Introduction to the Snow Sports Industry

Snow sports are one of North America’s favorite pastimes – currently there are nearly 800 ski areas operating across the continent. Especially with the recent boom in snowboarding, mountain resorts everywhere are enjoying increased business. Ski areas of all sizes draw thousands of snow sports enthusiasts to their version of a winter wonderland. Each year domestic and international vacationers head to the hills in search of high-speed chairlifts, well-groomed slopes, snowboard parks, and first-class hotels and restaurants.

Each autumn, along with throngs of tourists, ski bums from every walk of life head to these resorts hoping to score the perfect job, a place to live, and the chance to experience some of the best skiing and snowboarding North America has to offer. JobMonkey provides everything you need to find snow sports work.

Don’t think that just because you’re not an Olympic-class skier or extreme snowboarder you can’t work at a ski resort. In addition to instructors and coaches, resorts throughout Canada and the U.S. hire seasonal and year-round workers to groom slopes, sell lift tickets, greet visitors, and staff hotels and restaurants. Despite their hectic schedules, these workers usually find plenty of opportunities to enjoy the mountains and develop close-knit friendships with other residents of these mountain communities.

— View Snow Sport Industry Job Postings —

So whether you’re a fully certified instructor or ski patrol member, a career hospitality worker, or just someone who wants a job that allows you to ski or snowboard as much as possible, this book is for you.

We at JobMonkey love getting mail, and we would love to hear about your experiences. Please write and tell us about your ski area job: where you worked, which company you worked for, your adventures in job searching, your on-the-job and leisure-time experiences. We’d love to incorporate your comments in future updates of JobMonkey.