Project management in the oil and gas industry.

Working projects has an interesting impact on my hobbies. We have frenetic periods that result in very long days and weeks where I'll miss training and never log on to ST. Then we have lulls where I have plenty of time to waste here and get my workouts in. It makes consistent training difficult, but overall it fits pretty well with an active lifestyle. Too many hours at a desk, but I think most jobs are similar.

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-Andrew

Actually they are not that expensive once you have a bike, wetsuit and do grass root races insted of the M-Dot. I work as director of Adullam House. Achristian faith based house for men transitioning off of drugs, prison ect. We have up to 10 guys living with me and my wife at any given time. Its unpaid, we were hoping for doanations but in a year it has not happened. We have a mix of violent offenders, run of the mill thieves ect..
I have a bike for years. Have not bought anything new except tires for many years. My wetsuit is over ten years old. I do not do M-Dot races. Drive to local a spend a night and drive back. It can be done on the cheap.......Its my release from stress because my schedule is flexable When I say cheap, my wife makes about 35k a year what we live on for both.......I do not pay housing though
....

I'm a physicist (for the time being) -- being in academia doesn't pay all that well at my (postdoctoral) level, but it does allow plenty of flexibility. But of course that flexibility goes both ways, because sometimes I need to be in the lab at 3AM filling liquid helium or away from home for 3 months in Antarctica, which obviously would (and did) interfere with training.

That said, triathlon doesn't have to be THAT expensive. My wetsuit cost $160. A pair of shoes is $100ish; depending on how often you replace them that might be a few hundred bucks a year. Tri kit, maybe $200? The bike is really where things start to add up. I probably have about $3K into my bike (a Cannondale Slice with mostly used/ebay parts and FLO wheels plus a disc cover), but one could probably get something reasonable for half to 2/3 that.

Even so, if I've spent $4-5K over the past 3-4 years...that's not so bad for a hobby. Then again, I also never plan to do an IM or even HIM-length event, and I will never do an event that I have to fly to. It's just not that important to me.

Used car salesman... been doing it since I was in high school. Fixed Schedule, good pay (usually) and lots of downtime to play on slowtwitch (and hey, I get to drive some badass cars every now and then)

My dream is to be a trophy husband though.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

I am a middle school history teacher. I also work at the local bike shop. The bike shop is a great side job. I have bikes and wheels I other wise could not afford.

Nurse in Health Care Sales & Marketing

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"Base training is bull shit" - desertdude

I graduated with a PhD in Chemistry about a year ago and am now an R&D Chemist for a specialty chemicals company where I have my own lab. Very flexible hours, which allows me to do 2-a-days even though I typically end up ~50 hours a week at work; I can typically get in a morning workout if I don't have morning meetings, and duck out at lunch for a run or bike workout.

Academic coordinator at a medical school. We're a big institution, so there are some inflexible rules that really limit my options. If you're salaried (an "exempt" employee) and come to work but have to leave for any reason, you don't get docked for sick or vacation time. However, that can't happen on a regular basis without getting in trouble. I requested permission to work shorter days once in a while when I was training for IMTX - I offered to used vacation time and still make up the work in the evenings, but it's against the rules. The only thing that saves me is that I've worked here for 25+ years and have a ton of vacation. I'll burn vacation days just so I can stay home - even if I end up working most of the day, it saves me an hour+ commute each way and lets me get in some extra rest and/or training.

Economics Professor and independent consultant to banks and FDIC.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Master in Exercise Physiology and is working as head-coach at the largest triatlon club in Denmark, Europe (TRI4) as part time, were we are developing the training culture. Alongside this i'm teaching in exercise physiology and working as a personal coach for a few runners and triatletes.

Despite working with atlethes and coaches, and having a very flexibel scedule, it is sometimes challeging to find the time for ones training.

im happy though :)

I just finished college and now work at an architecture office (architects don't make too much money unless your really high up). It's tough to get training in and still have a social life so there's many nights when I skip out with the social life and just train. In terms of paying for gear I buy used stuff like jerseys and helmets but the other gear like bikes and wetsuits I buy new. It's all about budgeting especially with college loans to pay so I make sure I have a tri/bike budget within my spending (bike is by far the most expensive). Other than that it's just about making time to train and making sacrifices.

is the bike shop just a weekend gig or do you somehow stretch the typical teacher workday to work during the school week?

I am a trophy husband. It's a good gig.

Teacher for gifted students at the high school level.

I'm an algorithmic trader. Whatever that is.

Data warehouse engineer in online sports betting.

The best part, I get to watch live sports while I work. So, essentially, I get paid to watch TdF.

Retired Union Carpenter form NYC. I loved going to work in the City everyday, even when I had to get up at 3:45 to get on the train to the World Trade Center for the last two years of my working career. Now this is just awesome, I get my pension, my SSI and my wife and I saved well so she's retired too at 55. Live is great!

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Surgical sales; my income fluctuates, but I'm north of 50k but less than 75k/yr. I'm relatively new to the field and don't make a lot compared to other guys in the industry, but with no kids and no wife (yet), I'm doing just fine.

I spend a lot of time on the road, but I've learned to adapt by bringing my gear along with me and finding spots to train. Working in surgery has me up early a lot of mornings anyway, so my prime training time is afternoons/evenings. I'll be the first to admit that I don't eat, sleep, breathe, and live triathlon; I enjoy having a life outside of training. I race 4-5 tris a year (plus a handful of road races), and I always stay close to home; farthest I'm traveling this year is to Muncie from Louisville.

If I had to estimate, I would say that I spend somewhere north of $1k, but definitely not more than $2k to support the lifestyle. That includes registrations, gas, nutrition, bike maintenance, etc... I spend very little on "gear," as I already have all the necessities, and I buy on the cheap, usually used stuff. It's still killing me to drop $650 on IMKY. Speaking of which, I should probably get on that, haha...

As a recent college grad as well, I can say with confidence that triathlon doesn't have to be all that expensive. There are plenty of shortcuts and at the end of the day, you biggest gains will come from training harder/smarter/longer over buying another piece of gear.

I'm in the Army. Physical fitness is part of the job and it's easy for me to take a long lunch and get another workout in. We also get quite a few long weekends and that is when I try to squeeze in my longer rides. I typically set aside money during my deployments to purchase the higher priced items in our sport. Many races offer a military discount (Leadman Epic 250 is $75 for military vs. the standard $300 fee) and that is how I can afford to race.

I'm a senior manager in a fortune 1000 manufacturing company. BS in Education, MBA. I'm also retired Navy. Last year I didn't quite break 6 digits times 2, maybe this year.

I could not have participated in the sport while I was active duty - too little income and time. Now I can easily afford for my wife and I to do what we want, but my job still dictates my life.

Of course, I shouldn't even being doing triathlons since I'm well over 40 and under 60.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

After getting my pharmacy practice degree, Phd In pharm Sci, and a 1 year post-doc working on protein therapeutics, I finally settled on community pharmacist. It's a double edge sword becasue I work 13h days. I get either 3 or 4 days off a week so I have plenty of time to train on those days but on the days I work I'm either out the door at 5am to run or I do it when I get home at 9pm so it really takes some motivation on those days esp when work's been rough

Based on household income, only a small bit really goes to my running mostly because we mostly do local races that only requires at most a night in a moderately priced hotel. Though I did do Boston this year and that was quite the price tag when it was all said and done. I don't do many tris so I'm not in a bike/wetsuit arms race and I race on mid 200x specialized S-works road bike. Really, shoes are my main expense.

Semi-retired business owner. My company manufactured specialty panels and doors. Work M, T & W....off Th, F, S, Su. Wife is also semi-retired and works the same days. With both incomes we are well over 6 figures but with 2 daughters still struggling to get their careers started, there is not much left for Tri toys. Wife runs HMs. We probably spend $2k each year traveling to HIMs and HMs.

High School Teacher and Coach. Summers are real nice for training and trolling ST. During the school year is tough with coaching 3 sports. Real early swims, real late runs, and usually a longish ride on the weekends.

Most of my tri's are summer races with an occasional early fall Triathlon. If I race during the school year it's usually just a half marathon.

$$$ wise, I'm a teacher so I limit my racing and new equipment purchases. I'm pretty unnoticeable at a race with my equipment. No race wheels, pretty decent helmet (not aero), and looking to invest in a Power Meter for next season.

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(insert inspirational/witty/comical signature here)

Corporate and tax lawyer. Flexible hours, have my own practice.

lucky...gah.

I'm willing to work part time at a bike shop if that helps any potential well off ladies looking for a so-so triathlete with rugged good looks...

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Did it used to be a credit default swapper before the great euphemistic downturn of 2008?

I am a cook.

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What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

Auditor for a public accounting firm.

The job has its demands for 4 months a year and some more spikes during the rest of the year but generaly we have enough flexibility for me to be able to train how I want.

Consultant for non-profits helping them manage fundraising and strategic planning. Working for a small business I have relatively flexible hours most of the time. I don't spend a lot as my wife keeps me in check with what I spend for equipment and upgrades. Only do a couple big races a year to help keep the cost down.

Nope, used to be options, now only stocks.

Drilling engineer for an oil/gas service company. I'm scheduled to work 8-4, but it's somewhat feast or famine depending on how many clients we have drilling at any given time, so I can push that to 9-4 most days. Pay is plenty, and I supplement that with options trading to make life extremely comfortable and more interesting.

I'm probably looking at a maximum 1% of my gross to cover training/racing, but I'm not too crazy about this.

I'm a geek at a small software company. Pay is decent and I have some flexibility in hours to fit in longer weekday rides, massages, etc. I travel occasionally which does impact training.

Electrician for one of the big three. Its amazing how people can make things happen when they are determined to do so.

Software sales in Silicon Valley. Live off your base and buy toys/engagement ring(s?)/wedding(s?)/trips/etc with commission. Maybe not the best job in terms of flexibility to train, but for the most part you are in charge of running your little business and have some freedom based on performance.

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

Personal trainer at a luxury health resort / spa. I worked from 6 AM-8 PM yesterday while our club was chasing all-time sales records for the company. Zero training time for me, but masters' swim team today, plus a short run before going in.

As one of the top producers, I am expected to train others and not myself, but sometimes, I'm sure I've got my priorities skewed. Very time consuming, but personally rewarding occupation...either you do well because you are motivated, or you starve.

