When he wanted to combine his love of sports with a career, Laurence Young decided to become a ski instructor, he tells Michael Kelly
It's hard not to feel a little jealous of Laurence Young. The 25-year-old former architect is calling me from Pila in the Valle d'Aosta, Italy where he has just finished a day on the slopes teaching kids how to ski. Later on, he tells me, he'll be heading off for a spot of skiing himself. Tough day at the office.
Young studied architectural technology at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) and when he qualified, he got a job in the Dublin office of architectural firm Murray O'Laoire. Architecture, it would seem, was very much the Young family business - his two brothers also worked in the firm. "Stephen was working there at the time and then Patrick joined after I did. We were spread out around the office so it wasn't too bad. We didn't bump in to each other too much."
Having established himself with the company, doubts started to creep in about his chosen career. "For the last two years, I was working on a conservation project in Carton House in Maynooth which I loved, but architecture is pretty intense work and a lot of the time it's just you and your computer. There's not much chit-chat going on. On a personal level, I felt I would prefer to be dealing with people more. I am also sports mad, so I wondered was there something I could do that would combine these things."
Not unusually for a 25-year-old, he also had a bit of a travel bug: "I wanted to travel, but I also knew I didn't want to just bum around Australia for a year and then come back to the same spot."
In August 2006, Young was talking to a friend of a friend, who was going off to work in an American ski resort and he found himself thinking, "I'd love that."
"When I was with Murray O'Laoire, I went on skiing holidays three years in a row and was really into it. I never went to ski school, so technically I was terrible. Basically, I was throwing myself down the mountain; black slopes and all." Now though, he started to think of skiing as a career option and stumbled on the website of a company, Mountain Lodge, which offers a 10-week ski instructor course.
He handed in his notice in mid-November and on January 7th, flew out to Courchevel in the French Alps to start his training. "It was amazing. There was a really good crew of people on the course and great instructors. I wasn't the only career-changer; there was a New Yorker, who had been a corporate lawyer, and a guy from England who worked for a pharmaceutical company."
He passed his level three BASI (British Association of Snowsports Instructors) exams on March 16th, and the following day he shipped off to Pila in the Valle d'Aosta, Italy to start teaching. "I've been teaching intermediates, so they are pretty handy skiers. Last week I was teaching a group of teenagers from Essex and this week it's a group of 10-year-olds. There are about 30 instructors, so it's a tight-knit community. I have about 20 additional friends from when I got here - there aren't many jobs you can say that about.
"We do about four hours of instruction a day, so when we finish in the afternoon we can head off skiing ourselves."
The ski instructor's life is inextricably linked to the seasons, so at the end of April he'll be out of work and plans to return to Ireland. "The course was expensive, about €10,000 so I have to pay my Dad back for that. My brother Stephen has his own company now so I might work with him.
"A lot of ski instructors get into mountain climbing or martial arts and teach those in the off-season. I will consider that too."
His short-term plan is to get a few seasons under this belt (possibly in Canada next season) and then go for his BASI grade two qualifications. I mention to him that many people have the impression that ski instructors seem to be permanently in holiday mode, heading for après-ski bars each night with their students. It's clearly a great job for a young person, but is it something he could do long term?
"I want this to be my career. When I told friends I was giving up architecture to become an instructor, some of them said 'oh we know what you're doing it for: partying and women'. That's what most people think.
"There certainly are instructors who are in it for that, living from season to season. But there are also instructors who take it really seriously and who aren't out partying every night of the week. I want to get to BASI level one, so that I can work for myself, maybe even set up my own company down the road."
For the moment though, he is enjoying his new life. "Every time I sit on a chair lift, I look around and think: is this a dream? Is this really my job?" I have about 20 additional friends from when I got here - there aren't many jobs you can say that about