Quote:
Originally posted by afrothunda
I will be getting a BS in Computer Engineering this spring. I was thinking of maybe staying in school and continue to officiate in hopes time will allow me to find a job that fits my needs. As well as my officiating needs.
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I'm going to type out of both sides of my keyboard now:
Someday you will have a spouse and family and a mortgage to pay. And then I would remember:
The day job pays the mortgage, unless you are lucky enough to big a big-time official. Don't do anything in your day job that will jeopardize your ability to pay those bills. I took three years off working certain sports in order to focus on my career. No regrets.
But, you're in school now and have a good major. So, I would give a different piece of advice:
When I took my previous job here in Wisconsin, I was open and honest about my passion for officiating. My big concern was during baseball season -- I wanted to be able to work earlier hours and have time to work a full high school and college schedule.
When the first spring rolled around I started to get scheduled for late afternoon meetings and I had a meeting with my boss where I reminded her of my conversation with her the previous year, she couldn't believe I was serious about putting umpiring on a level close to my job. That's when the new job hunt started.
But now I'm in a position where I have to travel around the country pretty frequently and have had to turn back a fair number of games and I don't mind as much because I like my job and the flexibility it allows when I *am* home. For me officiating is about quality, not quantity. I only work varsity dates in baseball and basketball, not because I think I'm too good to work the lower levels, but because I have other things I want to squeeze in, like job and family.
In your position, grad school is a great place to look -- you can schedule everything around your officiating and officiate as much as you want while earning a master's degree or PhD. I did that for a couple of years.
As far as climbing the ladder and needing off more time a few years from now, I wouldn't even bring that up. If you are fortunate enough to work D-I basketball, for example, you can worry about this then and, if necessary, change jobs.
--Rich