How to Become a Snowboarding Instructor

If you enjoy snowboarding, becoming an instructor has some perks. In most cases, you will get a free season pass, plus a pass for members of your immediate family. Other benefits include food and gear discounts, free lessons and training sessions and free day passes for resorts that have a reciprocal arrangement with your home resort. While the pay is not that impressive, many people feel the perks make up for it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

How to Become a Snowboarding Instructor

Step 1

Improve your snowboarding skills. Take classes with respected instructors and perfect the more difficult moves.

Step 2

Practice explaining the technical aspects of some of the basic snowboard moves. This is more important than your actual riding skills. The hiring director will be looking for people with good teaching skills.

Step 3

Get a part-time job or do some sort of volunteer work as a teacher of some sort of activity. Again, hiring directors value any type of teaching experience. In fact, at the hiring workshop, you might be asked to teach some sort of activity to the other potential instructors.

Step 4

Participate in snowboarding message forums and make friends with people who work at the resorts. They might be able to help you in the future. Posting on message forums also is a good way to practice explaining specific snowboarding skills.

Step 5

Check the "Jobs" sections of different resort websites. While some resorts hire at the end of the previous season, many hire throughout the season.

Step 6

Attend a hiring clinic. Arrive as early as possible to try to develop a rapport with the hiring director. Make sure you have memorized the skier/snowboarder safety code because you might be asked to recite it.

Tips & Warnings

Resorts always are short of instructors who want to work with kids. If you like kids, be sure to tell the hiring director. Many resorts are in need of bilingual instructors. If you can teach skiing and snowboarding, all the better. If there is a branch of Snowport Outreach Society near where you live, spending a season as a mentor might help you get hired as a snowboard instructor.

Resorts always are short of instructors who want to work with kids. If you like kids, be sure to tell the hiring director.

Many resorts are in need of bilingual instructors.

If you can teach skiing and snowboarding, all the better.

If there is a branch of Snowport Outreach Society near where you live, spending a season as a mentor might help you get hired as a snowboard instructor.

Resorts have zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol.

Resources

Article Written By Lisa Mercer

In 1999, Lisa Mercer’s fitness, travel and skiing expertise inspired a writing career. Her books include "Open Your Heart with Winter Fitness" and "101 Women's Fitness Tips." Her articles have appeared in "Aspen Magazine," "HerSports," "32 Degrees," "Pregnancy Magazine" and "Wired." Mercer has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the City College of New York.

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