Outdoor Sports Jobs help guide

Working in outdoor pursuits can be a rewarding and adventurous career path for people who enjoy the outdoors and want to share their passion with others. It's not just about climbing and watersports. There are seasonal jobs in centres that employ staff to lead low ropes activities, problem solving, mountain biking, orienteering and archery. Not to mention all the traditional sports like football, rugby and golf.

Whether you're interested in coaching football, leading groups in the mountains, working as a kayak instructor, guiding outdoor activities, or pursuing a career in outdoor education, here is a guide to help you get started.

If you are already qualified and / or experienced your skills are very sought after by the companies that have joined up with Season Workers. If not, there are plenty of courses advertised in this section that can give you a ticket to pursuing your chosen sport as a job and maybe even a career.

Getting work on yachts and sailing ships

As a complete novice, without any previous sailing experience, you can still find suitable positions on private yachts where the employer will teach you the basics. These types of positions are usually low paid or non-paid, but remember you have food and board included, and you get to travel, and gain valuable sailing experience and sea miles.

The jobs on the motor yachts are more based in the hospitality sector at entry level but these operations also employ specialist staff that may come from the outdoor sector watersports disciplines. There are also some great openings for qualified season workers from catering backgrounds that might have just finished working a season in a hotel or restaurant.

Finding jobs on yachts and sailing ships

Entry level outdoor sports jobs

Working as an outdoor instructor is so much fun. You get to work within a team, that love the same things you do, live with you, work with you and share their laughs and troubles with you. For the past season (April-August), I have had the pleasure of working within a team of people like the above. We worked long days but put our all into everything we did. We had school groups on camp every week since we started in April and this was were the fun was. We worked in groups of three instructors, going up to forty, depending on our site and school group.

Outdoor sports qualifications

To participate in training under a regional board (MLTE, MLTNI, MLTS and MLTW) you need to first be a member of a club that is affiliated to the local regional MC (Mountaineering council). You can then contact your regional training board and get your log book (which is the basis of almost all outdoor qualifications). Your club will also be able to help simplify the process and help you on your way to a career in outdoor sports.