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Don't let go
Trad climber
Yorba Linda, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 6, 2005 - 05:20pm PT
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I have been asking pretty much every climber that I meet now what they do to make money and what educational background they have. At first I was surprised by the results but not anymore. I have found that if I had to stereotype a climber they would be: a hippie, with a college education in some sort of physical science (ie math, physics, engineering) and they don't work any more than necessary in order to afford to go climbing. Oh yeah, they are also drunk pot heads (but that's kind of included with the whole hippie thing.)
PS I'm not intending to insult anyone. I don't do drugs. And drinking too much is not for me. But I am studying to be an engineer and I really want to work for a year and then quit and live off of that money to go climbing for as long as possible.
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Cracko
Trad climber
Quartz Hill, California
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Middle School Principal
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deuce4
Big Wall climber
Pagosa Springs CO
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middle class yupster
--reporter for the town paper, local computer dude, engineering consulting, misc. Anyone need a tensile fabric structure?
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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currently a sports massage therapist, but when I climbed more I did whatever it took to go climbing as much as I could.
(edit: spoorts, er sports massage I mean..guess the eyes are going quicker then imagined or I just didn't look to hard when I was typing)
drink and smoke daily, just not that much...moderation..moderation, just lots of moderation
BA in History from USC, taught high school for a while, but man it sure did age me quickly.
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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"currently a spoorts massage therapist,"
Does the spoorting imply a "happy finish"?
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malabarista
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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QA software engineer
...entirely self taught software engineer, my degree was in ecology.
...i never worked a "real" job until I was 26, before that I traveled thru Europe working as a street juggler and then around South America (where I started climbing).
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Forest
Trad climber
Tucson, AZ
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Software engineer for a company in San Jose.
Education is a BA (no, not a BS) in Computer Science.
I'm not a drunk pothead, but I was raised by hippies. :-)
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Irisharehere
Trad climber
Gunks
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Finishing up a Ph.D in Infectious Diseases
Not a pothead, but I have been known to drink a bit more than is good for me, especially at the annual Daksfest ice weekend.......
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Ouch!
climber
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Freelance gynecologist and power grid operator.
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BoKu
Sport climber
Douglas Flat, CA
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Information Architect (I design manual sets, but I don't get to write them) and part time developer of nuclear fusion powered aircraft.
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Shack
Trad climber
So. Cal.
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Operations/Service Manager
Electromechanical Troubleshooting
BA in Electronics Engineering
Don't drink alot, but a regular smoker. ;)
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David
Trad climber
San Rafael, CA
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pixel pusher
Masters in Fine Art
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Scott_Nelson
Trad climber
San Diego
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Analyst, Consulting firm
B.S. Management Science
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Shack
Trad climber
So. Cal.
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Boy, Do we have some BORING sounding jobs, or what! Hahaha!!
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Gene
climber
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Financial Fiction
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
St. Louis
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University Professor (primarily researcher)
Great job for time off to climb.
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maculated
Trad climber
San Luis Obispo, CA
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University lecturer (what crimpergirl said) and writer. Might be dabbling in a little something something else. We'll see.
I guess I'm a yippie. I have "Free Tibet" sticker on my SUV. All the worthy causes run by celebrities flood my mailbox each day. Silly them, thinking I have money to donate.
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Peter
climber
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Haha
"Don't Let Go" - what's the point of going to school and studying something that you're already looking forward to quitting?
I find two classes of climbers.
1. Those who spent years climbing hard, smoking pot and avoiding school or white collar work. Finally they found something meaningful they could focus on. Now they just climb for fun.
2. Those who went to school like their parents told them they should, and after 1,2 5, 10 or more years realised that their professional white collar office job was boring them to death. I have met an astonishing number of engineers who are now carpenters. Ooops, I mean, real estate developers. Like me.
Climbing's pretty cheap. Why not quit school now and go back when you think of something you're interested in?
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Don't let go
Trad climber
Yorba Linda, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 6, 2005 - 09:08pm PT
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Peter, I appreciate your advice. I have made it through almost three years of mechanical engineering at UC Irvine. I'm at the point now where it would be foolish for me to quit. Plus I do have parents breathing down my neck and I imagine that they might expect all of the money they gave me and maybe even rent for the past three years if I were to quit. If I get my BS I can get a job around 40-60k a year. I know how to live cheaply so one year of working equates to at least a year of touring the world climbing anything and everything. It would be fun to drop off the face of the real world for a while to climb. However it seems like the best chance that I have of that is finishing school, making money and then just quit when I need too. Some day maybe I'll be good enough to be a guide and then I can live at the crags.
And I don't totally hate school. I have wanted to be an engineer for years. My mind works that way. I think I'm a better climber for it. I find myself doing stress and force analysis as I'm climbing. You'd be surprised at how much that can help. But you never know what is going to happen. I might end up being a carpenter. I'm just so close to being a rocket scientist at this point it makes sense to finish it. (I do go climbing after classes at Pirates Cove which is a nice little bouldering area on the beach 15 minutes from school. That helps to keep me sane.)
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phillip mike revis
climber
snowbird, ut
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i wait tables at ritzy upsate ny resort lodge in summer/wait tables at a ritzy ski lodge in alta utah in winter (snowbird won't hire hippies) buy whiskey by the gallon and weed by the ounce don't strait up rock climb as much as i used to but i spend 300 days a year in the mountains skiing mountaineering climbing or any combo of the three i have BA in theoretical mathematics worked at rti for two years fifteen years ago couldn't stand the nine to five monday to friday gig wasted too much daylight indoors
my advice
get your degree it gives you some credibility
get a real job makes some dough and quit before you get married and have kids
get a night job (it is the only time folks with money to spend get out)
spend as much time as you can in the mountains
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