I am a senior in high school and live in southeastern Minnesota. I absolutely love snowmobiling and make trips out west to ride. We always head to the snowy mtns. around Saratoga and Ryans Park, so I know that area pretty well. Instead of going to college right out of high school, I have decided to follow my dreams and move out west for a while to work, explore, and ride snowmobile. If anyone has suggestions of any mountain towns that will have a lot of offer in terms of work, places to stay, and good riding, please let me know. I am willing to travel and explore and I am willing to work. I also really like to mountain bike as well. I really only need two things, an adventure and some awesome riding. Any little thing helps, thanks!
Help me out!
- Thread starter HBlakes
- Start date
Go to college!!! Get it out of the way first, then get a good job and go play. If you don't you'll probably never get back into going to school and you'll regret it in the long run. Go get that education first, then play.
X2 go to some sort of school/training
go to school! I went to wyotech in Laramie, bring your sled, shred on the weekends, school all week. There's work in town but it'll probably be at WalMart, I worked there and went to school. Work in mountains is usually seasonal, especially if you don't have a skillset. Just my 2 cents, but that's what I'd do in your shoes. If your gonna move to a mountain town try and get a job in the industry, guide sled tours, be the tour base help. If your doin crappy work, and working all the time come snow season its gonna suck, good luck to you with whatever you choose.
follow your dream...you will likely change vocations 3 to 4 times throughout your life anyway so there will always be learning and education , tomorrow a physical issue could limit you forever from doing what you aspire to do now...go for it...!!!
Go to school!! Wyo Tech will work fine, most of us as employers don't care what you went to school for, we are going to teach you how we want things done anyway. We just want potential employees to have shown enough commitment to further their education and have the time on your own it takes to grow up and be dependable. Laramie should be an awesome place to base out of for weekend sled trips.
You can definitely do both, I can think of plenty schools out west that have riding near by.
I went to the University of Montana Western in Dillon Montana ( Keith Curtis Went There), they have block scheduling you only go to class for 3 hours a day which gives you plenty of time to work or ride. A lot of guys would take off a block (18 Days) and hunt, you could easily do that for sledding.
I went to the University of Montana Western in Dillon Montana ( Keith Curtis Went There), they have block scheduling you only go to class for 3 hours a day which gives you plenty of time to work or ride. A lot of guys would take off a block (18 Days) and hunt, you could easily do that for sledding.
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Trust me, if you plan on going to college at all go right after highschool. That way you are still immature enough to enjoy the shennanigans that occur in the dorms. Believe it or not the dorms are probably the crappiest place you will live(if your smart and don't pay a ton of $$ for nice ones), but oh ma lord so much fun and so many interesting experiences(say nothing of the sloots that can be enjoyable as well if your into that kind of thing).
Regardless, I went to school fairly close to home since I had a girlfriend, and while its been great I always wonder what it would have been like had I gone to Montana or somewhere like that. I decided against it because it was going to be super expensive(out of state pharmacy school is crazy expensive), but perhaps you could do it. For general education it isn't too much more expensive.
Regardless, I went to school fairly close to home since I had a girlfriend, and while its been great I always wonder what it would have been like had I gone to Montana or somewhere like that. I decided against it because it was going to be super expensive(out of state pharmacy school is crazy expensive), but perhaps you could do it. For general education it isn't too much more expensive.
'Follow your Dream' or 'Go to School'.... Hmmmm....
Both are good advice. You can not go wrong with either one as long as you stick with it and give it everything you got and follow through until it's finished. Work hard, Be Honest, and Finish what you start and you'll succeed no matter which you choose.
Life's too short to not get what you want, but you gotta work for it, nobody will just hand it to you.
Good Luck!
Both are good advice. You can not go wrong with either one as long as you stick with it and give it everything you got and follow through until it's finished. Work hard, Be Honest, and Finish what you start and you'll succeed no matter which you choose.
Life's too short to not get what you want, but you gotta work for it, nobody will just hand it to you.
Good Luck!
Go to school!!! get it out of the way!! i was in the military for six years and didn't take any classes now its like starting all over again!! especially with math!
At the very least go ham for 2 years and get all those stupid generals knocked out at least. Then go figure out what you wanna do for a couple years and have fun!
At the very least go ham for 2 years and get all those stupid generals knocked out at least. Then go figure out what you wanna do for a couple years and have fun!
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I was in the same boat as you a couple years ago. Went to a community college for generals and to try to figure out what I want to do with my life. Graduated from there then came to UW and I really like it. I wish I would have came here when I was a freshman. If you are anything like me, if I didn't continue with college right out of high school I never would have went. While others may disagree, I think college is more fun when you are the same age as everyone else. Plus there is still lots of sledding to be had during the week, or weekend.
I agree with your plan as well to work and sled as that is probably what I will be doing next winter after I graduate. If you are wanting to go work, snowest has some great connections and I bet somebody on here could get you pointed in the right direction.
