Aussie trying to get a job. (Next Season)

as in my thread was looking for a resort to go to,
What resorts do you guys reccomend in canada that have good freeriding and good parks?
reading the above stuff revelstoke looks sick for freeriding, but hows there park?

Loving the info! Makes me keen to do a season! Personally Im more keen to board then drink! Much rather not feel like crap when I board!

I'd work in the US in a heartbeat if the visa system wasn't so ridiculous. Canada basically throw them at us, whereas the US really make you feel like you shouldn't be trying to work in their country

I see 0 Aussies working at resorts in the US but a ton at Whistler. 

Good luck to you.  In a way, I wish i did something like this when i vaguely had the chance.  Mortgage and kid now makes it just that little bit harder.

Bumping this thread back into play...

No one has bothered to mention working at Sunshine whilst living in Banff? Pretty good resort with a long season, reliable snow and its close to Banff. I personally would never work at Lake Louise, I don't want to have to drive an hour each way to work at a resort that relies on man made snow.

Honestly, Big White is a ridiculously easy place to do for a first timer, and there is a big village with lots of houses (not condos, actual houses) that can hold big house parties, so you don't have to worry about getting into pubs to party. Plus K-town is 45 minutes down the road so you aren't in the middle of nowhere

Get a job as a lifty - I worked one season at Vail and it was fun. Anyway now is much harder to get H2B visa so maybe Canada is better choice for you. Good luck man :)

Canada fo sho!... at least they're part of the commonwealth which i'm sure makes it a shitload easier! 

Thank you, Not that I want to party, more so to have the ability to have a pint when needed ;) I realised that L.L was an hour or so away, but I am sure there is accom or places available for a job, as LaundryMonster said Housekeeping or Night work would be good anything to keep me living, and not spending. Once again Thank you both.

Ahhh.. Where can I start :)

Let me throw you my 2 cents..
getting work in the USA is hard, I wouldnt bother. Go to Canada.
Being international means dick all .. because no matter which resort you end up in you will be one of proberly a billion aussies. Every ski field is filled with aussie workers. Im just finishing up next week at a resort and Everyone here is aussie, kiwi and a handful of canadians.
Aussies and Kiwis can get visas pretty easy as we are all part of the same commonwealth.. this year any other country pretty much got denied.

Dunno about east coast snow, but BC is pretty sticky stuff. Alberta has some pretty sweet snow all season (although this season was pretty shit)

Some resorts have staff accom, the bigger ones tell you to go find your own.

Revvi is a new resort, pretty sweet.. but do your research because there are a lot of good resorts around bc/ab

Fernie is a nice little town.. filled with aussies..
Mountain is pretty decent.. if you like traversing haha .. but yeah its decent
you'll get $8 / $8.50 an hour as a lifty there .. dunno how many hours you will get a week .. mind you, you do fuuucckkk all, as their lifts are semi detached and people self load.

Positive to being a lifty is you really do do nothing at most resorts .. and you get to ride alot more then most positions..
Just be ready for the cold .. expect days as bad as -52 .. anything below -30 hurts .. and you wont be able to keep warm. good boots and good gloves and thermals are essential

The better jobs to get would be janitor/house keeping .. ride all day.. work for a few hours ar night..

or a bar job, because you get tipped heaps, tipping is part of canadian life. but most of the return employees would get that kinda of work over anyone new

Throw your RSA out the windows.. means nothing in AB, you need a Proserv course/cert from memory


Thats about all the advice I can give off the top of my head.
If you want to make money dont work at a ski hill.
do your search like i said.. you might just find a few mountains that arnt big name ones that might be worth working at :)

hope this helps

whats the average pay for a lift operator there in USA?

I've been looking into this a lot lately too, there is a company in Australia that is completely focused on Aussies working in Canada. They organize everything for you, and they have info nights in capital cities every few months. Next one in sydney is actually pretty soon, on March 23rd so Tuesday at Shelbourne Hotel, Corner Market & Sussex Street.  

