can be fun, though…
Or not: paddling the same trip over and over again gets boring after a while for most people.
Dealing with stupid customers can be frustrating-
I had a couple once that wanted to see a lot of wildlife on a local river but kept talking all the time-they even wanted their money back after the 5 hour tour because they didn’t even see one animal…
Sorry,
I am slow. You mean career?
Selling paddling stuff, like NRS does, will be my choice.
Boat warsher
Kamp cook
Outhouse cleener
Boat dock sweaper
Lisense Issuer
thats kamp KOOK I believe
guy’d is the usual
carear 4 most paddlers who want more time on the watre.
dont do it
I am a qualified sea kayaking instructor/guide. You lose the drive to go paddling at times.
especially when you paddle the same route over and over and you guessed it over again
My Suggestion…
– Last Updated: Nov-23-06 7:33 AM EST –
Set your sight higher, much higher...
Finish high school. Go to college. Get your computer science or electrical engineering degree. Then go out and create the ULTIMATE paddling software game. You know there's a market for it for those ice bound paddlers. ;) You'll make tons of money which will allow you to buy many "regular" kayaks. Heck, if you want, you can buy out the P140 mold from Confluence and keep that boat in production for the infinite future. All future P140 jrs. will be forever grateful to your foresight.
Here's my honest advice. Enjoy your paddling and your daydreaming. But whatever you do, finish high school and get a college degree. The economic and social stats for non high school degree folks are horrendous.
sing
Life of a Sea Kayak Guide
Pay - low, you don’t do this for the money. Full time during the season but then you scrounge to make it to the next season. Many balance a summer seasonal job(kayak guide) with a winter seasonal job(ski industry for example).
Benefits - yeah right, what’s a benefit?
Where do you live - in a tourist community ($$$) with a whole bunch of other people. Last year we had three guides crashed in the front room and two took the closet.
Fun - yup, best job you will ever have but it is not about the paddling, it’s about serving the clients, which means you are tent boy, cook, and manager of the groover. Speaking of groovers, “hoverers” can really be a challenge and you get to clean it up.
Oh by the way, you are paid less than a dishwasher to decide key issues of client safety because after all it is the ocean . . . doesn’t seem fair at times.
Go to college, try it as a summer job, this is definitely a lifestyle decision . . .
Paddling website designer/administrator
Summer Jobs
Hey while you are young its the time to try some things out. There are several websites that help you line up summer jobs.
A couple of good things to think about in Colorado
The Boyscouts — you can get a job as a merit badge instructor at camp, join an venture or explorer post, then sign up for camp jobs, this is a great job when you are 15,16, 17 years old. You can get high adventure training, first aid, lifesaving and leadership experience. Something I highly reccomend if you are interested in the outdoors.
Riverguide work — lots of summer jobs near Durango and on the Colorado River, Buenavista area, rafting etc.
You are going to need to get into whitewater paddling if you are intersted in a paddling job in Colorado.
My advice is to go to college and keep paddling as a hobby and diversion.
Move to England and…
… buy a kayak manufacturer.
Dominatrix
I wouldn’t hold this up as an example
until you decide you can incorporate a spell checker on your board. Sorry for the brutality, but if you want to be treated as a professional you have to act like a professional. I have hired dozens of engineers and interviewed literally hundreds. Bad grammar and poor spelling is ok in casual conversation on a board (lots of people just can’t type, including me some times!), but it isn’t ok for a “web designer”.
Finish high school, go to college, get a really good paying job with benefits and lots of vacation. Then you have the time and money to play.
Pam
more on guiding
guiding won’t make you rich and anyone who does it knows it isn’t a lifelong career (though some do so) however it isn’t a poverty wage either at least here in BC where there is a large guiding industry and multiple levels of skills and experience sought by companies.
a “lead guide” as determined by skills/courses/exams and hours logged under other lead guides will make fairly decent money, well over $200/day depending on the company and their situation. (in BC the national parks require that certain trips are lead by a ‘lead guide’ as certified by the Alliance, for example.)
sea kayak guiding lifestyle, wages and benefits will all vary depending on where in the world, your personal credentials and the company you work for. work for Peregrine tours in the Antarctic and you will make a mint in a short time. you will also work 18 hour days with no time off for months.
all depends!
Won’t get rich
One of my fav jokes to tell when guiding: What’s the difference between a large pizza and a kayaking guide?
A large pizza can feed a family of four.
It’s a pretty fun weekend job, but if you like to buy stuff, guiding probably won’t support that habit.
Private Instructor or if you’re good
with tool, you could custom make those beautiful wood boats and teach people how to paddle to NOT wreck them