What it's Like Working as a Ski Instructor: An Interview

Working at a ski resort is a great winter seasonal job and working as a ski instructor can be a dream come true for many. Every year ski resorts across the USA and abroad are hiring ski instructors, thus there are many opportunities to find a job. Of course, there is a lot more to the job than just playing in powder and doing runs on the mountain all day. To learn what it's really like working as a ski instructor and how to get into this line of work, I interviewed my friend Kim who has plenty of experience working as a ski instructor.

Photo Credits: Karsten Winegeart

Q: What is your experience as ski instructor?

A: I started working at ski resorts as a ticket scanner when I was on break from college. Later, after covid hit, I realized I loved working in the outdoors [so] I became an instructor when I was about 41. Because of my past leadership skills, I started as Operational Superior [for ski instructors]. My biggest roles were scheduling and supervising the instructors and their classes, as well as teaching and covering lessons [when needed].

Q: How did you find a job as a ski instructor?

A: I made a list of all the resorts I wanted to work at, I ranked them in order of places I would want to ski at, then I applied to my top ones. I applied [to them] through Indeed and directly through [the resort's] websites. I [ended up picking] the most challenging place because I figured if I could ski [there], I could ski anywhere.

Q: What skills does someone need to become an instructor?

A: Ideally you have [ski] experience but you don't have to have any... we have even hired people that don't know how to ski, and taught them to ski. There was this Rental Tech from Texas that had never seen snow before... and was really interested in teaching...he had just started and he really wanted to be an instructor, so we taught him how to snowboard and by the end of the season he was teaching, and he was awesome [at it].

If you just learned how to [ski] it could make you a better teacher because you remember learning everything and know what you need to tell the person [you are teaching]. It's fresh in your mind.

Q: Do you need any first aid or wilderness training for the job?

A: No because we have ski patrol. As an instructor, they don't want you touching anybody or dealing with any medical emergencies. You just always call ski patrol. When I happened upon medical emergencies I would always call ski patrol and keep the person calm till they arrived.

Photo Credits: Sebastian Staines

Q: What can someone add to their resume to help them get a job as a ski instructor?

A: Most people don't have relative work experience... we hire [people] right out of college. I would say experience working with kids is huge, because if you are a new instructor you are most likely going to be teaching [children]. So even if it's not ski related, any experience working with kids, even if it's just volunteering [as] a tutor, [is good to have].

[Also add] any kind of independent work situations. [As an instructor] you have to make so many decision on the fly and you aren't being supervised [a majority of the time]. Things that show responsibility and decision making would probably be really good things to have.

Q: How do you get certified to become a ski instructor?

A: There is a professional ski instructor association for ski and snowboarders. [Through their course] is how you get certified. You first pay for it yourself but if you pass you can usually get reimbursed. [Where I worked] they have you teach for [about] a month before you start the certification process. So, you do all these clinics with the experienced instructors, then the examiner from the international organization comes [to asses you]. I was able to get my level one certification. There are five levels.

Q: What is the ski instructor certification process like?

A: It's all on the snow, there is no written test. The level one was four days. Each day was a different focus. It is four full days of skiing [where] you have to be able to demonstrate your own skiing ability, certain types of turns... show your form... They take photos of you skiing and your form has to be perfect. There is a lot to it.

There is tons of vocabulary and terminology that is very ski instructor specific. If you don't know the vocabulary you are not going to pass. You watch other people ski and critique their skiing [by] analyzing everything about that person's stance and body movement. It is super detailed. You have to [practice] lessons, teach the other people in your exam how to ski, and show that you understand the lesson progression. It is super intense.

Q: What happens if you fail the instructor certification?

A: I know a lot of people that have failed level 2 and 3 a bunch of times [and they just keep retaking it]. You can work at a ski resort without taking the course, you just need to take the ski resort's training. [The certification is through] an international organization, so it really does pay to get certified if you want to work abroad. Everyone I know that is looking to work abroad is focused on getting their certification.

Photo Credits: Jason Blackeye

Q: What was the average age rage of the ski instructors you worked with?