I spend ~$2,000 per year on travel and equipment updates.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

I work in commercial real estate with significant traveling commitments, client entertainment, and family. As mentioned previously, once you get a bike and wetsuit you can keep costs relatively minimal as long as you aren't racing every weekend and avoid the constant need to upgrade to the latest piece of equipment. . My wife has agreed to one full ironman distance and 2 1/2 ironman distances per year (she is an active runner currently training for a marathon). We plan our vacations around races and drive to most of them(I am not remotely competitive in my age group, therefore, I can enjoy good meals and beers without worrying about my race results, as I focus on the active lifestyle associated with training and the excitement, camaraderie, etc of the races). The key for me and I am sure many others on this site with families, long work hours, or any of the above is to wake up before the sun rises (I can't remember the last time I slept in). In addition, never let training interfere with family obligations and NEVER tell significant other you are too tired to do something with them because you are beat up from a workout. Also with regard to work, I never mention my training or races to coworkers as I don't want them to get the impression that I am more concerned about getting in a group ride or swim than my job (even though that is almost always the case). If a coworker asks how long you swam/bike/ran yesterday always divide by at least 2 (even if you only ran 2 miles. A 1 mile run for most of my coworkers would be a major accomplishment).

Detective, just like on TV in the greatest city in the world. Always a lot of work and a lot of hours, ESP on bigger cases but also a lot of off time.

Love the night shifts, busier but then I have hours to get a workout in before work and have time to hang with the wife and kids. (Wife is a stay at home mom now and kids are 2 and newborn so they are always home when I'm home)

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Matt
Race-Ready Endurance Training
Team BIKEWAY.com
NYPD Racing

The state of Massachusetts pays me to stay home and look for jobs.

Once someone finally hires me, I'll be an architect again. I am a licensed professional though.

I'm a self employed carpenter. It's a fun job most of the time, and I love building things. I have been lucky enough to be very, very busy the last few years on some very interesting and challenging projects.

I enjoy the fact that my success, or failure, is pretty much completely dependant on how well I do my job and run my business (as opposed to worrying about office politics, sucking up to the right people, etc). The downside is that my success (or failure) is pretty much completely dependant on how well I do my job and run my business ;). All I mean by that is there are definitely the days when I wish I could take a sick day, or days after a long run when I'm sore and wish I could just sit at a desk instead of being on my feet with a 20 lbs tool belt on all day, etc. On the whole though its a good gig, and if I really wanted to be doing something else, I would be.

Training is challenging mainly because of time restraints. Summer is my busy season. Training during the day is impossible. I usually run at 5 am, get to work for 7:30 - 8 am, swim or do short rides in the evening, and do my long stuff on the weekends. Getting proper recovery, sleep, and nutrition is a very, very delicate balance for me, especially when it gets hot outside and I'm framing a house or something outdoors and sweating buckets all day.


I'm a pretty cheap bastard, so I don't spend a ton on my hobbies. Plus, I hate being the slow guy on a fast ride! We have a lot of great race options in the area, so I don't have to travel far or spend big bucks to participate. I'm doing my one, and probably only, IM race this summer and hate all the resources it's sucking up (travel, time spent not working, registration fee etc). Usually that amount of cash would finance my whole summer of racing. My girlfriend (a nurse) and I live pretty comfortably (no kids yet, both in the 70-75kish range), but as our income grows I doubt I will be drop more on tri toys. I have a good road bike, wetsuit, a few nice pieces of workout clothing... not really sure what else I would want.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

I do not work during the first 6 to 8 weeks of a new school year. Too much going on there. During the winter I will work one day of the weekend. I usually pick up more hours during vacations.

Railway Designer/Engineer. Working on getting my license as a professional engineer but training has definitely consumed any free time allotted to study. Especially with a desk job the only thing I have an urge for all day is to gtfo and just gtfo. Desk jobs coupled with the five day work week is the bane of all mankind (though, still more than grateful that I have a job).

I'm a pastor. I work at two rural congregations. The pay is not great, but the flexibility is perfect for training. I work most mornings, have ample time for working out in the afternoon and then work many evenings. My wife works and between the two of us we make around 100k a year. My in-laws have been very generous so I have a nice bike. I also live on a lake, so I can swim daily, well daily in the summer as I live in MN and the lake is frozen 4 months of the year. I live an hour outside of the Twin Cities and it allows for cheap housing, awesome rural biking, and a relaxed lifestyle. I am also blessed to have folks in my churches that encourage me stay active. Biggest downside is I cannot race on Sundays and preaching the day after an event like a marathon is not an easy thing.

I am a spaniard lawyer

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I'm an attorney. Just getting back into tris after 8 or so years away. My wife is also an attorney and competitive runner. We have three kids (two of whom are in Wash D.C. daycare, the cost of which about equals the annual salary of many recent college grads) and two mortgages (one in a D.C. suburb). My tri bike is 12 years old (650c!). Race wheels were bought used and each is at least 12 years old. Road bike is 7 or 8 years old. Mountain bike is close to 20 years old. I did buy a new wetsuit this year and am thinking about buying a new helmet. I have enough flexibility in my job to get in a daytime run a few times a week. Swimming and biking happen at either end of the day and (most importantly) when not in conflict with my wife's workout or other family events. Long rides happen at sunrise on a weekend day. Between a few tris this year (Columbia, Annapolis this weekend, Beach to Battleship), some other random races, and my wife's running, we'll probably spend close to $1k in entry fees and equipment plus some travel expenses.

I'm happy to be back in the sport. I "left" the sport in 2004 in the middle of the pack and with a lot more training time on my hands. This year I have far less training time, do not own a "super bike," and am overall spending less money on the sport, and I'm still middle of the pack.

Instrument & Controls engineer at a 3731 MW generating power plant. I'm responsible for the control systems that monitor/control the plant as well as all the instrumentation out in the plant (field devices). My job can vary as I either troubleshooting issues, work on day to day operations of the plant, planning maintenance, or working on projects. I'm at work from 7-5 on a GOOD day. I've spent several late nights at the plant and few all nighters. I'm essentially on call 24/7/365. My phone will ring in the middle of the night to help with issues. The job is tough and challenging which I like because it keeps me from getting bored. The long hours suck, but I got to pay the bills somehow.

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I do global sales for a large international transportation company. My wife works for a large retailer so we have two incomes and no kids which allows us some latitude in what we spend on hobbies. Like some other posters have said, our jobs dictate most of our schedule which can be really challenging when it comes to training. I travel overseas about 12 weeks a year so that hampers training too.

My advice to you (as I'm looking to revise my career goals) is do something what you have a passion for and not what will make you the most money. Money will be a byproduct of what your passions are. Most of us work to live not live to work. Hindsight is 20/20 but I would do things completely differently 15 years ago when I was getting out of school.

Commercial Banker

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Sarasota Storm Tri Club
Off Constantly Race Team
Challenge Factory Team - PM me for a discount code for 2015 Challenge Family Americas races.

Hospital Administrator

I'm an attorney for a small firm near Denver. I make decent money, but the big benefit is that I come and go as I please as long as the work gets done. My wife is a part time pharmacist, which still contributes considerably to our income. My deal with my wife is that my spending on tri stuff would be zero net. I pick a lot of stuff up for cheap when I see deals, and tend to make a few bucks when I upgrade. Worked out so far.

Technical Analyst in Oil and gas industry. I also have a JD and bar license, but do not practice.

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My triathlon training blog

IT for an iron foundry.

Flexibile hours let me start early so I can run in daylight even in the winter.

Triathlon after the initial bike purchase is not too expensive. Register for no name local events early for maximum discounts. Don't chase the newest gear.

As for the time committment I find only IM as time consuming. Even 50M runs and HIMs don't require a lot of training once you have a base. For IM I felt under-trained without months of 20+ hour weeks.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.

I'm a law student so my income is essentially $0, luckily I have a wife taking care of me. She works in temporary staffing and recruiting so she sometimes works longish hours but she has plenty of time to train.

This year has been more expensive as far as equipment and fees since she just started racing tri and got a new bike (Maybe $2100 this year) Without the bike maybe $600-$800.

I'm a management consultant. I fix companies around the world. Generally on the road 150 days a year; It feeds my ADD, and I never stop learning, but it leads to me running a lot, scavenging for pools, and looking for bikes and time to ride them when traveling. I only work 60% of 'standard' working days, so plenty of time to train, just not terribly predictable. I'll never sign up for an IronMan as I'd give my odds at 40-60 of actually having my downtime at work coincide with when I need big blocks of training time.

It's a good living. Less than 1% of gross goes into triathlon / running.

It's not for everyone, though...can be some long days, and I basically live without a home. And when I'm home, people why the hell I'm not someplace else in the world.

I'd only offer this: live frugally, master your craft, never stop learning, and always take the chance when it presents itself. You'll be good.

BTW, it's a little funny that you're thinking about planning a career around tri. The world just doesn't work that way...best laid plans will be in tatters in 3 years, that's how it goes.

Best of luck, I'm sure whatever you choose will work out. :-)

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- I do all my own stunts

I work as an engineer for a company in the aerospace industry during the week. The hours are long (~50hrs/wk, plus a 30-40 min commute each way), but the pay is good. On the weekends I work at a bike shop. Employee discounts and team discounts help make the sport substantially more affordable from an equipment standpoint.

Honestly, "having time" is a matter of time management--selecting priorities, minimizing inefficiencies in how you use your limited time, training "smarter," and so on. I have few out-of-work responsibilities at the moment, which helps make the prioritization decision more of a day-to-day choice rather than a years-long commitment.

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I tweet!

Airline pilot. Although I have lots of time off to train, I battle chronic fatigue and sleep debt from redeye, coast to coast flying.
A good gig though.

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Only those who risk going too far can find out how far they can go...

Lawyer (ret)

Development consultant, working in Afghanistan. I don't have a family or much of a life to speak of out here. I do all my training in a gym and a small pool, which is boring but, as I said, don't have much of a life.

I'm an accountant, doing project finance on major projects in the oil and gas sector. The pay is very good, time off is hard to beat and I rarely work over 40hr/week.
Having said that my motivation isn't great so my workouts are predominantly at lunch with maybe one evening or weekend ride. For the most part I would rather hang out with my son and wife. As for spending it will be close to zero this year but I don't plan on racing either.

Ben

Record producer/songwriter. Most of my industry peers (artists, musicians, songwriters) don't start before 10am, so there's plenty of time to train in the morning.

metallurgist. 7-5(ish) M-F

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-Jason
______________________________________________
Is that all you've got? Are you sure?