I agree with your plan as well to work and sled as that is probably what I will be doing next winter after I graduate. If you are wanting to go work, snowest has some great connections and I bet somebody on here could get you pointed in the right direction.
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Bowfisher
Well-known member
Although I agree with the whole live your dream idea it can be hard to live your dream on minimum wage and I know that the sooner you go to school the easier and better it will be. Like others have said pick a school that you can ride. Have you seen the film Natural Frequency from the MTU guys http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352838 . There's time for school and fun you just have work hard. You'll be better off in the long run with an education and the sooner you can get it the sooner you can cash in on it. Plus like others say if you wait it will be harder to go back.
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UMGlasgow
Member
I went to college right out of high school because I thought I HAD to. Now, I don't regret it at all and had a helluva time. If you have any idea what you wanna do and it requires school then go. School, part time work, and sledding can all be enjoyed at the same time. I went to the University of Montana (4.0 Student), worked 20-35 hours a week at a dealership, and sledded a TON! Way more than I do now that I work, have a family, and live in the wrong place... If you do it right and have a goal you can make it work out either way. NOW, I did actually stop going to school and didn't finish a degree. I wanted to move to eastern MT (Girl & Family) and I am making way more money than I would have with my degree working in the Bakken. I am finishing my bachelors online while working. There are so many different directions your life can go in your 20's it's crazy. I would say follow your dream right away, if school isn't a part of that, don't worry too much about it. Universities aren't going anywhere and they will always be willing to accept your money when or if the time comes.
U
UMGlasgow
Member
One part I forgot to add... If you do go to school student loans are a pretty heavy burden when you are done. Try to find a field that will help you pay back your loans once finished. If you don't know what you want to do yet, then don't go. Getting out of school and doing something that doesn't require a degree (Or that does require a degree and doesn't pay well) all while paying back loans isn't the most enjoyable thing.
I appreciate all of the helpful opinions, but I have gotten the "go to school right away, you'll regret it" speech before, believe me. I have decided to go with my gut and follow my dream. If anyone has any suggestions of any towns or riding areas that would be a good place to set up camp for a while that would be awesome. Thanks again for all the advice!
If you have a good head on your shoulders, skipping out on college and all the debt that goes with it is not a bad way to go. If you get into a good trade, you can be earning $$ while the others your age are racking up debt! Plus, you'll have more $ on hand to spend on sledding 
There are plenty of trades that train you on the job...
There are plenty of trades that train you on the job...
If you have a good head on your shoulders, skipping out on college and all the debt that goes with it is not a bad way to go. If you get into a good trade, you can be earning $$ while the others your age are racking up debt! Plus, you'll have more $ on hand to spend on sledding
There are plenty of trades that train you on the job...
+1
look into an apprenticeship program. i work at a union sheetmetal fab shop. schooling is paid for by the union, wages are high for the area, good health benefits, great retirement, etc...
unfortunately i didnt realize this until i went to school
well look at places like Alaska etc..great sledding..go to the area specific forums on this site
whatever place im certain there are job boards online and you can always ask the members in area specific forums on this site what its like for renting in there area then you have your gas money and a warm place to sleep...
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I never liked school and didn't go to college at all. I have $0 in school debt. I knew school wasn't for me. I found a place I knew wanted to work at and spent 2 years of my life as a temporary employee on and off trying to get a full time job. It paid off. I make decent money enough to keep me happy and still get to play, have great benefits and the only debt I have is very low interest loans on my toys and a mortgage. But I bought my house when I was 19 only making and my then gf now wife and I were only making $11-12 an hour. I'm 24 now and life is good. If you know what you want and can find something to do that doesn't require college I am a firm believer if you want it bad enough you can make it happen. I am thinking about going to classes for something someday once I have more time to do it because my company also pays for pretty much all school costs if I get decent grades.
Go to school and get that education!!!
Some of the best advise that I got before I went to college was "don't let your schooling get in the way of your education"
I suggest Montana State University in Bozeman MT you are 30 to 45 minutes from great riding. You can go to school, work, and ride. This is what I did coming from Eastern Montana, but I was fortunate enough that my parents paid for my schooling so I didn't have to work so I went to school and rode as much as I could. I scheduled all my classes for the morning so I could ride in the afternoon and then on the weekends. I know there is a bunch of students on campus that ride too and there are people on here from the Bozeman area that would probably be more than willing to show you around.
Good luck!
Some of the best advise that I got before I went to college was "don't let your schooling get in the way of your education"
I suggest Montana State University in Bozeman MT you are 30 to 45 minutes from great riding. You can go to school, work, and ride. This is what I did coming from Eastern Montana, but I was fortunate enough that my parents paid for my schooling so I didn't have to work so I went to school and rode as much as I could. I scheduled all my classes for the morning so I could ride in the afternoon and then on the weekends. I know there is a bunch of students on campus that ride too and there are people on here from the Bozeman area that would probably be more than willing to show you around.
Good luck!
