Flexible Work/Gigs That Allow For Climbing/Travel

Hey yall, what are some flexible jobs or gigs that allow for a healthy work/life balance? I'm in a transition stage after relocating during the pandemic, now in southern Oregon after living in upstate NY. Maybe I don't need *more* ideas swirling around my head, but I appreciate the sentiment of other climbers who know the struggle is real   

Can you dedicate a year or two to school? Working as a travel diagnostic imaging technologist or radiation therapist can afford you a lot of time off 

You need to tell us your education and work history for any answer to make sense. There is much wisdom here, but you must provide the lock for our key.

Mark B wrote:

You need to tell us your education and work history for any answer to make sense. There is much wisdom here, but you must provide the lock for our key.

Wouldn't she need to actually provide the key for our lock?

Corporate work for large companies doesnt get mentioned much- but also is generally flexible- many companies either are remote friendly or fully WFH/wf-wherever.

I run a seasonal hospitality business in the mountains. It’s very busy so we can’t climb much in the summer but we spend all winter cragging.

We have employees who are smart with their money who do the same thing. And they don’t work as much as us in the summer so they can go to Yosemite and the like.

Or if you get on the seasonal circuit working both summer and winter you can usually get by taking off 2 months off for each shoulder season. Helps for extended time off if you want to go to a cheaper country or have a van to live in.

There isn’t a lot of money in it but the schedule and time off rules. I feel more like a human doing seasonal work than I ever did with a normal job.  

FrankPS wrote:

Wouldn't she need to actually provide the key for our lock?

No. They had it right.

This all depends on your personal preferences, but the two main routes most people take are (1) corporate work in tech or another industry with a lot of remote options or (2) travel medicine (PA, some sort of tech, nurse, doctor etc).  Corporate is a complete shitshow right now with companies competing for who can do the biggest layoff and the biggest stock buyback.  The job market was pretty much always competitive but there is room for positions like sales, account managers, etc.  Software is an overhyped, overcrowded field with a fairly high barrier to entry--only recommend if everything else seems too boring.  

Medicine on the other hand has the advantage of being reliable employment, but inherently harder work.  Nurses are on their feet all day doing difficult jobs, doctors go to school forever and have lots of debt, etc.  Also, there was that thing called COVID where nurses were somehow being laid off and overworked at the same time.

Most jobs in America are inherently exploitative of the worker, you just need to pick how you want to be exploited.  Do you want stability but hard work?  Go medicine.  Do you want to worry about getting laid off but have an easy WFH job?  Go corporate. 

A third rail is government work, but this does not permit travel generally.  However, lots of rural counties in the US with rock climbing would probably hire you to do some sort of paper pushing for them.  Government work is easy and stable, with low pay and low flexibility.  Not a bad option IMO.

Corporate work for large companies doesnt get mentioned much- but also is generally flexible- many companies either are remote friendly or fully WFH/wf-wherever.

Not sure why you say that--seems like every other influencer is bragging about their work from home tech job.  It's basically the most overhyped, overmentioned career.

rock freak wrote:

This all depends on your personal preferences, but the two main routes most people take are (1) corporate work in tech or another industry with a lot of remote options or (2) travel medicine (PA, some sort of tech, nurse, doctor etc).  Corporate is a complete shitshow right now with companies competing for who can do the biggest layoff and the biggest stock buyback.  The job market was pretty much always competitive but there is room for positions like sales, account managers, etc.  Software is an overhyped, overcrowded field with a fairly high barrier to entry--only recommend if everything else seems too boring.  

Medicine on the other hand has the advantage of being reliable employment, but inherently harder work.  Nurses are on their feet all day doing difficult jobs, doctors go to school forever and have lots of debt, etc.  Also, there was that thing called COVID where nurses were somehow being laid off and overworked at the same time.

Most jobs in America are inherently exploitative of the worker, you just need to pick how you want to be exploited.  Do you want stability but hard work?  Go medicine.  Do you want to worry about getting laid off but have an easy WFH job?  Go corporate. 

A third rail is government work, but this does not permit travel generally.  However, lots of rural counties in the US with rock climbing would probably hire you to do some sort of paper pushing for them.  Government work is easy and stable, with low pay and low flexibility.  Not a bad option IMO.

Not sure why you say that--seems like every other influencer is bragging about their work from home tech job.  It's basically the most overhyped, overmentioned career.

A technologist or therapist career is typically less physically/emotionally strenuous than nursing.