If I can work out how ill post up some pics of revelstoke from some friends that went there last weekend 

pretty sure its legal to drive here with Just aussie license. Ive only driven once though and it was weird being on the wrong side of the road 

I have my full license at home, love to have a few beers and still drive (legally).

In a house 450/month Live pretty cheaply off food.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/

good site for finding stuff

You need the 'Serving it Right' certificate to work in a bar in B.C. and you need to be 19.

Awesome! I have my RSA already at the age of 17, local RSL let the school kids get an RSA for some reason, but I'm sure it will look good on the CV! Thanks heaps. How did you go about finding a job Fincky?

But yeah, maybe work at a bar in Alberta where the legal limit is 18?

ahh man looks like such a shredable mountain

Just popped Revelstoke an email, asking when applications open up and such, so hopefully I get some good news :)

Sick!! I thought it was 19! Awesome. Will try get on to them asap. Excited already.

For accommodation, do you know what house sharing is like in Canada?

Yeah. Well I'll be 18, the legal limit of drinking is 19 there right? So yeah won't be to many nights out, just will want to shred all season long.

Originally posted by rook What's the Capital of Australia?  Whistler.

I like it.

Thanks so much for your responses. I had been looking into Revelstoke, as it's what only 2 years or so old? And they probably haven't found many International Applicants, possibly willing to come back for a few seasons after their first. I was looking at getting a job around Tahoe, but as mentioned before it is harded to get a H2B Visa (as I will no longer be a student, so I can't get a J1).

If anyone still has input this thread is still far from dead (hopefully). I will start job hunting around April-May, because the earlier I can get something to happen, the better.

Oh, and how to Job Interviews go? Telephone I assume.

1. Canada or USA? They are so different. It is like comparing apples with crab-apples.
That is actually kinda up to you. There are some GREAT ski resorts in both countries, so as long as you stay on the west coast, it would be hard to go wrong with either.

2. For an Aussie, defiantly Canada. In Canada, people from Oz can participate in the Working Holiday Program. The requirements for this program are:

- Hold an Australian passport that is valid for the entire length of your stay in Canada.
- Be between 18-30 years of age.
- Be criminally and medically admissible.


If you want to work in the US, you really only have two options. They are the J-1 Visa and H2B Visa.

J-1 VISAS (students)
This is for temporary work in the United States, the most popular visa secured by students is a "cultural exchange" Visa (J-1) that permits you to work for a period of 4 months, and allows for 1 month of travel on the end (total of 5 months). In order to be eligible for a J-1 Visa you must currently be a student between the ages of 19 and 30, and must be a full-time student for at least one semester of the same year that you are applying for, or have deferred status.
To get this visa you have to go through a company that sponsors them, NOT the ski resort you want to work at.
There is a company, CCUSA, that is sponsoring a 12-month J1 visa to citizens of Australia and New Zealand for some ski resorts. Check out www.ccusa.com for info on that program.

H-2B VISAS (non-student)
The H-2B visas each season for certain specialized jobs. The H-2B nonimmigrant program permits employers to hire foreign workers to come to the U.S. and perform temporary nonagricultural work, for the entire winter season. These visas are applied for by the ski resort and if approved, the certification is issued to the ski resort, not the worker, therefore the visa CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED TO ANY OTHER JOB (no evening bar tending job in town). The dates of employment must be for the winter season which means arriving before the Christmas Holiday and stay until the end of the winter season-usually in May. The ski resorts get a limited number of these, and if you are not hired by mid-June, you will probably be out of luck.


3. Living costs all depend on where you go. Narrow it down to a couple areas and ask again.


As an instructor you will probably want a second job. At most places, you don't get paid unless you are teaching, and that is dependent on people needing lessons. Maybe you should try for a more stable job on the hill. Ski patrol, lift ops, rentals and bar jobs (along with other jobs) have a more steady income. If you do something like rentals, when it is slow, you can ride or choose to stay and get paid. That is just a suggestion though.