Good career for a surfer?

Discussion in 'Global Surf Talk' started by illuminite, Apr 1, 2015.

  1. Scobeyville

    Scobeyville Well-Known Member

    May 11, 2009
    My girl delivers for a MMJ Clinic in pacific beach.
    They had $140K revenue in March.
     
  2. DawnPatrol321

    DawnPatrol321 Well-Known Member

    Mar 6, 2012
    Sweet gig!
     

  3. trevolution

    trevolution Well-Known Member

    Feb 16, 2012
    wildland firefigher. work 6 months, travel and surf 6 months. pick a coastal state to be based out of and you can score in the work season too.
     
  4. yankee

    yankee Well-Known Member

    Sep 26, 2008
    Let the SI fellers know what you think, millennial buoy. Don't just sit & take the knowledge. Acknowledge them!
     
  5. raddadbrad

    raddadbrad Well-Known Member

    Jan 10, 2015
    My mother is a Hospice RN, the $ is descent but they provide no health coverage and the hours are brutal. She works countless hours that are not paid logging patient information. They over work the crap out of nurses these day due to under staffing.
     
  6. Barry Cuda

    Barry Cuda Guest

    He is probably writing papers now and prepping for finals....
     
  7. Caroline Campbell

    Caroline Campbell Well-Known Member

    191
    Sep 19, 2014
    Under staffing? Really? Seriously all my friends are nurses & the ones that are not already working are still in school or have been a wait list for at least a year to get into the program - I was starting to think it's the only career out there now.
     
  8. YankeeSpy

    YankeeSpy Well-Known Member

    62
    Mar 24, 2008
    It’s too early for you to start thinking about a career. The whole ‘pick a career at 18, work 30 years, and collect a pension’ philosophy is relic from a bygone era. Pensions are rare and promotions/pay raises usually come from changing jobs within your field. Government and civil service jobs are the main exception.

    I don’t work in the surf industry but I would imagine it’s largely overrated. There isn’t much difference in selling Toyotas at a dealership or Firewires at a surfshop. There isn’t much difference in marketing board shorts for Hurley or beverages for Pepsi. There isn’t much difference in designing new fins for FCS or new wings for Boeing. There isn’t much difference in being director of operations for the WSL or director of operations for Verizon. Oh wait. Yes there is. Most ‘surf industry’ jobs pay a whole lot less and the good ones are hard to get into. You need connections. And just because it’s in the surf industry doesn’t mean it will get you on the water more often.

    People seem to be beating the self-employment drum in this thread. Sure, hours can be flexible but if you want to earn a comfortable living and provide for a family you are going to have to hustle. I met the guys who started Ergophobia a while back. Surf Industry… self-employed… seems perfect. The brand name is a misnomer. Those guys worked their butts off.

    I’m in the military. It’s worked out OK for surfing. Lived in Japan for a few years where I surfed a ton- usually 3 days per week in the water, November trips to Hawaii, July trips to Bali. Now I work in FL and make a 2 hour drive to the nearest good surf break once a month. Not perfect, but I love surfing and I make it work. Next move will take me to Southern California. I’m positively frothing to surf regularly again.

    Life is about priorities. If your priority is surf and only surf you’re most likely going to have to settle on inconsistent, low paying employment. Few companies are going to dish out six figures on someone who doesn’t show up every time a good swell moves in. You’ll live in a crummy apt, drive a beater, eat ramen, and drink PBR… but by golly you will be the king of your local peak. There is nothing wrong with that. Now, if you plan to have a family at some point your priorities might change. You’ll be hard pressed to find a woman who will stick around while you follow your passion. You’ll most likely have to trade time in the water for time with the kids, for time at work so you can afford a decent place in a good school district, and for time doing chores to keep your wife off your back.

    Something to consider- if you spend your early 20s surfing and having a ball you are going to be very far behind your peers if/when you do finally decide to settle down.

    Congratulations on reading this far, here is my advice. Don’t make surfing your number one priority. Go to college somewhere you can surf but not at the expense of your grades and education. Get a degree something you’re interested in but has good employment potential. Find steady employment in a surf town. Catch the dawn/evening patrol when it’s good and be a weekend warrior. Every surf means a whole lot more when you look forward to it all week.