I'm a professional ballroom dancer. And a ninja during the weekend.

Residential Heating and Air Conditioning service technician. I basically sweat my ass off all summer long. I work long hours from march-dec. 45-65 hrs a week. I take Jan/Feb off work. I only do HIM and les. If I ever did a full it would have to be at the beginning of year so I could train through our slow season. Like many on here, training consumes all my early mornings and days off. The only way I can do this with my job is because my g/f does it also and we train together on our days off.

Tri expenses- (rough estimate on some things)
coach- 1200/yr
extra swim classes- $360.00/yr
entry fees- $600/yr
Travel- ?? I usually pick races withing an 8 hr drive, I have never flown with my bike.
Bike parts/Maintenance- $500.00/yr

You can really save some money by doing things yourself. I would say wrenching on your bike can save you a ton of money. I do all my own work, the only reason I spend $500.00/yr is because I am slowly upgrading my bike. Once it is done I think I could be around $200/yr. Buy Zinn's book of Road Bike Maintenance.

Interesting to see that so many folks involved in different capacities in the oil and gas industry.

I'm a genomic scientist at a biotech company. The hours are flexible enough, the pay is decent, and the work is fulfilling and enjoyable.

wow that would be my dream job.... you must be playing Sim City all day lol.

I am a software dev... company not doing great so working part time now. took those 4 extra hours and invested it into training. I am a minimalist, so it sustains me well. I sign up for races where I get discounts thanks to being in clubs, or alternative to major brand races, like HITS where you can do iron man for 150! I buy almost all my gear used too , cause recycling is my deal

I think I saw you on America's Got Talent

Writer/communications specialist.

And not that much $ really. You can spend as much or as little as you want. I buy a lot of toys, but the last new tri bike I bought was 4 years ago. So race fees (if/when I am racing) are pretty much my only direct multisport expense at this juncture.

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mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

CFO training for my second IM. Even with a demanding job and many family obligations I find time to train adequately if I plan ahead and keep the sport in perspective (kind of hard to do sometimes).

Teacher for highly gifted children. Once you invest in a decent bike, wetsuit and other race gear triathlon is pretty affordable. I budget my race entries...I don't do alot over the winter and save my money for summer racing. If you stay away from expensive travel, M-Dot races and just do local tri's it is manageable. Look for early-bird registration as well.

<--- Finance and ops strategy, large bank.

I'm an air traffic controller.

Health, Safety and Environmental Manager at a Food Processing Company. Plant is close to my home, which helps with training. I also work my own hours for the most part. I spent a fair amount on the sport($3,500?). But I don�t have any other hobbies, no kids and the wife has a good job.

Director of process development in a large biotech company. Very long hours with meetings all day and 100s of emails a day. On the plus side I can afford this (and I pay people for things like lawn care). On the minus side I'm up around 4 every weekday to get a wo in, and do 90% of my riding on the weekends (I get to bed by 9)

I did grow up getting up early to go swimming, so it just feels normal to me. And I've won plenty of AG races at almost every distance (best IM was 2nd) and I've made a few trips to Kona

All depends on what you want (and yes I'm married, but to a better athlete than me)

Digital print and mail manager.

Business Development - EventsOnline
Race/Event Announcer (own company)

I live and breath endurance sports, and endurance sports events with just about everything that I do. Lucky & grateful.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Ballroom dancer. Careful when crossing the finish line. Resist the urge to grab a lady and tango across the finish line, you might get DQ'ed!
I'm a Family Physician. My hours were insane and impossible to triathlon. Now that I'm just doing office work I can coach the kids teams and do 1-1.5hr a day training. So it limits me to OLY's pretty much. My wife hates it when I get up early to go for a bike ride or run so I usually can do it after work and the kids can ride their bikes next to me running.
The cost has been an issue with my wife. I've relegated myself to the undesirable road bike with aero bars. Fortunately my races are all within an hour from home, so cost is contained.
Another thing that has helped is I'm getting better and my wife can not believe how well I'm doing compared to last year. So I guess if I keep improving, I'll be happy and my family as well.
.

Job: Motorsports Design Engineer
Work week: 45-90hrs/wk
Pay: Decent to terrible. It's all salary, so when you work 90hr/wks, it is terrible..

All of my training comes after work. Since we start working at 7am and it takes me 30mins to get to work, AM workouts really hurt. I can bike to work in the mornings if I've gotten enough sleep the previous few days. If I try to have a social life, my sleep hours go out the window.
It also helps not having family any where remotely close to Michigan. There are next to no obligations for seeing anyone (my own personal choice (girls are expensive to keep around)). Basically have given up a social life to train. Thankfully, I've found quite a few people who are as crazy as I am. Exercising has become my social life.

I'd guess that I will spend a decent amount over $2k/yr on the sport. After all the initial costs of buying everything, I just like to maintain equipment and have fun traveling. If I'm going to do a big event, I want it to take me somewhere new. Oly's I'll do in state. Marathons and HIM's, I want to go somewhere new.

Registered Nurse (RN) but I'm only working one day a week now. I do clerical/computer work for the most part.

Not sure about the $$$ part, varies depending on what races and travel.

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Train safe & smart
Bob

European automobile technician. I'm now running the family business my parents started 60 years ago. Kids are out of the house, so that part is easy. I'm somewhat flexible in my work hours and don't work weekends.
www.andersens.net

Lawyer. Been practicing long enough to have some flexibility in my schedule but unfortunately nothing consistent so I generally suck at meeting my training goals.

Same here, I keep trying to push my wife up the corporate ladder in hopes of her being a CEO some day.

Telecom network engineer. It's fun if you pretend that you're not working.

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Swim with swimmers, bike with cyclists, run with runners. Train with those who are hard to keep up with. Soon you will be hard to keep up with.

-Registered Nurse in an emergency room
-Emergency Medical Technician for local EMS service
-Graduate Student at Kansas State University


I work as needed. When shifts are available I put in my request and make sure it works with my school schedule. I can work as much or as little as I want in theory. I still have bills, but right now I'm living like a dirty college student so I can get away with working 8 days a month, 12 hour shifts.

Right now I'm averaging about 12-16 hours of training a week. I'd like to bump that up to an average of 15 hours a week of training during the on season, and maybe only 10 hours during the off season... we'll see.

Drive a forklift for Pepsi :-)

I'm a high school teacher in upstate NY. A large portion of the money I make goes toward triathlon. Fortunately, now that I have the essential equipment, it just comes down to race fees and travel now. It's definitely tight but doable on a teacher salary.

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_____________________________________________________
Instagram | Team Kiwami North America

Triathlon coach. Used to be an attorney working in corporate law, still hold my license to practice law. Add up all the expenses related to triathlon and it's hard to even break even on coaching. But it provides me with a flexible schedule so that I can mind the kids while my wife works...

What don't you do?

Definitely, a busy guy. ;)

Development Executive at a Non-fiction Production Company. You make time, it doesn't just happen.

A high school teacher should be the prime job to excel at this sport. You have 3 full months off to jerk off and train.

Investment Manager....boriiinnnggg! I small amount this year goes toward triathlon

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Disco
South Bend, IN

Habitual Line Stepper..

General Manager for a small division of a large medical device company. I train 6-8 hrs a week and do only sprints and 1-2 olympics per year. I spend about $300 a month on stuff, entries, etc. Lots of gear for lots of sprots besides triathlon (hockey, xc skiing, hiking, etc).

IT operations and support for a market data software provider for trading (also whatever that is). Studied history in college.

I work for a small fractional (private planes). Same thing. A lot of time off. A lot of 4am workout in a hotel gym. Gone for 8 days some times. Spin bikes, local pools, and new running routes all the time. But then I get 6 days of freedom. Pay is ok.

After 93 posts we don't a have a single hooker, drug dealer, criminal mastermind, pirate, or even a Ponzi schemer?

Speak up, underworlders! I'm sure Slowman can wipe away any statute-of-limitation-type issues brought on by your career reveal.

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_____________________________________
What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

Administrator/Fundraiser for a Division 1 NCAA athletics program.
A decent amount of travel, but tons of flexibility in my schedule since there are a lot of night and weekend commitments.
Free pool and gym a huge help on the budget.

I work in the media as an editor. Does that count, or is it too low?

I'm also a recent grad (BSc Physics 2012). I work in environmental consulting (research and computer modeling related ecosystem contamination). Consulting is the perfect gig for a triathlete.

I have almost complete flexibility in my hours and workload. I do all my work at home using videoconfering and online file sharing. I typically work 15-25 hours/week, which is more than enough to support my minimalist lifestyle and triathlon pursuits.

One downside is that the more I train and race, the less money I make. No one is making sure that I punch in at 9:00 AM every day. Also, given the intellectually demanding nature of the work, I can't ethically bill my time at my full rate when I'm shelled from training.

How much of my income goes to tri? Probably no more than 15% because I'm thrifty with equipment, self-coached and race locally. But the opportunity cost of triathlon is huge. There's no way that I could work a regular 40 hour week and maintain the same training load. That's a lot of "lost" income, but I'm more than ok with that!

I credit this job with enabling me to focus on triathlon to the point that I will probably take my pro card soon.

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CodyBeals.com | Instagram | TikTok
ASICS | Ventum | Martin's | HED | VARLO | Shimano | 4iiii | Keystone Communications

Scum! Scum! Scum!

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_____________________________________
What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

I'm a structural engineer (EIT) and get to design buildings for 40ish hours a week. I don't watch TV or laze around after work, so I find I have tons of time to train and study for the licensure exam in my free time. It's a pretty cool gig actually.

I haven't done any big expensive events yet, so after the initial outlay for the bike and such triathlon is a pretty cheap hobby for me.

and why not save money with do it yourself coaching...?

We already have lawyers and oil/gas company employees, what more do you want?!

you're a computer?

Day job: Engineer, sitting at a computer all day.

Alternating weekend job: Bike mechanic at a local bike shop.

After 30-some years in triathlon and bike racing, I've come to a place where I don't do very many events, and even most of those I get comp'd for volunteering at other events. I try to stay local, or combine them with other vacation plans (did the Gran Fondo Leavenworth this past Sunday, and combined it with a weekend get-away at Lake Wenatchee and Leavenworth for my wife's birthday). My 5-year plan is to start frame/bike building, and maybe even scratch out a break-even point with that venture.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

ZING!!!!

