Attending the Mountain Guide Training School vs Going to College:
The numbers are convincing.

Deciding on your future is not easy these days; where to invest your time, money and energy are big decisions. There are many hard questions to ask yourself:
•    What do you want out of life?
•    How do you want to feel at the end of your life when you look back?
•    What things are important to you: status, adventure, possesions, friends, family, or challenge?

Any big decision you make about your future will need to balance out these needs. We are all looking for a path in life that will give us the greatest chance of whatever we define as happiness and success.

From a financial point of view, you want to be positive that your investment (or your parents’ investment) will give you a good return.  You (and possibly, they) will be asking:
•    How much time and money do you need to invest ?
•    How soon will it pay off?
•    What will my financial situaiton look like in 15 years if I choose path A or path B?

Here’s some great news: the two year Mountain Guide Training School can be your springboard into employment in the outdoor industry as a guide or instructor.

Further, you can start with less debt, start earning money sooner, and earn more money in the long term than if you pursued the average college degree.

The outdoor industry is a great industry to be in these days.  The industry is growing and you have a lot of options for employment. Whether your interest is pure adventure tourism, eco-tourism, high altitude guiding, or rock climbing, there are many choices and a lot of adventure to be had in you working hours.

Let’s have a look at how this plays out, in dollars, below:

First, let’s look at what your education will cost.  According to US News>>, for a student starting college in 2008, the average 4 year private college costs $43,817 per year, including tuition, books, room, board, and other fees.  With inflation, they estimate that you’ll spend $194,545 for your 4 year degree.  And since this is 2008, you can assume these have gone up…

At The Mountain Training School, tuition for the Mountain Guide Training School is $30,000, including room and board (except while on break between courses).  We estimate that, with flights, gear, a bit of beer money, and the like, you’ll spend between $10,000 and $12,000 for the two years with us.  That means you’ll spend less on two years with us than you would on one year at college.

Now, what are your earning prospects when you’re done?  According to Payscale.com>>, most college graduates will earn between $30,000 and $40,000 a year after two years out of college, and between $40,000 and $60,000 after 15 years out of college.  Over a 15 year period, you can expect to earn about $675,000.  Remember this is after you invested $200,000 in your education and doesn’t account for inflation, student loan interest, or any other things. (those $675,000 future dollars are worth about $400,000 in today dollars, according to US News).

Mountain guides earn pretty good wages, too.  The average starting wage of our student graduates this year was $147.20 per day.  Most guiding jobs are seasonal, so you can expect to work about 200 days per year on average.  This gives a starting income of $29,400 plus tips per year.  Experienced lead guides will earn between $200 and $350 per day, so we’ll take the 15 year wage to be about $55,000 plus tips per year.  So over 15 years you can expect to earn about $630,000 plus tips.  And this is with only a $45,000 investment in your education.

Because of the cost huge difference in cost of education and the fact that you can start working 2 years sooner, guiding beats the heck out of a traditional education.  After 15 years, a mountain guide will have half a million dollars in the bank, while your poor friends in college will only have about half as much.

Here’s some numbers to show you what I mean:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So after 15 years, an average college graduate will have a net earning of $278,963, having spent 4 years at school and the next 6 years paying off their debt.  And their cubicle doesn’t compare to the mountains that are your office.  But how does your 15 year earnings compare?  Check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In conclusion, college is a great investment in your future.  It just so happens that the Mountain Guide Training School is an even better investment in your future, and is a heck of a lot more fun.

We’ll see you soon.  To apply for the Mountain Guide Training School, click here>>.