Cameron Olivieri shares his story of learning to skydive, working in the industry and becoming an instructor in just 14 months! Check out his story and get inspired!
"Ever since I was little, I dreamed of having a life where I was passionate about what I did for a living and excited about going to work in the morning"
At 19 years old, I found myself working in a regular office job whilst at university, working towards a degree I was sure would not provide me with the life I had always dreamed of.
I sat down and brainstormed the coolest job I could possibly think of - and along came the idea of becoming a skydiving instructor. At this point I had never met a skydiver or even been for a skydive myself. Also, with little to no information online about how to make skydiving into a career, I decided to take a chance and find out for myself.
In August 2017 I went to Moruya, NSW to learn to skydive solo. I quickly fell in love with the sport and the people that surrounded it. I knew for certain that I wanted to pursue a career in skydiving.
I was very keen to get involved and help out at the drop zone, with cleaning, grounds keeping and always offering a hand. This, combined with a great attitude, soon caught the eye of management. I landed my first job in skydiving 1 month after I learnt to skydive solo, when the marketing manger and business owner noticed my skydiving videos on Instagram. They offered me a position as a marketing assistant, editing photos and videos for their social media accounts. My eagerness to learn led to them training me up in carrying out manifest and ground crew controller duties too.
Through my drive, determination and dedication to achieving my goal of becoming an instructor, I sought out the opportunity to pack parachutes and edit videos for tandems at a drop zone near Sydney. I moved there in November 2017 and spent the next year investing everything into skydiving. By November 2018, I was a fully qualified skydiving instructor. During this time I completed 1000 skydives, an AFF and tandem rating, and jumped at multiple locations across Australia.
"I met so many amazing people, creating memories that will last a lifetime"
In February 2019 I was transferred to the Sunshine Coast, where I spent 7 months jumping over the ocean and expanding my experience in drop zone marketing, operations, and manifest.
After that, I spent August of 2019 doing tandems over Uluru (Ayers Rock) at sunrise and sunset which was an incredible experience.
Through networking and references I was able to take my career overseas in November 2019, moving to a drop zone in Thailand. This was the moment when I knew I had achieved my wildest dreams.
At 23 years old I have done over 2100 skydives and have a job that I am passionate about, which allows me to travel the world and provides me with a stable income. After one of the best experiences of my life working in Thailand, I got my next job as a tandem instructor in Costa Rica and now plan to continue my adventure in the USA, working as a tandem instructor, AFF instructor and camera flyer at a centre in Ohio.
In my experience, working in the skydiving industry has been a wonderful way to see the world - with endless job opportunities in exotic locations. It’s allowed me to live and work in places I’d never before thought possible!
Cameron's Timeline
Feeling inspired? Find out more about Career Pathways in Skydiving here!
[Photo Sources: Cameron Olivieri]