Don't worry, that idealism will wear off... I used to be hyper-strict about rounding down and not stretching my hours too, but after awhile you get used to seeing how the game is played around you and credit yourself a little more generously. I think some of it is that as a student, you're used to the idea that your time/labor isn't worth as much, so paradoxically you short yourself if there's any gray area on the ledger just to stay on the 'safe' side. As you gain experience, your time thoeretically becomes more valuable with that added expertise, except that pay often doesn't keep pace like it should, so you start to rationalize rounding your hours up fairly as a way to level your compensation with what it should be. Instead of getting that 5% raise, you just give 5% less of yourself for the same pay and call it even.

Ha! Good observation. I feel well compensated for my work, so I tend to scale the hours spent at my desk by a "triathlon correction factor". It accounts for things like diminished mental capacity due to fatigue, Slowtwitch browsing, triathlon daydreaming, etc.

For example, I rode 180 km this morning and then stared at some spreadsheets for an hour before calling it a day. That should convert to about 0.1 billable hours...

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CodyBeals.com | Instagram | TikTok
ASICS | Ventum | Martin's | HED | VARLO | Shimano | 4iiii | Keystone Communications

I'm a lobbyist...how's that?

Opera & concert singer. Usually manage to combine an external job away with an event of some kind or other.
It's a good laugh.

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�Get the most aero and light bike you can get. With the aero advantage you can be saving minutes and with the weight advantage you can be saving seconds. In a race against the clock both matter.�

BMANX

I'll bite, physician, anesthesiology and pain management. (I know there are more docs on ST). I can control my schedule, most of the time. Nonetheless I use the 5-7AM time most every day for training and have managed to arrange weekday time off on most Tuesdays. I also train when I get a chance, like during soccer practice. Moneywise its fine. I don't need to spend a lot of money on clothes etc, since I work in scrubs most of the week. My wife works too, which helps the budget, but not the time. I see folks who spend too much money on other hobbies like golf . Tri's can definitely be cheaper than golf, but of course if you want to spend money, someone will take it.

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Brian
“Eat and Drink, spin the legs and you’re going to effin push (today).” A Howe

you've hit rock bottom, but have you really started to dig?

there's a senator out there circling, I know it . . . . even if it's a state senator . . . or one with a marathon PR of "two-fifty-something" . . . . or hey what about Bobby Jindal? Doesn't he look like a high w/kg guy? You out there, Bobby?

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_____________________________________
What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

I'm a freelance illustrator. Mostly portraits. Been at it for 25 years. Lots of magazine covers, book covers, etc. Allows for plenty of training time. It always ends up costing a couple of grand per year for this and that.

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Dale Stephanos (Formerly PappaD)

Professional student. PhD Student in mathematics education
works very, very well for training.
Pool and gym access: paid for as part of student fees, which are covered by my assistantships/fellowships

Pair of shoes every once in awhile
I buy polyester swimsuits so they last for a year+
Rarely buy new outfits (I have everything I need)
Bought a bike and wetsuit in college
Gels + cliff bars take a fair amt of money (I should switch to plain oatmeal pre workout... could save some money that way)

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

IT consultant for the US DoD.

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ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |

This all just confirms my suspicion. Triatheletes are a very accomplished and driven group. It makes me feel a little self concious about my work now. I work in a music store selling instruments. Is there something about this sport that attracts sucessfull people?

I tried that and I was always hurt and wasn't seeing any gains in performance. With everything I know now I could probably do a better job at it than before, I just really like my coach.

I am a cat speech therapist.
All my budget goes to triathlon (i.e -$7000)

I used to be a musketeer but the demand is low.

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Only fools never change their minds and I'll never change my mind about that.

Music Royalty Analyst & Consultant to Record Labels / Distributors. This is my first year in triathlon, I spent about 3.5k to "get in" as far as bike, wetsuit and all the really ugly spandex you guys call clothes.

I am loving the sport though, it's been incredibly challenging & rewarding!

Account manager for an enterprise data consultancy. Flexible schedule and decent pay. Work from home so I am becoming very anti-social.

Audiologist, private practice.

I invent, design, and bring to market triathlon clothing and wetsuits. Been doing it for over 23 years. My weekdays are like weekends and my weekends are too.

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

I am a neurosurgeon in Long Island, NY

I don't race much... but have in the past. I love riding (cycling only).

I love gear :)... and buying and selling to try new things out. Luckily I can afford nice stuff... but I usually buy and sell... not just buy :)
The ST classifieds have been awesome... and I have met a ton of nice people on ST.

BTW... if you think Triathlon is expensive... try boating. Friends of mine blow through 1000.00/weekend just on gas for the boat. Things can always get more expensive :)

What a great thread! I am a customer service manager. One of the perks is usually pretty regular hours. Combine that with grown children and I have adequate time to train for whatever distance and event I am focusing on.

Lowly government worker.

Project Manager / Business Analyst: Student Information Systems

 
High School PE teacher, currently trying to position myself to get made redundant at the end of the year as have enrolled on my Masters :)

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http://www.sweat7.com
Facebook Page: Sweat7
Twitter: @sweat7coaching

With all the diverse jobs I think we've got it covered. Let's band together and form our own political action committee and take over.

I'm a Site Manager for a Aircraft Engine Manufacturer. I'm also a College Teacher part time and plan on making that my retirement gig. Oh, and I'm starting my PhD in a month as well. I too keep telling my wife to move on up the ladder so that I can stay at home with the kids. Anyway, you all have some interesting jobs. Anyone have their dream job besides the trophy husband guy?

My training starts at 0430 during the week so that I can spend what time there is in the evening with the kids and wife.

I'm an IT Consultant, pay is pretty good for not having a degree in anything and I work from home with very flexible hours. This is my first year doing Tri's and actually only got into cycling last summer, I just ran and strength trained before that. So, the past 12 months with 2 bike purchases (road and tri) along with all the gear I'd say I'm about $7K down. Hopefully next year won't be as expensive! As for training and scheduling, I'm unmarried but g/f does live with me and I'm a full time parent of a 12 year old smartass kid. Usually I'll sleep in till 0600 and can get in a good swim, ride, run depending on the day. Then I'll usually do another afternoon session. Also reserve weekend mornings for my long runs and rides.

Animal trainer. Currently trading gorillas how to pace properly. (BOOM! bonus pts)

I jest. I'm a process engineering manager for a large medical device manufacturer. Our manufacturing occurs in Singapore so there are night calls and travel. In fact, two trips planned this summer. First trip I return two days before my A race. Ugh! Not a fan of the worlds longest non-stop flight (Newark NJ-SG) at 18 hours. Fairly decent hours which allow me to train both early AM and after work. Pay is good, as is wife's, but with two kids in private school, there isn't much left to call 'disposable'. Wife is pretty heavy into kick boxing and MMA type training so no guilt on either side with training. Kids are teens and know what we're up to. They join in sometimes too. As for spending, between training, clothing, maintenance, entry fees, I'd say about $800/yr (shhh, don't tell wifey).

My dream job? Hmm. I guess a porn star for a day would be cool. Ok... For an hour. Ok-ok.... For like a 30 second scene! Don't judge!

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It's not about what you've done, it's about what you're doing!
@trecca17

The cost of the sports self-weeds out a lot of people without higher paying jobs. Not all, but definitely a large component of them.

Swimming pool fees are no joke in my area, and bikes always cost a lot. When I was a student, I was dying to get into triathlon, but I simply couldn't afford the swimming lessons, pool fees, and bike hardware. Let alone race fees. Wayyyy too expensive for me back then. Running was very cheap and doable, in comparison, even die-hard seriously.

where are you at for the DoD?

To answer the question. I'm Navy.

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~Jeff Good

SPAWAR in San Diego, supporting CANES systems engineering.

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ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |

Degree in Graphic Degree, working as a commercial photographer. I have plenty of friends that work on their career a lot. I'm not one of those people. I tend to prioritize my recreation and leisure activities and work enough to get by. I certainly won't be rich when I "grow up", but I'm having a damn good time in my middle age (and prior).

I got my bike secondhand and other than throwing a few hundred bucks here and there, it runs great. I do my own maintenance on it (thanks youtube and Zinn and the Art of Triathlon Bikes). My shorty wetsuit cost me $20 though I'm looking for a sleeveless suit in the $100 range.

I'm racing absolutely as much as possible this season. Basically, taking advantage of every race opportunity that comes along. I've been gradually getting faster and having a lot of fun doing it!

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

Supply Officer in the Navy. Currently, I am on a carrier which gives me much more ability to work-out when at sea. When in port, I can get in a good hour before lunch and might be able to get in a second work-out if home-boss allows it. Spend most of my money on races now that I have a bike, kit, wetsuit, and gear. Only negative is training when underway, which can be interrupted by the chaotic schedule of flight-ops and closing the hanger bay or gym areas due to operations, and the lack of a pool (obviously!). Somehow I haven't figured out a way to get an endless pool put in one of the spaces or my state room yet!

Baker. Been doing this for a long time so now the pay is good but it took a while. I work from 6 to 2 or 3. Gives me a few hours everyday to train before the wife gets home.

I'm manager of an engineering design group in the aerospace industry. Good pay but crazy hours sometimes.

engineer/mba - exec in oil & gas doing business development, general/operations management, marketing, etc - very lucky to be with a group with 'quality of life' and 'work-life balance' value system - swim before work every morning I can, some flexibility to get out on a nice day when I have to for work outs or family stuff, long runs/rides early on weekends - spent a little dough getting geared up (<1% like someone else said) but good now, not even coveting anything

Medical sales

I'm a pro triathlete.
I'm currently sponsored by a building services engineering company. I fulfill my sponsorship obligations by showing up at their office, generally for 7-1/2 hours 5 days a week, between workouts. While there, I'm mainly a motivational speaker.

My sponsorship money is enough to cover my mortage and most living expenses, plus a crapload of new and used mid range equipment.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

 It consulting. Workouts are at 5am or it at all and I have learned to embrace getting lost while running in cities that I am not familiar with. I spend way too much but really don't care.

Professor and university administrator. Long hours, but I have reasonably good control over my schedule, so I can train mornings without starting at the crazy early times that some of you do. Living a 5-minute bike ride from work also helps. Easy access to a great pool, which I use far too little. I plan training and races around the ebb and flow of the school year. Outlay in the first year on equipment was a bit of a stretch, but now the main costs are travel and race fees. Expensive race trips are generally ones that will also be fun for the family.

