Gore-Tex Experience More

I can add my .02 from the instructor's side. I've been instructing the last 10 years here in Oregon. I wish I could give you the pros and cons, but it's mainly cons! Which are:

1) You have to work on a powder day (try being on the bunny hill most of the day on a powder day and maintaining a smile!)
2) You have to work on a rainy day
3) You have to work on a nice freeride day
4) You have to work when your friends are up on the hill
5) You only get paid when you do work (teach). You're required to be on the hill for up to 8 hours, but may only get paid for 2.
6) You have to pay yearly dues to an organization like PSIA or AASI (about 100$ a year)
7) You have to get continuing education credits to keep up your certification

These are a lot of cons and I always have to think about exactly how much I want to return year after year. Believe, it could be cheaper to simply purchase a seasons pass. Nevertheless, there are some pros, and these are the ones that keep me coming back:

1) You do get paid a little. One of the nice benefits at my resort is a season's pass, and discounted season's pass for family members (which I don't take advantage of, unfortunately). Some resorts do have rich folks who come, and the tips can sometimes be good - especially during the Christmas Holidays.
2) There are lots of teaching hours to be had during the Christmas Holidays (and other holiday weekends).
3) We get an awful lot of good training on my hill. I've become a much better snowboarder these past few years (and I've been boarding for 20 years). You have to ask the director, however, about training opportunities - ski areas will differ quite a bit in this regards.
4) I get lots of free lessons in other disciplines. For example, I have several folks here who help me with my tele-skiing.
5) One of the most important benefits is that I have people to ride with on a consistent basis. If you're lucky enough to have bros or a spouse who rides and can afford to go with you, that's good. But, I would often be riding alone if I didn't work at the ski area.
6) I plain and simple enjoy teaching people how to snowboard. It's a really nice feeling to see folks "get it."

Bottom line - I have a good paying job the rest of the week to pay the bills. I figure that instructing gets me a free ticket to ride and pays (mostly) for my gas money to the mountain. And, I get to be a better rider to boot. So, I've decided that that's an okay tradeoff for me. I guess the best advice I can give is to just do it for a season and see how you like it! Let us know if you get hired on somewhere this winter.