Would you rather PT 2

[Dan Robinson]

I probably should qualify again that option #1 doesn't have to be paycheck-to-paycheck type deal - it's possible to do quite well with freelancing. I'm a bit ADD, which limits my productivity - if not for that, I'd have no problems exceeding the average 9 to 5 job in income while retaining the flexibility. I'm sure that many of you could probably do just fine and succeed with option #1. It is a big leap to take if you're not used to it, and you need to have contingency plans - but it's certainly doable.

 

[JustinPhillips]

Option 1. Though technically its a little above paycheck to paycheck so there is some financial flexibility though I have to be smart with my money. But my job offers really flexible schedule for chasing. Cant chase every single setup I want but probly 80 percent. Def cant complain. Though if I had a family, it would most likely change my opinion.

 

[Winston Wells]

I'm also an Option 1, but without the paycheck-to-paycheck concerns. I'm very fortunate to be a tenured professor at a small college just west of Springfield, Illinois, so once I'm finished with final exams during the first week of May, I'm free to chase until school starts again in August. This means, of course, that I often have to miss early spring setups unless they fall on Saturdays - 4/14/12 comes to mind - or during Spring Break. But the rest of the season is almost always within reach. Teaching isn't for everyone, but younger chasers might consider careers in education for their flexibility, especially in the summer months.

My children are either in college or have graduated and are working, and as long as I don't make her come with me, my wife is generally accepting of my trips to the plains.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

I have kind of bounced around both, and I think I like a hybrid that leans toward the flexibility of #1. Now that I've started a family, I can't afford to not have a paycheck to feed a little 4 year old mouth at the end of the day, but I have also worked time consuming jobs that neither allowed me to chase, nor spend any time with that little hungry miniature human that seems to like my company.

I worked really flexible, low paying jobs through college that allowed me to chase whenever I wanted up through 2010 which was great... and my most successful years chasing were from 2004-2010, because I was able to be out there. I didn't have a lot of money, but I was a one man show family-wise, so I spent my money on chasing and basically nothing else. Once I graduated and realized I wouldn't be using my meteorology degree any time soon, I started managing a photography studio here in town. I figured photography was always a big part of my life, why not do that for a living. Turned out that having the steady paycheck did not compensate for the fact that I did not chase at all in 2013 or 2014, and I was working weekends and late nights and spending no time with my family. So, it's no mystery why I went from having the best years of my life chasing wise, seeing a tornado every single year from 2004-2012 to a current 3 year tornado drought and overall irrelevance in chasing.

So I left the studio and have found a middle ground of sorts working as a financial advisor. While I generally work 9-5 hours, my schedule is appt based, so I can schedule time off whenever I want. But of course even though the job generally pays well, if I'm not working I'm not getting paid either. I think I like this route though - I have the job and financial security that can help me sleep at night with a family to support - but also have weekends off to spend with them or chasing, and can take time off at fairly short notice. I'm looking forward to dusting off the maps and returning to chasing with some form of frequency this spring again.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Option #2

I love to chase, BUT it's only 3-4 months out of the year most of the time. I'd rather get paid well, and take off in May when I know the chasing is at it's climatological peak. Thankfully I don't live paycheck to paycheck and I can take off when I want 98% of the time. Also, my I get a lot of vacation with my job which allows me to take most of May off every year.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Interesting topic.

Honestly, when I was actively storm chasing I did the whole paycheck-to-paycheck job that was flexible and in the end I grew tired of it because it seemed like more often than not, it caused me to struggle financially and I hated it. These days, I have a job that pays well and no longer have to live the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle, and even still I don't know if storm chasing is going to be something I'll ever get back into. I storm chased for 14 years, had a great run but now I'm at a point where I'm more focused on my career. If severe weather is in the area, I still go out, but as for storm chasing out in Western Kansas, Texas and what not.... I think those days ended years ago.

 

[Rodney Nonamaker]

Good topic. As amazing as option #1 was to be able to chase everything...#2 was my ultimate decision. Yes, I have to plan days off well before even the GFS could foresee anything good. So planning meant me putting in days off/vacation at least a month or better before hand. Which also left me with many non-chase days this last year...but, ultimately knowing that my pocketbook didn't have to suffer all the months in between seasons is a bit to important. Also have a high bias due to me living in the center of tornado alley and not having to travel far for many setups....even on days I worked could squeak a chase after I'm off.

 

[John Farley]

I'm retired now, but when I was working my situation was a lot like those of Scott Sims and Winston Wells. I, too, was a tenured professor, so I had the regular salary and but also somewhat greater flexibility to chase setups as they came along. If I did not have class or a meeting I was expected to attend, I was pretty much free to chase, and of course during break periods, one of which conveniently fell in mid-May, I could do what I wanted. This made for a lot of flexibility to chase good local setups in the IL/MO area, assuming they came on days when I did not have classes or meetings. On the other hand, I had to miss some setups that most could chase. On the Kirksville, MO day, I was scheduled to attend graduation (BORING!). Now a lot of people probably would have blown that off with little consequence, but at the time I was department chair and was trying to encourage more faculty to go to graduation, so it would have been a big no-no to skip out after I signed up. The best of all is now, being retired and having a wife who is very tolerant of my dashing off to Kansas or eastern Colorado when things get conducive for the atmosphere to go crazy.

 

[Jesse Risley]

I'd much rather have a stable job with an appreciable income. In the end, chasing isn't my life per se, even though it's a big part of it as a hobby. I used to get caught in the trap of trying to find ways to get out there during the work week at all costs, and without going into detail here, it came dangerously close to costing me my current position back in 2011.

Since I also work in education, I have the whole summer to chase, and June has never disappointed me. I also have the luxury of chasing weekends, and any holiday breaks that offer a setup, e.g., Memorial Day or Easter weekend.

For me, it's a matter of being able to have basic benefits, support a decent living space, and having discretionary income to fix household problems, travel other places, and build a nice retirement down the road. I can't do all of that working paycheck to paycheck, so I choose to remain in the salaried career track and I am personally okay with that. I can, of course, completely respect those who choose the other option and sometimes I do envy their flexibility to chase more frequently, despite the trade-off of making do with less financially. I am also a one man show, so I have only myself to support.

 

[Shawn Kellogg]

I had option #2 for nearly 20 some odd years ..... I'm now basically on option #1 now and love it

 

[Marcus Diaz]

So this thread has indeed been interesting. Didn't expect a split decision like this. So now I pose a hypothetical question to those who answered #2. Would you change your answer if you didn't have a family to care for? Or if you didn't have any immediate future ambitions to have one?

 

[Taylor Wright]

Ideally I'd like to have Option 2 in a city that has a lot of chasing opportunities per year like Wichita or OKC. That way you can still get the nearby weekend or after-work chases as well as a planned vacation. I realize some years they won't get as much action, but that's what the vacation is for.

 

[Wesley Luginbyhl]

I would still pick number 2. I doubt many would change their answers on that, but maybe that is just me. Going check to check, your limited in the toys you can get for the hobby (vehicles, cameras, gadgets). I would rather be happy the other 9 months of the year than being able to chase anything, so to speak. You still have weekends, so it is not like chasing is impossible (unless you live too far away, which I could never do).

 

[Todd Lemery]

I think I'd stick with number two. When I retire, I'll have nothing but time........I hope

 

[Marc R. O'Leary]

I would still pick #2. I work 4-10's now, and three day weekends are great, and hopefully great for this upcoming season. I know I'll miss a few events while I am at work, but that's no different than normal. I make decent money. I'd rather be able to chase when I can for now and eventually retire with enough money to chase whenever I want.