Attorney. Criminal defense and some civil litigation. I have my own practice so the hours are pretty flexible so long as the work gets done and I meet my obligations to my clients and the court. Usually I try to blow out around 3:30-4:00 to go train which gets me home before my family and keeps me in the good graces of my better half.

Physician here- anesthesiologist and used to do pain management. Burned out on the pain management side and now am in the OR 100%. I have plenty of time to train and do so. IMHO it seems that the most important factor as to whether you can train or not is whether you have kids or not. Through the decades, in my circle of friends with all different careers and all different athletic interests (tri's, runner, cyclists, outrigger paddlers, climbers, surfers). The ones that have been able to continue on in their hobbies i.e. dedicate >8-10 hours a week have been the people without kids. Not to say that you can't do it with kids but that added demand for your time seems to be the thing that causes people to drop out of really dedicating themselves to an athletic endeavour. I believe that it comes from the fact that most people need to devote a lot of time to their career and then a lot of time to their spouse..you only then have time for one more thing...and so it either ends up being kids or one hobby.

In terms of income for this hobby, I would say not much but my wife would beg to differ. I do have to admit that I keep UPS busy all the time with all the bike stuff coming to the house...and now with 10 bikes it is getting a little excessive...but my wife doesn't bother me too much about it since I don't hassle her about her shoe and purse collection.

Firefighter , half, oly and sprints. Probably about 2500 a year but I made Eagleman and Williamsburg family trips this year. Probably average 9-11 hours a week and peak at about 15 hours. I can work out a bit at work though. I work a 24 on / 72 off shift :0)

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__________________________________________________
Official Polar Ambassador
http://www.google.com/...P7RiWyEVwpunlsc2JtQQ

Yoda, is that you?

I do my own commercial real estate development, sometimes I make a shit load of money, and sometimes I don't, but I eat what I kill and I like that...I have a degree in engineering but the world is a better/safer place because I have never designed a thing in my career. I am very flexible and can generally train when I want to unless I have a meeting or something else scheduled

My wife has her own practice as an Audiologist, it helps.

I have no idea how much I spend on this sport and I think that is a good thing.

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I *heart* weak, dumb ass people...

Finance at Fortune 500 company / Part-time MBA. Have enough time/$$$ to train for triathlons while I'm single. Once I get married that is going to change, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

chapeau. i'm writing up my dissertation while working full time for the gubmint. Research didn't turn out to be the thing for me, and i'm impressed by people who decide to pursue it (half of my graduating class are not doing the traditional industry/academia route)

Nothing to feel self conscious about if you're good at it. I've played in a band for a dozen years and have seen a wide range of stores/ sales folks. That guy that can help connect you to the right piece of equipment is rare and wonderful. I have several good friends that are career music store guys - they're good, take pride in what they do and have a good life. Now the dood that is way too cool for everyone and makes the store intimidating for new players? Not so much. The guy that's always playing sweet lix on the instruments and ignoring folks? Not so much.

I'm our high school's special education coordinator. 2 months in the summer is great. 5 minute commute is great. Reasonable work hours are great (unlike the English teachers with their boxes of essays to grade at night). Declining take home pay is not so hot, but I'm not complaining too loudly. I enjoy the kids/ parents/ staff I work with.

Spending is fairly minimal now that I have a bike. Maybe less than rock and roll if you factor in gas. At some point I'll spring for a deep front wheel and PM.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I'm a Marine Corps Captain serving as an "Operations Manager" right now. That's not said in a bragging way, but to say that I have a desk-based job which means I have plenty of time to train -- first thing in the morning, 1.5 hours for lunch in the afternoon, and after work.

Being a Captain actually pays quite well, especially in Southern California/San Diego. Combine that with complementary/discounted races (hotels, flights, etc. as well) for being in the military, I've received additional funds for race expenses (getting 1k to race Norseman) by the base sporting agency (MCCS), and being single means I have some disposable income.

I also went to a State University, so it was cheap, thus I didn't have any student loans.

PhD Chemist with 20 years in Pharma Industry - Junior Exec level at mid sized Pharma, nice pay benefits etc and critically am accountable to get my job done as I see fit - as long as this happens and I am there core hours etc for meeting / calls etc nobody cares when I come or go within reason. I am expected, and do react on a global basis when there is an issue and then earn the dollars with long hard hours but by and large it is a good gig. I train mostly in the mornings and with a little common financial sense, and living within my means, can support triathlon without too much concern... that being said I don't drive a flashy car like my peers nor spent a fortune on clothes, eating out, wine etc etc, infect I don't really spend money on anything for me except triathlon. I also spend less on triathlon (the odd bike excluded) than I spend on my kids, skiing, softball, gymnastics, basketball, swimming etc etc, and that I ensure is available for my wife for what she needs / wants.....which is entirely proper.

Hitman.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

Pest control professional?

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My triathlon training blog

I co-own a running store. I followed Chucky V's advice on a commercial for (I think) Gatorade back in th 90's. "Check your resume. Do what you love."
Working retail I work 1 day on the weekend and the other weekend day is spent with my wife. I use my other day off (Wednesday) for long workouts. So far it's worked well - 20 years!

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Everyday Athlete
Kirkland, WA

Business strategy in Fund Operations at a large bank - but changing roles to work in Asset Management. I had a few good years traveling with the company picking up the tab, so all the $$ i saved from paying rent went into getting my gear. Now I am living with the fiancee who is starting grad school, which means I am supporting 2 people on an associate salary in Manhattan. Definitely cutting out the destination races next year ( I did Alcatraz and am doing Vegas). Good weeks are 50 hours, bad weeks are 70 hours. Good training weeks are 12-13, bad weeks are 7-8 with less than ideal sleep. Comp is decent but Manhattan is very expensive. It all comes down to priorities. My previous roommate would go out to dinner 4x a week, while I am sitting on the trainer and then eating cereal and salad.

I needed the flexibility, so paid for a multi-location gym membership, which was pricey, but my new building has a 25yd pool in it! Which means I have no excuses to not get back into decent swim shape, and I save a lot of $ on cancelling my previous gym.

The cool thing about this sport is that anyone can do it, and you don't need to shell out massive amounts of money to be good. Looking at this thread - you have social workers to CEOs and Traders. All have big time commitments but budgets vary. Find a job you will be happy at. You can fit training into nearly any schedule.

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Thoughts on being an Urban Triathlete

I'm a marine biologist by day and an architect by night.

Seriously, architect turned Big 5 consultant turned clergy. See that as no money, lots of money to even less money.

I've spent about 2k on my bike and bike stuff. Disposable income is much, much lower but quality of life is much better. All used but quality stuff. I just set a price point and wait. Eventually I get what I want for a good price. That stuff includes Tri bike, road bike, shoes for both, helmet, clothing a wetsuit. Generally I've found triathletes VERY generous and as I've upgraded my stuff, I am passing on the deals I got to others. Lots of pay it forward on ST.

I spend about $500-700 a year on races. Some 5k's some 1/2 mara and a few Sprint/Oyl. "Hoping" to do my first 1/2 IM this fall. Training is going well. Middle of the pack AG'er but happy there. I'm 43 and just got into this past year so I do it to motivate me to exercise and I enjoy the multisport aspect. Most of my workouts are at 5:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. Some lunch time runs/swims if the day is low key. Pretty much when I don't adversely impact my wife and kids I train. On a side note, I've very comfortable with 6:00 a.m. swim starts since I'm conditioned for early workouts. :o)

you smell that?

I've been a lawyer for close to 16 years, the last 13 as a government lawyer.

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Mike Sparks


I have competed well, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

I work for the provincial government in a soul-crushing desk job. Triathlon kept me sane as the training was something to look forward to, no matter how much it was going to hurt or make me tired! I am lucky because I don't work shifts and have an understanding supervisor who let me take extended lunches for my swim workouts.

I couldn't afford the first IM that I signed up for, and I really couldn't afford the one I signed up for the next year. I am in a massive amount of debt but I figure it was worth it due to the many lessons I learned and the people I met as a result. However, I am out of the scene for a little while until I can afford it again. Or I win the lottery.

I do recommend hiring a coach as they will keep you on track and injury-free. I also recommend haggling with race-city hotels over their stupid "5-night minimum" policy on an already over-priced room.

No need for a divorce lawyer; I'm already single. ;-)

Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant. I consult with a LBS as well on their fit programme, so triathlon seems a natural fit. It supports the addiction, working with the LBS has equipment perks (disc.). It's not a huge chunk of my budget but being self employed and running some coaching, I try to claim what I can through the business.

I love what I do, went from sales to a desk job, back to sales. Now I'm where I want and should be!

Product development in telecom. I get to bring tablets and mobile hotspots to market. My team works with Samsung, ASUS, NOKIA, etc to create Android and Windows tablets and other OEMs for mobile hotspots and USB modems. They build the hardware, we build some of the software then sell them on our network. I specifically work on the software that helps users manager their data usage.

Pretty damn cool. The phone product managers are on my floor so I get pretty much any phone I want unless it starts with i.

We just launched a small Android tablet and I got one today so I'm setting it up. I'll be retiring my iPad and Kindle in favor of this.

I've been doing the software thing for 17+ years. Pretty good gig for a poetry major.

The money I spend around my racing is when I travel for one. I stick to running now so equipment costs are generally low. I choose inexpensive local races for a bulk of them. \I'd guess $3k/year including all travel.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Right now I work as a contract engineer in the aerospace industry when I need to and a fairly large percentage (over 30% of gross so far this year just on triathlon specific items) goes to triathlon since I spend most of my time training and racing full-time and not working (I like to say I'm on mini-retirement #2 at the moment as I'm not accepting work until the end of the year). I think eventually I will split my time between coaching triathlon, contract engineering, and teaching math or basic engineering classes at a community college (or maybe even pre-engineering classes at a high school).

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-Bryan Journey
Travel Blog | Training Blog | Facebook Page

Revenue Management/Marketing director for a golf course management company. Income can fluctuate either side of the six figure mark depending on bonus/company performance, but I don't spend any more than $2k on tri in a normal year (this year I did my first IM so it's been a bit more than that). Schedule is flexible enough that getting in workouts isn't ever a problem, the hardest part is convincing myself to get on the bike on a saturday when all my colleagues want to go and play (free) golf.

I teach English in S. Korea. I went to uni to be a teacher but then changed my mind and got a degree in a subject I didn't actually have any interest in so was at a huge crossroads once I graduated. Decided to go to the other side of the world!