Fireman.  20 days off a month.  Flexible schedule and if you work for a major municipality the pay can be very good.   It can take a toll on your body though. 

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

Fireman.  20 days off a month.  Flexible schedule and if you work for a major municipality the pay can be very good.   It can take a toll on your body though. 

this is pretty good advice. i'll add onto it overtime pay, the flexibility to have a side gig (to being in extra $), and the ability to retire after 20/25 years with a full pension. 

if i was doing my career over, this is where i would be heading...

My youngest in an R.N.-B.S.N. and plans to be a traveling nurse but first it was four years of school and then a year of nurse residency and is going to do a year in an ICU  at a major hospital and then travel. The point is to secure a  good travel nurse position you need as much experience in a hospital setting as you can get  to go any where and get a good job. Flight nurses requires several years in an e.r. or i.c.cu. setting Some schools offer a R.N.. degree but it is best to go for the R.N- B.S N. route.

Government work is not the place to go if you are looking for flexibility. Staffing shortages are affecting the working conditions of every agency in my state. The overtime is nice for a little while but when you finally get a chance to look around you realize you haven’t climbed in six months and there is no end in sight to the endless track of double shifts. The early retirement is nice if you can make it… I’m almost there. The medical field is having the same problems locally and really struggling to provide the basic standard of care. I know several people who chose the traveling nurse option recently and that seems like the best balance for a climbing lifestyle. Really good money up this way…. Depending on your specialty… 

If you don’t have a degree or any certifications, then cleaning houses! I’ve been doing it for the past two years. The benefits:

• Low overhead (and most work supplies are a tax write off anyhow)
• It actually pays very well if you target affluent areas, and you can set your own rates. Legit I make more now hourly than I did as an engineer.
• I work for myself (and as an introvert this is awesome) so maaaad flexibility. I started off using an app called Handy to get my customers, then eventually they pay me directly since the app takes a big cut of the profits.
• Best of all I build my own work schedule. I can clean houses for a couple days to build up cash, then take a couple weeks off for climbing. Most of my customers I’ve built a good relationship with are aware I’m a climber and don’t mind my weird availability. They actually get a kick out of my climbing stories when I get back to work :)
• No training needed. Like anybody can clean a toilet or an oven, and if you can’t do it effectively then YouTube University is a great resource.

Good luck, dude!

Errbody coding; why not you as well?

https://www.joinlafd.org

Are you looking to start a “career” or just get by with seasonal jobs?

I worked for about 15 years as a climbing guide. Made enough money, plenty of slow or off seasons, and I chose the work that put me all over the world several times a year (Alaska, South America, Himalayas, etc…) and could usually do a personal trip while there.

I have other friends who did similar work but as River guides or fishing guides.

I think the best gig was a friend who worked for Backroads Cycle Tours then for Disney Adventures. Got to travel all over the place, made great money, always had cushy work and comfy accommodations. For sure made more money than a climbing guide. Less risk, no courses or certification, and way less bodily impact. Probably what I’d do if I could do it all over again…

Single? Don’t plan on kids in the near future? Teaching in a better paying state (per cost of living) is not often talked about because even in the “better paying states” the pay is still not great, but the teacher shortage in many places is so severe that you hardly even need a high school diploma to teach (seriously). The better paying teaching jobs really have it down in terms of time off, plenty of federal holidays and extended time off. If I could teach in a more rural school but still live in a city (like Lexington) I would strongly consider. 

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

Single? Don’t plan on kids in the near future? Teaching in a better paying state (per cost of living) is not often talked about because even in the “better paying states” the pay is still not great, but the teacher shortage in many places is so severe that you hardly even need a high school diploma to teach (seriously). The better paying teaching jobs really have it down in terms of time off, plenty of federal holidays and extended time off. If I could teach in a more rural school but still live in a city (like Lexington) I would strongly consider. 

This is very sad. 

Dane B wrote:

Errbody coding; why not you as well?

CS is great, but I genuinely cannot suggest going into CS just to get flexibility. You sort of have to love computers in much the same explorative way that we love mountains. If you don't you will likely want to gouge your eyes out after a year or two of "I have no idea wtf I'm doing" with 40 pages of documentation open at a time on a daily basis. Also, when you are working you don't really get to go outside, and that can be a real bummer for some.

It can be great, but I hesitate to just suggest it to errbody.

Michael Abend wrote:

This is very sad. 

Yup, Colorado is one of the very worst. For reference, it is 49th in teacher pay but top 10 cost of living. No surprise they can’t find someone to teach for $40k-$50k a year.