A: There is no age limit and you will find people of all ages working as instructors. There were a lot of young people that just graduated [and were exploring their options]. The adult instructors; their crowd was in it for the long haul. We had high school students working with us [who were] 14. We actually had quite a few older people working [with us] and our oldest instructor was [almost] 90.

Q: How did the instructors get along with each other?

A: There is a little bit of competition because you are vying for tips, you're vying for higher level classes to teach, you're vying for the shifts you want... so there is some built in competition amongst instructors. But, I would say that everyone was able to find their people they would get along with. Most instructors lived in employee housing so we all hung out outside of work.

Q: Any tips on getting tips as a ski instructor?

A: Tips are important. Some of the instructors basically lived off their tips. Some things you can do are to really communicate well with the parents and show that you know what you are talking about by recommending [what to work on next]. Personalize it by saying things like, "When you come back next season, we can pick up right where we left off". You [set it up] so they want to work with you.

At the end of the lessons, when they are talking to the parents, a lot of instructors will use the word tip in their conversations. [They would] say things like, "Here is a good tip for you to tell your kids," or "Tell them to keep their tips [of their skis] up," and apparently it works! [Plus] a lot of instructors have a personnel business card with their Venmo on it.

Q: Did a lot of ski instructors work a second job? 

A: Yes, especially the part-time instructors. A lot of people worked at bars, serving, [and] the ski shops in the village. A lot of the young [staff] who just graduated from college were working multiple jobs to try and save up some money while they were also a ski instructor. Then there were some people who just didn't care, they just wanted to ski. They taught a couple days a week, and then the other days [they would] just ski or snowboard because [they didn't] need the money.

Photo Credits: Glade Optics

Q: What does an average schedule look like for a ski instructor?

A: You start around 7:30-8:00am. The kids don't start showing up until 8:30am and you work until 3:30pm. Most days, I would say, we had at least 20-30 instructors on, and most of them would do morning tasks of getting kids ready and out the door. The full time people are the people who usually come in early and help with other tasks.

[After a morning lesson] at our ski school [we] also eat lunch with the kids, so you don't really get a break. [Then there are afternoon lessons.] At the end of the day it's putting boots away, putting skis away, cleaning up the lunch room... there are tons of things to do.

Technically I think I was scheduled for 5 days but I usually worked 6 as a supervisor. A lot of our instructors are part time. Going into the season we hired maybe 70 full time instructors and the other 50 were part time... and you are really 'seasonal' full time so you are not guaranteed 40 hours.

Q: How do ski instructors get assigned lessons?

A: We had a private booking system for private lessons. For those, you get a higher pay rate and people can request a specific instructor. The other lessons we had were daily lessons. We offered half day or full day lessons. We would maybe have advanced registrations and we accepted walk ins. We assigned kids to the instructors and would send the instructors out with kids in groups [based on skill level]. We tried to stick to 6 or less for one lesson, but in the past they have had up to 20-30. Those are pretty small class numbers, at bigger resorts it can be way bigger than that.

Q: Can instructors choose what age group you teach?

A: At [some resorts], you could apply to be a children's or adult's instructor. If you are a new instructor, you will most likely end up working with kids. The experienced instructor will get the adults. We have had instructors who have [worked] with both.

Q: Do ski instructors get ski breaks during their work days?

A: Instructors do not, no. The only time instructors get to free ski during the workday is if they do a sweep with ski patrol during the day. Even then, you are on the clock and are working, but you get to go to the furthest reaches of the mountain and see the coolest stuff to make sure [everything] is clear. That is something a lot of people would do at the end of the day.

Q: As a ski instructor, do you feel like you are really just skiing all day?

A: No, you are not actually skiing [all day]. Especially if you are a first time instructor, you get all the kids with zero experience. So the first hour of the lesson is them walking in their boots, then sliding on one ski, then maybe sliding on two skis, or learning how to stop... With my [group of] kids that I had for 5 weeks, it was almost 3 weeks before we even got to the point of getting on the chair lift... [then] a lot of times they will then move up to the next instructor.

Q: You spend a lot of time on the mountain. On your days off do you actually want to ski?

