Kayak Instructor/Raft Guide - The Best Job I Ever Had

Throughout my life I've had many jobs; from tennis court cleaner to bagel maker to my current profession, cardiac ultrasound technician. I love my current health care career; however the best job I ever had was that of kayak instructor/raft guide.

I didn't make a lot of money as a river guide, however I did have a lot of fun and had some of the most memorable experiences of my life. The friends I made during my river guiding career are still my best friends.

I started river guiding when I was still in high school. I was uniquely qualified for this job because my family had been doing river trips for years. I had grown up rowing and whitewater kayaking. When a job opened up on the Rogue River at Sundance Expeditions I jumped at the chance. Because I was already an accomplished river runner, the decision to hire me was an easy one.

As with most river companies, new employees start at the bottom of the food chain regardless of job experience. My first summer was spent mowing lawns, taking out trash and rowing big boats full of clients' gear. Sundance Expeditions only did multi day camp trips down the wild and scenic Rogue River. There were rafts that only carried clients and rafts that only carried gear. The first summer I wasn't entrusted with clients' lives.

That first summer I learned the ropes of the river company and learned how to interact with the general public. The raft trips were four-day camp trips and the kayak schools were 9 days. The first 5 days of the kayak school were spent learning to kayak at the Sundance lodge; the final 4 days were the downriver camp trip.

I was exposed to all kinds of people. Since the trips cost quite a bit of money, the clients were mostly successful people with families. Sometimes it was challenging to convince the clients to entrust their lives and the lives of their families to a 17 year old kid. I learned humility, and certainly responsibility. Both of these traits have helped me throughout my current career and throughout my life.

I continued my river guiding career for 12 summers. It helped pay for college and provided me with endless adventure and fun. Eventually though, I realized I had to make a choice. I could stay with the river guiding career, but the only way to make a decent living would be to either follow the summer south of the border and guide there during our winter, or own a river guiding company. Both choices were fraught with problems. Traveling around the world guiding wouldn't leave much time for raising a family and starting a river business isn't the easiest prospect either.

I decided to alter my career path and head back to school for some specialized training in the healthcare field.

A few of my friends continued their guiding careers and continue to do so to this day. They travel a lot, have no kids and barely make ends meet. For them, however there is no better job than guiding.

I never regretted my decision, but being in an office 8 hours a day rather than on a river...well lets just say ones better than the other. My river guiding career is over but I still carry the memories and I still take my family down the river often. Being a river guide taught me responsibility, humility and exposed me to many different situations and experiences, which help me every day in my current career.