In my job I teach 4-5 classes a day and then spend another 3-4 hours doing nothing much at all. Very good for running and recovering, though the roads are absolutely awful (congestion + no shoulders + crazy car entitlement complexes) and there are no trails. Riding is also abysmal until you get out into the countryside. Lots of pools, though, if you can avoid peak times (150+ people in a pool is absurd).

Anyway, there are a few triathlons here (and an ITU, I believe) and tons of running races. I save half my paycheck every month and enjoy my time here. I've been abroad for 6+ years so now pretty much all I do is work and train and hang out with my gf. Initially I was traveling all over the country and all over the world on vacations. Could use that money for gear instead I guess.

I'm about to return to the US to get my full elementary certification. That should be a massive shock.

After 93 posts we don't a have a single hooker, drug dealer, criminal mastermind, pirate, or even a Ponzi schemer?

By day I'm a pharmaceutical sales rep, so some people consider me a drug dealer (mostly hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia) and I read every thread about testosterone here on ST as I used to sell the leading testosterone replacement therapy on the market. Very few overnights required with this position so I always have time to train in the morning.

I've also taught spinning, pilates, and yoga classes at a local gym since '98. I've been in this sport a long time and have all the equipment I need but I spend money on travelling to races. I've done 3 IM's and every time I do one I think to myself, "I could fund an entire year of racing local tris & road races with this one entry fee".

Reading through this thread it looks like there are many type "A" over-achieving types responding. Now that I think of it, I could describe most of the members of my tri club that way also. This sport just seems to attract that personality I suppose.

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Michael in Fresno
"Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man" V. Corleone

Midwife!! work as a midwife specialist at a busy tertiary hospital in Auckland. Also doing my Masters degree. Work full time. Hubby studies a PhD full time (No income). I do extra shifts to cover entry fees, try to race local, but did spend about 3K to go and do IM Australia......

Luckily, as the bread winner, I just spend as able and hubby does not complain.

Hard to find time to train, can only manage 9-10 hrs tops/ week.

I am an accountant and worked in the offshore insurance industry. In 2010 I decided the money wasn't making life shorter so I packed up a touring bike and did a solo tour from Ireland to Singapore. I worked at an orphanage in the Philippines for 6 months and now living in Thailand and learning the language. I might continue to circle the globe on my bike next year but haven't decided yet. I have done a few IM's but never really spent a lot of money on them. I just didn't think I was good enough so wanted to maximize my fitness before I upgraded equipment. You can improve the most by training and once you get to a certain point, buying better stuff can help a bit.

I'm a CPA who works exclusively with not-for-profits (financial statement audits, consulting, etc.).

I head up that division for the firm, so I have as much flexibility as I want...it generally directly correlates to how much money I make.

Years ago I figured out what I wanted to do with my life, and I left the big corporate firm to work with a smaller one where I would have the control I wanted. It has been rewarding in so many ways - I get to do the work I love and I work as much (or as little) as I want, allowing me to also focus on things like family and tri.

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Chris Harris

Special Education Teacher

Business school professor. I have a huge amount of flexibility in my job. I can do my required teaching in about 12 weeks, which means in theory I can do what I want for the rest of the year. I also do a lot a company programs (exec ed) which means lots of international travel and a much higher income than my base professor salary. I travel frequently to Asia and Europe (in Belgium now and did a 10k last week in Dublin). I keep a bike in Singapore but not in Europe (although I probably should). I never track what I spend on triathlon and other sports but at this stage in my career it is pretty small percentage. When I was doing my PhD it was a different story.

Andrew

Me too! Management/entrepreneurship professor at a private university in the Midwest.

Emergency Medicine Resident.

I have lots of educational debt and minimal income right now so my racing is mostly local. I have a nice road bike with clip-on aero bars. I probably won't be able to get a tri bike until I graduate. Between my gf and I, we spend about $1000 on race entry and travel. This is our second year racing so I spent $1000 on gear for the two of us just to get essentials (raced sans wetsuit last season). I buy most of our stuff on ST classifieds or ebay.

I work 40-80 hours/week depending on the rotation so some months I can fit a lot of training in and other months my training is almost nil. Very difficult to get consistent training in, but I do what I can.

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Powered by Dalzell Coaching

Police officer - detective. Working shifts means I get some mornings and mid week days to train while the family are out. However also do some long days at work which plays havoc with the training

Semi-retired stock and option day trader. Have a bunch of rental houses/condos to keep me out of trouble.
A lot of time to train and race though luckily.

I work for a wine company. A good one.

I'm happy to discuss mutually satisfactory barter arrangements with any bike or gear distributors any time. The number's on every bottle:-)

author and PTA boss (nonpaying work is my specialty, which also explains the triathlon habit)

I teach part-time at two public schools, two colleges, teach 6-7 hours a week in my studio, and freelance. That's about the best I can get with a doctorate in music; not the most financially rewarding degree. I'm pretty happy with the races I've done in 4-5 years, but have never traveled more than five hours for a race, always camp for lodging, and haven't done any M-dot races because of cost. AFTER you save up and get a race bike, it seems like the biggest cost is running shoes every few months and race fees. You can make multisport work with whatever income you have.

28 years as a lawyer, 32 years as a triathlete.

I have a presentation I have given many times - "The Four Anchors - A balance Life of Fulfillment and Satisfaction" - http://daviddaggett.wordpress.com/the-four-anchors/

Best wishes...you have the whole world in front of you!

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Work in an HR dept, spent 6 years in an accounting department and moved over to HR.

I'm the guy that will make sure the company is complient with Obamacare. I'm prime example how obamacare is creating jobs!!

I would say very little of my income goes to supporting the lifestyle, when I was younger before the family I tried to race almost every weekend whether it was a 5k or half iron. I'm not sure if I really saved much money, it all went to bikes and racing. These days its hard to get anything over 50 dollars approved by the wife.

I work at a quantitative Hedge Fund

Been a Triathlete for 8+ years now, I train at lunch, at night and weekends. Less than 1% of my money goes to triathlon.

it was the ninja gig, right?

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http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit

I am an Elevator repair man and yes it has its ups and downs. I work for a large private University and get paid more than most of the proffessors there. I now have unlimited access to the pools and training facilities and staff but I am still slow, overweight and aging. Go figure. Life is Good !

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"There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life".
Zappa

I did work in the secure environment world. But I took some information and shared it with a few people. Now I'm enjoying bouncing all over the world visiting free and open societies that are the communist ideal. May not get back to the states any time soon so training is tricky.

;-P

Seriously though, I'm a registered architect that saw the writing on the wall and got out of the private sector in '09. Been working for the federal government since then. Currently work at NASA as a planner. Haven't had to actually use my architectural degree for design and drawing since I got out of the private sector except for when I do side work.

I'm not doing anything but running right now about 3 - 4 times a week. Those are easy to fit in with just about any job.

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Rick, "Retired" hobbyist athlete
Trying to come back slowly from acute A-Fib

pick a job where your income is positively correlated to the amount of work you put in not a random dumb luck or unpredictable performance of a company you choose to work.

said that, i work on wall street with sweet 7-5 work schedule. as a rule i spend half on lifestyle of what i save up annually.

Director of Training and Volunteer management for Special Olympics Delaware 10+ years
(Spent 18 years in private sector in operations management)

Schedule is somewhat flexible except around our large competitions and fund raisers.

No kids, except for the dogs, wife and I don't spend much so most extra $$$ goes to training, racing and gear.

Wifey teaches AP courses at a local private school....her schedule is better with June/July and part of August off!

Combined income and low spending allows for the purchases of occasional toys/gear.

I genuinely laughed out loud at that one!

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Rav Dighe
Coach & Director
w: http://www.alohatri.com
e: rav@alohatri.com

I am a part owner of 2 businesses and involved in the management of 4 other businesses. Fortunately I am not involved in the tedious day-to-day stuff and do more of the business/long term development. Our businesses deal a lot with the golf industry and my previous employment was in the golf course maintenance field. My current situation is fantastic and I feel very fortunate to have flexibility, make good money and work with my best friend of 35 years (we played softball together when we were 9 years old).

I am a runner who likes to cycle/mtn. bike. I won't even say how much I spend but as I type this I am looking at 3 bikes in my living room that all cost a pretty penny. I also love, love, love to buy (collect) running shoes, apparel, gadgets,........

some seriously smart cookies here. Im not one of those cookies. Im a personal trainer/group fitness instructor/gym instructor. So yeh, i tell people to pick up heavy shit repetitively. This is only part time work, 20hr weeks. My other job? I have a 3 year old son. Im daddy day-care. Best job in the world. Crappy pay, but wouldnt have it any other way. My wife is a case manager for the department of child protection and does a 38hr week.
Tri's were expensive to set up but i have it all now. I have a 2012 P2, FLO's etc so nice gear, but no duraace Di2 wizzbang fizz high end stuff. We just got a road bike for the wife to have a go at tri's after bub no. 2 is born is 6 weeks. Fortunately we both fit the same sized frame road bike! good times! i train between 10-12 hrs a week.

 
I've spent time as an architect, an importer / exporter (Vandelay Industries), hand model, one day as a marine biologist, now the assistant to the traveling secretary for the New York Yankees.

According to every Ironman I have done I am a Mushroom Farmer. : )

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"Grab a Brew Don't Cost nothing"

Dentist. Been in practice for 13 years, had my own practice for 10. Usually treat patients M-Thurs 8-5...no lunch break. That gives me flexibility to get in long workouts on Fridays when the kids are at school. My family is more the limiting factor for my training time than my work. Two young daughters and I don't want to miss time with them. So I still do most of my swimming and running at or before daylight.
Enjoy my work most of the time and feel pretty blessed in that regard, regardless of the compensation.

AirForce Pilot. Bad thing is about everytime I get back in good shape, I have to deploy again. But the good thing about that is I can usually buy a new bike after I deploy.

Enterprise sales, income fluctuates between 90k-130k every year. My wife works as well in higher education (finance). The 20 month old is not working yet....

Combined we're around 160k/year which is much more than what our folks made, but we're also in the city of chicago with a mortgage and son, so it goes pretty quickly.

My triathlon experience is narrowed down to 2 races, Oly distance in Chicago 2 years ago, and just this past Sunday my first IM in my hometown of Coeur d'Alene. This past 12 months has been VERY expensive in terms of triathlon stuff since I had to invest in the following basic gear: road bike (converted with aero bars etc), DeSoto wetsuit, tri shorts/tops, compression pants for recovery, bike helmet, 3 pairs of running shoes, clipless pedels/shoes, etc. I'm sure there is much more but you get the point.