A: I would say 95% of the instructors would ski on their days off, because you don't really ski when you are teaching. Even if you are teaching a [higher] level class... because if you are good enough to teach at a higher level then you are probably wanting to catch air and do crazy stuff... all the stuff you could not do with guests.

Photo Credits: Kipras Štreimikis

Q: Do ski instructors need to use their own equipment when on the job?

A: Oh yeah you do. I think there were 3 or 4 instructors who did not have their own equipment and we let them borrow stuff for the season, but that is very rare. Or they could rent it from the rental shop for like $300 bucks for the whole season. So renting gear can be an option.

You can also wait till you get [to your resort] to check out second hand shops and/or use your employee discount. I sold the boots that I arrived in when I got there and bought ones that were 3 seasons old that were in the basement of the ski shop, because they just never sold them and they were in [my] size. I didn't care what they looked like and I got a really good deal.

Q: What type of equipment should a ski instructor get for the job?

A: You don't need [or want] anything fancy [for work]. When you are teaching, your skis are going to get wrecked because students ski over them all the time. If you want a beautiful pair of skis, save those for your own personal skis. A lot of instructors will have [both] teach skis and personal skis they use.

Q: What are the biggest employee perks of working as a ski instructor?

A: A free ski pass of course! But also, you can get pro deals, those are nice. And, the camaraderie and being around people that love skiing and love talking about skiing... it was very energizing to be around people that get it.

Q: What are the best parts of working as a ski instructor?

A: Having a kid show up that has never seen snow before, then you put them in skis, and by the end of the day [or] the end of the week, they are like "This is is my favorite thing to do!'" They love it. [And] never having to stand in line, because there is a separate line for ski school. If you are in your instructor jacket [teaching any lessons] you never have to stand in line for the lift.

Q: What is the hardest or most frustrating part of being a ski instructor?

A: To be honest, the most frustrating part is dealing with parents' unreasonable exceptions of the progress their children should be making.

Photo Credits: Joshua Reddekopp

Q: What are some reasons that someone would not enjoy working as a ski instructor?

A: If you are not patient [and] only like skiing in good conditions. [We] ski in all weather. Some people love skiing but only if it's sunny or only if it's a powder day... and kids hate powder. They hate it because it is hard to ski in and you don't go fast. We [even] have kids complaining that it is snowing. Working in good conditions is not what your students think is good conditions. Patience is the biggest thing.

[Also] people think that they are actually going to be skiing... that is part of it for sure... but if you are working with kids, you are really babysitting. I like kids, so it if fine for me, but if you don't like kids or are not patient then it may not be the job for you.

Q: What would you tell someone who is about to work their first season as a ski instructor?

A: Get custom insoles for your boots. I showed up with boots off the shelf and before the season even started, my boss was like, "You need new boots." You need them heat molded to your feet because you work all day long. It is worth the investment of paying the $150-$250 bucks so that they are comfortable.

Q: What are some of the best ski resorts to work at as a ski instructor?

A: Taos, of course. [Their] Ernie Blake Ski School has a really good reputation. Vail, I hate to say it, does have really good and really professional instructors. Their ski schools are really good. They have the training and are trusted with the responsibility.

It is so hard because you could probably get a job teaching at any mountain in the USA, but most places it is going to be hard to find housing. Telluride would have been awesome to work at but I would not have found a place to live. Same with Crested Butte, you are not going to have a place to live.

Copper Mountain... they have a snowboard school that is really well know, that is a really popular place for snowboard instructors to go. If you want to be an instructor, you need to come out West. The skiing is so much better, and you are in proximity of all the other mountains, and you talk to other people [that make up] this whole network of ski instructors.

Conclusion

Working as a ski instructor is a great winter seasonal job and is a dream come true for many. Of course, like most jobs, there is a lot more to it than just skiing all day and I am thankful to Kim for sitting down with me to explain what it's like behind the scenes. If you are heading out to be a ski instructor for the first time, I hope this helped prepare you for the job. If you have any experience working as a ski instructor, please share your opinions and advice in the comments below.