Too late for me - please sort out my sons future

ise wrote: it can take years to gain the experience for the elite level qualifications it's no surprise the average ages of guides, leaders etc. is into 30's and 40's you need a lot of experience, the technical skills are almost the easy bit really.

ah... I should have also pointed out it's not cheap, it's a big commitment financially as well as in other ways.

Hymac, I'm afraid there is very little that I can add on the subject apart from to say that I agree with both Ise and Neil.

From personal experience all I can say is that I have always had a love for the outward bound whether it is skiing, climbing, walking etc I always had an unrelated career path set out in my head from a young age and this is what I have followed for the past 8 years and whilst I have often wondered whether I should have taken a year or two out after uni I didn't and have always fitted my activities around work and holidays - this has included every summer taking two weeks leave and volunteering on a charity outward bound camp for international students. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your view I suffered a mini eureka moment in Soldeu, Andorra in the New Year and I am now off on a "career break" and am spending the ski season in Canada with a round the world trip planned after this (I'm hoping to be able to ski in 4 continents in 6 months). It is only as a result of my current career, hard work and supportive parents that I am now able to do this.

I am of the opinion that unless you are happy to put in a lot of ground work over a long number of years to become highly qualified and are then prepared to strike out on your own you will never be rich in the money sense in the outward bound world - you will however be rich in other ways. Also you have to remember that when you have your own business the opportunity of being outward bound is scarce due to the paperwork and other organisational aspects of running a business. At this point you could potentially become disillusioned with what you are doing and it may be better to be a professional in an unrelated industry and keep the skiing etc as a hobby (but live in the locality so it is on your doorstep rather than a flight away)

I think that you have to let your son make his own decisions in this life and whilst I appreciate that you want the best for him and for him to be the most successful at what he does it is only him that can determine as to whether he will be successful at it or not.

Sorry for the rambling...... :roll:

Whilst I agree making a good living is going to be really difficult (assuming you don't have a boat-load of money to muy a chalet and run a holiday apartment) there are other jobs in mountains for the warmer months.

Walking, climbing and especially biking are popular when there's no snow - whether it be mountain biking or serious cyclists having a bash at one of the Tour de France stages etc.

Presumably some of the activity companies will have career paths but for this,and has already been said, second and third languages will be essential.

KevinC wrote:Whilst I agree making a good living is going to be really difficult (assuming you don't have a boat-load of money to muy a chalet and run a holiday apartment) there are other jobs in mountains for the warmer months.

Walking, climbing and especially biking are popular when there's no snow - whether it be mountain biking or serious cyclists having a bash at one of the Tour de France stages etc.

Presumably some of the activity companies will have career paths but for this,and has already been said, second and third languages will be essential.

that's what i was talking about, but you need qualifications, you can't just tip up and start taking people onto the mountain :) although I've no idea what if anything you need to take people cycling on the road. These qualifications are rather harder to get than most ski ones I'd suggest.

Tell him to become a plumber, almost every chalet I've ever stayed in has had some sort of plumbing related challenge!

that's what i was talking about, but you need qualifications, you can't just tip up and start taking people onto the mountain :) although I've no idea what if anything you need to take people cycling on the road. These qualifications are rather harder to get than most ski ones I'd suggest.