Really looking forward to investing in race registration only for a while. It's very tempting to start looking at tri bikes but candidly I'm not going to qualify for Kona and am in it for the experience of the distance so I feel I can get by with my roadie for some time here on out.

Of coarse I just registered for IMCDA 2014..will probably be posting a pic of my new tri bike sometime in the winter when the sales hit ;)

+1 Professional Student/PhD student. Except in Electrical Engineering.
I love the flexible schedule because I can sneak out and train almost whenever I want. If I didn't put all the time I devote to triathlon in school I would be graduated by now, but it's worth it. :)

I'm a nurse in the ER, wife is an NP. We both make 6figs + each a year, but live pretty simply. The simple lifestyle allows us to always have whatever little toy or gadget we want without thinking twice. I probably drop $5k a year on the sport between travel and the "latest gagdets". Of course, we both drive Hondas that are paid for, own a small house with barely any mortgage, have zero credit card debt, no student loans, etc. She's still in her 20's, I'm 31, I think we do OK.

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_________________________
I got nothing.

Interesting thread...
I'm an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and small business owner. I've started scheduling longer lunches to try get the workouts in.
I would spend more on gear and 'stuff' but my wife won't let me (sadface).

Sales Director for a Merchant Services company

Clinical psychologist. My work schedule is pretty fixed, 40-45 hrs week now after many years of 60+. Occasionaly travel, and will bring my bike, and/or suss out running swimming opportunities when on the road. Married with 3 boys 14 and under, so not a lot of extra cash-(now there's an oxymoron for you)

Train indoors in the early AM to keepup with family demands, lessen the impact on the fam, keep in my wife's good graces. I like doing full and HIMs, but limit the fulls to an every other year or so, and try and make the HIM destination races for the fam. Other than that, local sprint tri's, runs, open water swims pop into the schedule pretty regularly, usually with some family option attached (beach, hiking, etc.). Spend between 1-2K/yr all together, including entry fees, special nutriation, parts and maintenance, etc.

The sea was angry that day my friend, like an old man trying to send back soup at the deli. Classic

So here is a question for you high end job people.... if you could take a part time job that pays minimum wage but allows you to train more and better, would you? (assuming you do not live off credit or have kids) . The 60 hours a week you put in to afford that 10k bike can be traded in for 30 hours at a bike 1/5th the cost yet the training time gained will be much more valuable.

Probably yes, once enough is stuffed away for retirement during high earning years. But takes quite of few years to stuff enough away. Big key is keep your expenses low and don't buy the huge house you don't really need and fancy cars, etc. (but do still buy the nice bikes though).

I would trade my corporate job for a job at my LBS if I could afford it. Those people always look like they are having a blast.

I'm a self employed Lighting Designer, Technical Director, Master Electrician, and Stage Manager for high end corporate events. I spend about half the year away from home on the road. My time away involves many many long hours and training can be hit or miss when Im away. Its hard to getup at 4am to train between back to back 18 hour days, but I've done it for my A races. The payoff is that when I'm home I only work half days at most so I can fit my training in easily. My wife is a health educator do the air force and also a triathlete. Weekend long rides are easy to fit in as we often do them together. Together our income is over six figures and we are quite comfortable. When I was single I spent a TON in my first two years in the sport, but now I seem to spend more on doctors battling injuries! Hope to be back in full swing by next year. I train about 8-12 hours a week on average for tris but also paddle board quite a bit as well. I'd guess most years my wife and I each spend about 500-1000 on races, but have often spent more for iron distance years.

So here is a question for you high end job people.... if you could take a part time job that pays minimum wage but allows you to train more and better, would you?

I made that choice 22 years ago... except it wasn't really to train more, and I didn't make minimum wage (more like zero). Lived on savings~ $5k/yr for 13 years. I decided I liked freedom more than anything I could buy... and jobs really do suck. Those days are gone, but I didn't have to drift too far from it...

To me its not the hours but WHEN/WHERE/HOW you have to put in the hours and flexibility that makes me happy. Sitting chained in a cube all day would drive me nuts.

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I *heart* weak, dumb ass people...

Are you assuming the ONLY thing the extra cash buys/pays for is a fancy bike? Er, um, Ok.

Let me know how that whole retirement thing goes someday... :-)

If the OP had asked what we did in a *previous* life, then I'm sure you'd see more answers along those lines. Plus, juvenile records aren't publicly available ;)

Current life:
Co-owner (w/ wife, she's head dr.)/administrator of a veterinary hospital, do some real estate stuff on the side
How much do I spend? I am not sure. What I am sure of is that I have no desire to figure it out. I think the correct answer is more than what I tell my wife I've spent. Maybe $3k between coaching, race entry, travel, gear, food, etc. This year is like double that with new bike purchase *sigh*.

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Yes, I know it's grammatically incorrect. Blame AOL and their 90s-era character limits.
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My favorite so far!!!

X 2!!!!!!

Oh no hell no.

As thrifty as I am, I'm not into living on nothing.

And the main issue for me, is that total lack of financial security when you're on minimum wage. One mild (not even major) health or other setback, and you're at the mercy of the generosity of the gov't and strangers just to survive.

I wouldn't even do it in my young adulthood when I was single and had much fewer obligations. The prospect of losing several years of retirement savings compounded over a lifetime are big-time if there's no upside.

Far easier just to work less and play harder.

I swim, bike, run, play PS3 (recovery) and recieve a check once a month in my bank account. Life is good!

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B.Oliver -My Blog...triguywithavx.wordpress.com
Powered by:
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-**TriSports.com Save 20% Message me for one time use code {restrictions apply...see site)

I'm not sure if I qualify for 'high end' or not, but I totally love what I do and it's really more about the challenge and professional accomplishments than it is about bringing home the cake and having some toys

I am a Leadership/Management Trainer....I teach people how to be a boss without being an asshole.....

I don't work to hard at all and have some flexibility for training....

I blow things up for the military. Luckily they give me 2 hours plus a day to workout with pretty good facilities and trainers at our disposal so it doesnt affect my off time as much. My job is pretty physical so it makes it tough to peak for races but can usually do up to 1/2s on a whim but generally do better at the short stuff. I am trying to get into ultras which is proving tough but I am pretty dumb so I suffer through them. I buy most of my gear used and stick to local races as no notice TADs have lead to many missed races without refunds and where I am in the sport doesnt justify the gucci gear. Looking forward to retirement in a few years to a job that leaves me plenty of time to get into long course racing.

GM of a building supply business. I work all day, train, eat, go back to work.

No kids, soon to be no wife, no worries.

Business Analyst at IBM. I enjoy my job. Unfortunately I don't enjoy where I live and am trying to relocate to the Phoenix area.

I considered working less, but that's almost harder to figure out. Jobs that pay half way decent usually require full time dedication. Being a waiter (something I did for a few years after I went back to work) is one of the better options.

You mentioned part-time minimum wage... if you work 20 hrs a week year round you are looking at a little over $7k/yr currently... no benefits. And you'd need a place to live and transportation and the other paraphernalia associated with having a job.

When I was living on <$5k/yr, that included health insurance BTW... and depreciation on the truck. I did train and race full time for a few years on that... it's doable.

I think one of the better ways to swing it would be to find a good paying seasonal winter job, and then train and race full time in the summer.

Security is of course a typical concern... but if you worry about that your whole life, you still end up dying at some point... just like everyone else.

Porn star. The work is long and hard. The money may not be great but the fringe benefits are worth it.

pharmaceutical compounder turned barista turned groundskeeper turned sign installer turned parole officer turned ski/bike shop bum. soon to be a full-time volunteer through nepal, india, and southeast asia. i have a lot of interests.

Ha .. sure it is.
Police officer. Night shift, 10 hour days (4 on, 3 off). Great for training. I love the job, except when I don't. My main focus the last 4-5 years has been training rookie cops, which is both rewarding and frustrating. Decent middle class income.

Excluding equipment purchases (this year was expensive .. splurged on a new road bike to the tune of about $7k), $1000-$1500 a year in entry fees etc. I live in CO so there are lots of high quality events in my backyard.

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*****
"In case of flood climb to safety"

During the day, I work for a financial firm; at night I design bikes and run a bicycle company; I also moonlight as a cycling journalist when I get a chance, and have managed to hang out with grand tour champs from time to time. Of course the earnings from the latter 2 engagements is generally around 5-10% of the former for any given time.

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http://www.falcobike.com
https://www.facebook.com/falcobikeglobal
http://www.twitter.com/Falco_Bike
falcobike@gmail.com

Sales for almost 30 years now. We're doing fine. However, I am happiest when I'm not tied to a desk. Also, if you have to work somewhere, keep your commute short.

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What I do: http://app.strava.com/athletes/345699

Policy committee consultant for the California State Legislature (Banking and Financial Institutions Committee). Love the job, the people, and the challenge, though the frustration level (and thus the need for.mind-clearing workouts) is pretty high. It is daunting knowing that your work affects several tens of millions of people.

Legislative jobs are very seasonal. Some months, training is very tough, because work lasts well into the night on an unpredictable and irregular basis. Other months, training is vastly easier, as work days are shorter and more predictable.

Government jobs don't pay a lot, but with no kids and only two expensive hobbies (tri and golf), tri expenses are probably under 5% of annual income on an average basis. That includes medical expenses, which are growing quite large as I try to keep pushing this aging body through long-course SBR. For a youngster with non-M Dot aspirations, you should be able to keep costs down. Used equipment, sales, race discounts, volunteer discounts, share rooms at races.

Goat herder, but Im in between herds at the moment so Im moon lighting as a property developer.

I have no intention of retiring...many retire to find they are bored with life and go back to work.

I'm pretty new to the sport, only been in it for about a year. I'm a Safety and Hazmat specialist for a fortune 50 company. The pay is over 40k a year, which isn't terrible in Indiana, and I am divorced with no children. The divorce hurt me pretty badly financially because I was the only one that had a savings account and a decent job, so it got split and I lost a lot of money to continue my schooling. As for triathlon, I ride a used road bike, a decent one, with clip ons. To get started it was pretty expensive, but now that I've accumulated some things over birthdays and Christmas, I'm now down to the dreaded tri bike. That's my next, and probably last, big purchase for the sport for a bit. I would say I've probably put 2k into the sport over the last year or so, but after the tri bike I am cutting way back. I have my first HIM this year, and that is usually the only race outside of local stuff I will do that costs me significant money.

