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Attention American shapers!

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Jibberino
Posts: 2088 - Karma: 1,333
So i'm working as a shaper in Switzerland at the moment, and i'm looking to make a career in snowpark building. And seeing that the best parks are in the US, I thought it prudent to get some experience from these parks. That leads me to my question. How much do shapers in the US make generally, are we talking minimum wage? Are there any perks, maybe the mountain provides accomodation? And does anyone know any non US citizens working as shapers? The whole immigration/green card thing seems slightly daunting, any tips on that?

Cheers!
Feb 24 2012 2:18AM
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p-fo
Posts: 9372 - Karma: 6,155
Seems like most park crews make pretty close to minimum wage. Probably depends on the mountain and how senior you are mostly as to what you make and what benefits you get though. As far as getting a green card etc goes, maybe apply for a visa? Since it sounds like you want to return to Europe in a year or two.
And your parks over there look just as good. Ours are maybe just bigger?
Feb 24 2012 2:44AM
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Jibberino
Posts: 2088 - Karma: 1,333
True, Europe is catching up. But when it comes to creativity and scale, the US is still ahead. But thanks for the info, i'll look into this visa stuff, and yes i do plan to stay only for a year or two.
Feb 24 2012 3:00AM
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SnowRidgeParks
Posts: 2146 - Karma: 88
Are you a machine operator or are you talking just basic park crew? There's obviously a huge difference in experience and pay rate. Operators make pretty good pay, but you need to have a lot of experience and be good at building. Park crew, at least throughout Vail Resorts, don't make much, less than $9 an hour and just need to know basic shaping and how to use a rake. Do you have snow machine experience?
Feb 24 2012 12:34PM
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Jibberino
Posts: 2088 - Karma: 1,333
No machine experience yet, but next season i'm planning on taking courses, and my boss will probably teach me as well. However, in Europe it seems the resorts aren't to keen on letting the park crew drive the machines, they want to have their "normal" drivers do it, I assume it's different in the US?
Feb 24 2012 1:20PM
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SnowRidgeParks
Posts: 2146 - Karma: 88
Yeah if you're trying to make a career out of shaping terrain parks, you'll need to be an operator. At smaller operations it's common to have everyday groomers shaping the features. At the premier resorts there are dedicated terrain park cat operators, consisting usually of the park manager and a couple other park specific operators. Shaping terrain park features is truly an art and a science, hence the specialized operators at the higher level parks, these are the guys who can make a living working in terrain parks.
Feb 24 2012 2:22PM
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HeathR
Posts: 4357 - Karma: 1,379
I have been shaping for 6 seasons now. You dont make much money, especially if you are just starting out. As you move up you get more but not much. You dont do it for the money. It can take a while to get into a cat, but you get paid more as an operator than as day crew. If you have operating experience it really helps, even if all you do is move rails or dig stuff out. Even as a manager your not talking real big money. The only big money is in consulting, like SPT. If you are one of their top operators and you travel around the world building big projects, you make bank.
Feb 24 2012 2:33PM
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C-Weezy
Posts: 786 - Karma: 50
I'm on the park crew at my hill, it is a small resort and I make minimum wage. Hopin to get in a cat though!
Feb 24 2012 2:45PM
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pghjibber
Posts: 1298 - Karma: 329
I remember seeing on Malakye when Mammoth was posting for a Terrain Park Manager that the salary range was 55-80k depending on experience...

Mammoth is pretty much tops for park, so you should use that as something you can strive towards as pretty much the max salary in the field.
Feb 24 2012 2:52PM
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Jibberino
Posts: 2088 - Karma: 1,333
Thanks guys! I'm aware the money isn't good, but as long as i'm in the mountains, I don't care! However, i think that even as normal park crew you can make decent money in Norway. But I am definitely hoping to move up the ranks and get more experience and responsibility, but I gotta pay my dues first!
Feb 24 2012 2:52PM
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