    (Obviously this post only covers generalities- exceptions apply. Bring on the hate mail)
     
  9. Socco

    Socco Well-Known Member

    115
    Jul 14, 2014
  10. White Sea Ape

    White Sea Ape Well-Known Member

    595
    Dec 8, 2013
    start a company that makes wooden surfboards... seems to be the thing lately duder. and your still a puppy so don't forget that your greatest ideas will come to you in your early twenties. disregard females acquire currency and stay independent ALWAYS !!
     
  11. White Sea Ape

    White Sea Ape Well-Known Member

    595
    Dec 8, 2013
    This too is a viable option young buck. Learn a Trade secret and stay close to the ocean
     
  12. Barry Cuda

    Barry Cuda Guest

    Caroline,
    I just spent a career in health care, and I assure you, nurses work very hard and very long. In addition, they do get treated like crap by administration, physicians, and patients. It is not an easy job; one really has to have a Florence Nightingale disposition towards life, or more likely, be saintly. Just opinion, of course, but based on lifelong observation.
    NH is flat; how about your area of NE??
     
  13. Jossicastillo

    Jossicastillo Member

    5
    Mar 16, 2015
    Get into the media industry writing about surf, places to surf and take advantage to travel. Best regards!
     
  14. raddadbrad

    raddadbrad Well-Known Member

    Jan 10, 2015
    You would think but the budgets are not there to hire more RNS due to all the illegals not paying their bills and pumping out litters of kids at a time. The system is busted , so the hospitals under staff RNs and work them hard and long IT SUCKS.
     
  15. yankee

    yankee Well-Known Member

    Sep 26, 2008
    Uh, that would actually be the tens of millions of white trash in this country (black, too, for that matter) that have broken the system.

    The system itself is structured to waste money. Everyone gets their piece of the pie. Everyone should be wealthy because they are, y'know, breathing - - it's the new American Way. Greed is actually not good, Gordon.

    The immigrant thing merely makes for convenient political election fodder & a quick BS 'answer' for those who don't take the time to learn the issues / read.
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2015
  16. yankee

    yankee Well-Known Member

    Sep 26, 2008
    "Nonprofit hospitals, the cornerstone of many communities, capriciously overcharge patients, sticking the powerless with exorbitant bills, while paying lavish salaries to their executives; drug companies, which charge humongous markups to American customers, rake in huge profits; trial lawyers, with the threat of legal action, add to the cost of defensive medicine; President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act does little to bend the cost curve, and while conservatives rail against Medicare, the government-run program is more efficient and customer-friendly than the private system.

    None of this is new. Yet it resonates for several reasons: Brill documents the particulars more forcefully, and, as health-care spending approaches 20 percent of the U.S. economy, almost every American is affected and the debate is politically polarizing.

    When asked to respond to these charges, most of the system’s stakeholders react in similar ways: Many of these criticisms are valid -- except when it applies to us."
     
  17. raddadbrad

    raddadbrad Well-Known Member

    Jan 10, 2015
    Dang bro good info. But my point stands nursing is a punishing occupation and the pay scale maxes out quick to. 100 grand aint sheet these days.
     
  18. surfsolo

    surfsolo Well-Known Member

    809
    Apr 1, 2009
    Yet, many americans would lavish in the idea of making 100K.....Any good consistent gigs that make hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars for a 16 year old??? LOL cause that's the OP.

    I'd say work at a surf shop and learn the craft if you're interested......just know that there's no money in surfing except if you're the .0001%.
     
  19. Scobeyville

    Scobeyville Well-Known Member

    May 11, 2009
    Buy a lawnmower & Weed whacker. Start cutting lawns.

    Set up a legit business with the county - It will be a good life lesson down the line
     
  20. 252surfer

    252surfer Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
    im an environmental health specialist for the health department in virginia beach. i mean its a 9-5 and the pay isnt great but i get sweet benefits with a lot of leave time.

    plus i get to do and see a bunch of cool things at work that most people dont get to see. plus im outside a bunch so thats another plus.

    whatever you do for a career, just live really close to the ocean and you will get enough time in the water. i surf everyday there is a wave to be surfed. like today for example. no one else out but me and a friend...
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2015