I am going to be a college graduate soon and I am currently looking for a new job. Any suggestions about how I should let my employer know my dreams about becoming a referee at a higher level which could cause me to be out the of the office. Right now I work high school as well as small college basketball. I don't want to plan my career around officiating but I would like to be able to mesh the two if at all possible. Any advice would be appreciated.

Yeah, be self-employed. :)

Don't tell a prospective employer that you have plans to be out of the office working at a different job. :eek: You might try looking for a position where "being out of the office" is already a part of the job. Even then, if you get caught officiating when you should be working or you're not giving your new job your full attention, believe me, your new employer ain't gonna be too happy with you when he finds out. Employers want to know that the job that they're giving you is your #1 priority, not officiating. Jmo, but if you bring up anything at all about trying to fit officiating into the hours required to do your regular job, the first thing that you're gonna hear from your job interviewer is "Thank you, we'll be in touch". Get established in your new career first- before you even think of broaching the topic of time-off to officiate.

There are some jobs that are conducive to making up your own schedule. These include policeman, fireman, etc. Those are all worthy vocations too imo.

Good luck and best wishes to you, anyway, no matter what you do- in both your future job <b>and</b> your future officiating career.

Not that it has any relation to future careers, but what was your major during college? What sort of jobs did you have that you found interesting?

If you're a Liberal Arts major, you'll have plenty of time to ref since it's easy to find someone to fill in for you to make fries.

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.

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

Personally, I thought Political Science grads cooked the fires. Liberal Arts grads flip the burgers! :D

PolySci falls under liberal arts. So does Economics (at least at some schools), which is the degree I have. Never cooked a fry in my life -- at least not professionally, though I have had resturants as clients. Does that count?

I will give a word of advice to a soon to be graduate from someone that was in a similar situation. When I graduated I took the money and did not consider any other factors when I took my job. For me that was a big mistake. I would have rather considered more of what my life would be outside of my job as well. I do not have any kids or any other responsibilities but myself. So I can officiate or hang out all the time on my days off if I see fit. That is not the same when you have kids and a family to answer to. I admit that I work my job to spend time doing other things and officiating is a big part of my life right now. In this current economy you are likely to change jobs several times over you life time. So this job that you might have will not be there in a few years or you will have much bigger opportunities. I know many officials that have lost their jobs to layoffs, corporate downsizing, department changes, position changes and any other corporate world stuff you can think of. This is really the case if all you have is just a Bachelors Degree and a company is starting you out at the bear bottom entry level position. If you get a Masters Degree you will have a better chance at choices. Even a Masters gives you a guarantee at anything. The person that got me started in officiating got his Master's Degree in Financing soon after he started me in basketball. Guess what he is doing today? Absolutely nothing as it comes to his Master's Degree. He is now a casino dealer making more than most salaried employees I know. He is also doing a little teaching on and for a college through the internet. So basically the job he was wanting out of college has never materialized and he is making more money than many people that got a degree in the very same program. Life is about twists and turns, take advantage of whatever skill you have now before it is too late if you are willing to sacrifice to get there.

BTW, I was a Political Science Major in college and that is what I have a degree in. The jobs I was offered before graduation had nothing to do with that major and every job I have had since has never had a thing to do with that major either.

I would not go in making demands, but I would ask a lot of questions to see if how much your officiating will be limited if you take a particular job. Way the pros and cons based on what is important to you and make decisions. Do what is best for you, not what is important to other people. You will have to live with your decisions. The reality is most jobs are not going to hinder your officiating that much if you are working games during the nights and weekends. We all have job limits and you will have some limits.

Peace

I am a systems programmer. I work 4 10-hour days and I can choose my work hours. One of my days is a telecommute day from home. It is a great schedule for an official.

Many computer companies are going more and more to telecommuting and flexible job schedules. However, I wouldn't bring that up when you are just starting.

IMHO, take the best job offered to you without factoring in your officiating. After you are established at the company, see if you can get a flexible schedule that allows you to ref.

Z

What a coincidence....that's what Padgett has :p

Unless he's upgraded to an MS (more of the same) or a PhD (piled higher and deeper)

(apologies to Bob Knight) :D

Thanks for all input

I'm in education, so it's a little different, but I include my officiating on my resume. Most employers will want to know about your outside interests. I try to update each year, including how many seasons I have worked and the class levels of my varsity (and eventually college games hopefully). I would think they don't see many officials come through on their resumes so it might separate you from the pack a little. I wouldn't let them know about your big time asprations as that is probably in the future a few years, so just talk about what you are currently doing.

I have also put my officiating on the resume. It is after all just like a job. I set schedules. I make appointments. I have to fill out paperwork and keep track of records. Everything I do is very similar. It also makes the topic of officiating come up and people that are hiring like to talk about what I have done. Also when there hear how successful I have been and what it took to become successful, I have been hired on those terms. It really works for sales and management positions. Not very many people can compare to how you handle very hostile situations (and people) as an official. That definitely sets you apart from the average person you are interviewing against.

Peace

Officiating is possible even in software
 

I have been in the software industry for 10 years, it is possible to do both, but you need to be carefull.

First and foremost, you need to decide where you want to work. Some companies work flextime, others don't. Some have certain expected office hours and some don't.

When I was working my way up, I would often work the 6AM-2:30 PM shift so I could make an afternoon game. So long as my work was completed on time, it worked out OK. Once you have a full varsity HS schedule the time needs aren't as bad.

Depending where you are, college might present new travel restrictions that may require you to take peronsal or vacation time.

The most important thing to realize is that you are hired to do a job. Officiating might be important to you but it isn't to the company. If you do your job and officiating keeps you happy, then it will work out.

Some of the tips mentioned above make sense... put officiating on your resume but don't talk about the time needed directly. Feel out the ability to work from home, flextime or how work is measured (look for flexibility).