The Pleasures - and Perils - of Seasonal Jobs

I was a student at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado when my professor told our class he had a message for anyone wanting to work as a seasonal in the outdoor industry after graduating.

His message was simple: “Get out of my classroom.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want us working as outdoor guides, trail crew leaders or ski bums. He wanted us to work as a seasonal, then come back to college when we were ready to value the economic stability of a degree.

“You don’t need a degree to be a guide,” he said. “A degree is so you can move into management after you burn out.” Most outdoor...