The challenge of picking a career

Out of a whim, as a young teenager I had decided to attend an engineering school and while it provided me with what I thought was a good education, it wasn't quite what I should have picked.

At the time, I had one clear talent, which was drawing and two passions, drawing (again) and skiing. The prospects of using skiing as a career path were not obvious at all, except for becoming a ski-instructor, a job my parents didn't approve of.

At the same time, my parents sort of ignored my artistic talents and didn't know much what to do with me.

Yet, both my passions were consuming me and since skiing was the most accessible, it would rear its head most of the time in my small universe.

I wanted to go to America too, and Michel, a good friend of mine was passing on to me his copies of Skiing magazine that he bought in Geneva and I quickly put skiing and America together.

Eventually, upon graduating I tried to get a job as a draftsman, trainee-engineer in a company that was making electric clocks, but I soon discovered it wasn't my cup of tea and decided to take one year, before my military service to teach skiing. I had no certification but I loved the gig.

I was definitely getting on a slippery path!