As a ski destination, Austria is more popular than you may think. Well known resorts like Kitzbühel and St Anton attract a huge number of tourists each winter season, largely due to the lower cost of living and skiing. Still not quite as popular as France, but definitely starting to improve on tourist numbers, Austria have copied the French trick of combining multiple resorts into huge ski areas which offer more choice and more terrain options. Stand alone resorts still pull in their share of the crowds, especially the good ones like Alpbach, but the linked resorts like area known as the Kitzbühel Alps, or the Gastein Valley are the ones that are attracting people who would otherwise have been compulsive visitors of places like 3 Valleys and Portes du Soleil.
POPULAR SKI JOBS IN AUSTRIA
France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland
We would like to hear from people who have previous experience working as chalet hosts in a winter resort. If you have at least one season under your belt please get in touch.
Details & Apply..
Europe
Fancy spending your winter living in a ski resort? We are looking for qualified childcare staff who have a great work ethic and fun and engaging personality. Details & Apply..
France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland Various
Looking to get paid to teach people how to ski and snowboard this coming winter? At OutdoorJAC we help recruit for multi-resort tour operators and small specialist independent ski holiday companies. Share your CV with us to improve your chances of a job offer! Details & Apply..
France & Austria Val Thorens, Val d'Isere, St Anton, Meribel + more
Be the heart and soul of a catered chalet, welcoming guests from the moment they step into resort until their holiday comes to an end. Just imagine living and working in one of the top snow-sure ski resorts in the Alps, where you can ski or snowboard almost every day of the week! Details & Apply..
France and Austria France The 3 Valleys – Meribel/Mottaret, Courchevel, La Tania, Val Thorens. Mont Blanc Ski Area – Chamonix, Megeve. Portes Du Soleil – Morzine. La Clusaz. Austria St Anton/Lech/Ischgl
Merinannies are recruiting Winter Nannies now for the 24/25 Ski Season in France and Austria. With over 20 years’ experience in the industry, our clientele and reputation are continuously expanding and we need more nannies now! Details & Apply..
Austria Salzburgerland
Chalet Mur is an owner-run Guest- house in the beautiful Lungau Biosphere area of Austrian Alps.
We have 6 gorgeous guest rooms, all en-suite, and cater for anything from 4- 16 guests per week.
We are just 1 hour south of Salzburg and have some amazing skiing on our doorstep.
Details & Apply..
Do you need a visa: If you are an EU citizen you do not need a visa to work in an Austrian ski resort. If you are a British citizen your employer will apply for a seasonal quota permit lasting 6 months. They will then help you obtain a visa that will allow you to work for them in Austria.
Do you have to learn another language:
Austria's official main language, the one that is taught in schools, is German. Most people speak this as their first language, but like many other European countries, English is widely spoken. One thing you will notice if you do decide to work in Austria, is the tourist profile. There are definitely less English people and more Germans and Dutch. Even if you cannot speak German, learning enough to be able to order meals or do your shopping would be a good idea.
So what is it like to live and work in an Austrian ski resort?
In a word, lovely. Austria has a lot going for it, not least the food and friendly welcoming atmosphere. And the fact that you won't feel like you are spending half your wages on food and drink is a big plus. Like all alpine ski resorts, the winter population is a largely cosmopolitan affair, but many of the more popular resorts still manage to hold on to their unique Tyrolean and Alpine charm and 'Austrian-ness', perhaps because they are slightly smaller and less sprawling than the popular French resorts - the resort of Alpbach that we mentioned above is a great example - the kind of place that you could see yourself living all year round, let alone during the winter. Perhaps this is a bit of a generalization and won't be true of all resorts, but many Austrian ski villages seem less commercial than in other parts of the Alps. Of course they exist to make money, but somehow it is not quite so obvious.
What types of work are available?
If you want to work at a resort with a snowboard bias, the main contender has to be the SPC snowboard centre at Mayrhofen, though plenty of other resorts cater to snowboarders and better facilities being added each year. If you want to teach skiing, you are spoilt for choice, though speaking German, while not strictly essential, is recommended. We feature some great teaching courses on this page, with the Austrian Anwärter qualification being highly regarded around the world. Most companies who offer to get you the Anwarter qualification will also improve your language skills - part of the test is German language proficiency, though nothing too difficult. Definitely have a look at the Ski Instructor Academy advert below as they offer a great instructor course with a guaranteed job once you qualify.
Less specialist jobs such as in hotels and chalets are not as easy to find as they once were, with plenty of Austrian nationals more than happy to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into the more menial tasks. There are still opportunities to find work though, especially with UK based tour operators who tend to recruit British staff where possible. If you can speak German, you may be able to contact Austrian companies directly to seek employment, especially towards the end of the summer or right at the start of the season when they may be more receptive, especially as time is running out for them with those more difficult to fill chef and catering roles.
However you decide to get established there, Austria is a great place to start your ski instructor career, or to simply enjoy a winter season with a great atmosphere.