Yep, retirement sucks! Life is boring me to death! (Pink)
Been retired for 6 years. I swim/bike/run somewhere between 15 and 25 hours a week. I try to get in two rounds of golf and a couple hours of practice a week also.
I worked making electricity at power plants for 33 years, 30 of that training supervision/management at a nuclear power plant. Working for a big utility with a great pension and 401K allowed me to retire at 54. I did triathlon when I worked generally getting out at 4 AM each day for training so I wouldn't impact the fam.
I have no idea how much I spend on triathlon related stuff, but I generally buy/ enter anything I'd like at this point. I'm the guy that's spending my children's inheritance.
Seriously, retirement is awesome!

Yeah, I know a few folks like that, but it's still utterly unfathomable to me (they pretty much don't exercise or do much else besides watch TV when they're home, though)... I like my job and the people I work with, but fuck if I'd keep showing up if I didn't need the money. Seriously, it's not that hard to find all kinds of shit to do ~ biggest problem for me even in retirement would be deciding what to give up each day in order to do something else; can't be in 2 places at once!

Well I work for a cannabis startup, though we're not breaking any laws. That's about as close to "drug dealer" as you may get.

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Mediocre Athlete: Stumbling across the finish line since 2008.
http://www.mediocreathlete.com

primary care physician at an indian health center. except for working at a state department of health, i've worked at facilities serving the underserved my whole medical career (attorney before that). i pretty much believe in giving back to the community. i could probably have more for the triathlon habit if i didn't, but it's worth it.

Professional fire fighter

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_________________________________________________
When all is said and done. More is usually said than done
Ba Ba Booey

I thought maybe you owned a porta potty company?

I'm a high school student. Realistically that's a full time job since I want to do well. I also work at my LBS, pays well for a part time job. Pays great when you consider the deals I can get on all the gear that makes triathlon such an expensive sport. Parents are supportive but I pay for most of my gear, main reason why I got a part time job. I put roughly 40% of my income + any extra money I get (not drug dealing) towards my hobbies and the rest goes into savings for university. Overall I say I do fairly well considering I have little to no expenses otherwise. Fitting in training can be tough with inconsistent homework load plus working a part time job but I can normally fit stuff in if I do morning workouts and something in the evening. Sometimes you have to accept that work/school comes first. Summer is when I can increase my training hours and work hours so that means more triathlon money. That's the life of a high school triathlete.

Side job

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_________________________________________________
When all is said and done. More is usually said than done
Ba Ba Booey

Health Care Radiology Director

The schedule can be challenging. I do all my primary workouts before O'dark 30 and mix my swim in on run days. Meet the wife for rides x 2 in the evening during the week while the kids are at dance classes. My wife and I trade out early morning runs on the weekend and we hire a sitter for every other week long rides. The weekends in which my wife and I don't ride toghether I push race pace to keep my speed up.

We spend around 2-3k on racing, training and traveling to and from events. Date night is training together so, it's wash. It makes it so much easier when the whole family is involved.

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Please forgive typo's and poor grammer. Most posting performed on my not so smart phone.

Plumber, most of my cash

I'm a bike messenger. Not much money, fantastic lifestyle. I have 2 university degrees, sociology and architecture so it's quite obvious that I place a higher emphasis on lifestyle an earning dollars. I get to ride 80+ kms per day and it turns almost every run into a brick

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bikemessengersrepresent

Orthopedic Surgeon. Private practice.. Clinical Assistant Professor for medical school.

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Michael in Kansas
"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit"
"Its not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up" Lombardi

curiously, are you a jet on the bike leg? it may sound obvious, but you must be smashing TT's

I worked at a children's clinic in Flagstaff, AZ in the early 90s. I was the front office coordinator so I got to meet all families. We treated kids from all over N Az, including the reservation. We'd also do field clinics and bring pediatric cardiologist, orthopod, geneticist and others along. We'd bring the kids their new wheelchairs and hearing aides. We usually spend 4 or 5 days in various towns including Tuba City, Window Rock and Chinle. I was a complete fish out of water and it really taught me empathy and compassion. I was in my early 20s and it changed how I look at the world. I met some incredible people. I loved that job.

I know you have a very difficult job. I have much respect for the work you do. When I was out there we had to work with old traditions that went counter to modern medical advice. Really challenging. The Drs loved it though.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I work in investment banking for a small m&a boutique. Love the job. Some weeks are tough (north of 70h) but usually around 50-55h.

Last bike purchase was five years ago, so usually i spend around 1000$ a year for entry fees, shoes and clothes. I dont fly to races since i live in austria. You have triathlons every weekend within 2h driving distance. Entry fees are around 50$ for a sprint.

Since i have a job, it is job first, triathlon is just a hobby.

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2012: Norseman. I'm done.

I'm a chiropractor. Work a three day Mon-Wed-Fri 24 hr. work week plus a few extra hours a week with a part time teaching gig in the health & science department at a community college. Stopped racing two years ago but still run-bike-swim for fitness. Haven`t spent a single penny on triathlon or new gear since I stopped racing. Life is good.

I'm a jackbooted government thug.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I can only speak for myself and not sure where "high-end" starts, but 1 wife, 1 dog, 2 boys, 1 mortgage and 1 car payment add up to nearly all of our budget. tri/bike etc is only for the leftovers. More training time sounds great, but my kids eat too damn much.

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Brian
“Eat and Drink, spin the legs and you’re going to effin push (today).” A Howe

VP of technology for a medium size digital advertising company.

Business manager, glorified babysitter, diaper changer for the general public, job from hell. I manage a retail store that is open 363 days a year. I do this with five employees all under the age of 25. This job is not for the weak hearted. If I'm lucky it's only 50 hours a week, most of it on my feet on concrete floors. No lunch breaks, no leaving the store once it's open, it's a grind from the minute you walk into the door, until the minute you leave, and you can never catch up. Pay is not great. I can manage to get to some events on Sundays. I've been there almost eight years, so you could could say, I enjoy misery and a challenge. Seems to work perfect with multi sport.

I'm 25, and I run a business I started up about 2 years ago, filling prescription orders from my family's veterinary practice. I work from home 4 days a week, and as long as I handle my shit I can get my workouts in no problem. Business is doing pretty well, and allows me to move from Philly to FL for a couple months in the winter. I'm currently also taking GMAT classes with a plan to go back for my MBA next fall.

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@adamwfurlong

Yet another anesthesiologist here. 2 others on this thread. . . I do pediatric and pediatric cardiac anesthesiology. Keeps my days interesting. Keeps kids' activities funded. Keeps wife and I in the bikes, but not as many or as fancy as we'd like. Universal truth, I suppose.

Despite 3 kids and a happy marriage, I can pretty easily get in 12 or so hr/week, mostly between 0430 and 0630. Up to 18 or so/week for a limited time, but that really burns spouse and family points in a big hurry, so no more than 1 IM build/year. Wife is also triathlete, which helps enormously. Schedule coordination is pretty hectic, but it all gets done somehow.

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Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

Emilio,

I have an idea for trisuits for men that I will give you for free. Hit me up if interested via PM.

That said I'm a petrophysicist specialized in generating petrophysical properties for reservoir simulations (think oil and gas business). I work a lot, and travel a lot, but it the benefits and compensation are great. I don't get to train as much as I'd like, and I'm slow, but I have a great life. I may never be the fastest person on ST, but I am going to be the fastest person in my office someday. I won't ever be the smartest at work, so you have to take your advantages where you can get them.

If you know young people good in math and science this is a seriously undermanned profession. You have a lot of freedom in who you would choose to work for and how much you get paid. The bidding wars for good technical people in this country are only going to grow as time continues. Most of the experts in technical fields are aging out rapidly.

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You will remain the same person, before, during and after the race. So the result, no matter how important, will not define you. The journey is what matters. ~ Chrissie W.

I'm a doctor. My husband is also a doctor and a triathlete. Between work and kids, Its hard to squeeze in as much training as I would love to. There is a lot of short intense workouts while the one of us is putting the kids to bed. If we go to the pool with the kids on wekends, I usually run home (13 km). And I often run to the grocery store, hauling the groceries in a twin-jog-stroller. And my husband bikes 20 km to work every day. And back. So its all about exploiting the logistics for training: ).
Our son (7 yrs) has done several tri's. He is doing Ironkids next weekend. My husband and I will do an 70.3 the next day: )

I can go all right ;-) I could go much faster but going bang on the run is no fun and embarrassing.

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bikemessengersrepresent

Single father of 2. Middle school science teacher. Part-time race director.

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Habitual line stepper.

Used to have a sports store in London and am now taking a year out to train and build a house. Basically following the mantra 'Do what you love' When the year out fund runs out; then back to work it is. Plenty of time for training, although the Germans in Northern Germany don't particularly like cyclists on the road. :) My Partner is a nutrition specialist so there is my nutrition sorted, although she does wonder why I need to be up at 6am most mornings to go swimming.

Shame is that I m quite slow generally!

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My Blog - My Tweets - My Strava
My Bikes - CF SLX, 622SLX, O-1.0, AL9.0, 4.3Disc, Slice BI, C60

I'm a pilot in the USMC and an Executive Officer in the squadron I fly in. I retire in about a year and a half and look forward to some training time! I'll only be 42 and will get another job, but priorities are going to change for sure.

I was a self employed Career Coach till 2 months ago, and had lots of time to train. Then I was recruited to be the General N
Manager of a plumbing company (I know nothing about plumbing) so now I bike commute between 1-2 hours a day and no triathlon training except for long rides on the weekend. over 1200K in June

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Cervelo R3 and Cannondale Synapse, Argon18 Electron Track Bike

I am self employed doing hoarder/house cleaner and travel agent ($0 and few benefits). The work can be hard and the pay not always so great but the freedom is glorious. I sometimes think to go back into managing houses and make a lot of money but it would take me from my weekly volunteering gig and leave very little for fitness and fun. I am not at that point yet. Fortunately my investments pay the bills and allow for travel internationally a few times a year. Some of the people I work for/with treat me VERY well with gifts and pay.
I am a bargain hunter who has spent a small fortune on fitness gear (including bikes) over the years. I have never paid full price for anything because I have more than needed. Less than $3000 per year goes towards the "lifestyle" which includes travel to events.

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DISH is how we do it.

Government Affairs and sales..... Just depends on the week.