@crgildart, I wear my beacon fairly frequently when skiing inbounds. After all, I have it, and doesn't do any good sitting in my locker. So when we are in a storm cycle and I might be skiing stuff that might slide, I put it on.I'm thinking way more seriously about beeping in bounds if I travel anywhere with any history at all of trouble.. and that list of places with trouble has grown considerably this season.
But the first line of defense is not to put yourself into the situation where you might be involved in a slide in the first place. You could accomplish that by quitting skiing, but that's not a limitation I'm willing to accept. By becoming more educated about snow science, the conditions that lead to an increased risk of avalanches, the risks of terrain, decision making, etc., you actually become a more accomplished skier. You learn more about reading terrain. You watch the weather, the wind loading of slopes, identify potential terrain traps, etc. It is highly useful in skiing big mountain inbounds terrain, such as that at Whistler Blackcomb, Jackson, Big Sky, Highlands, Taos, A-Basin, Breckenridge, and even less steep areas like Winter Park and Vail. And it sets you up to be a more informed person if you do decide to venture outside the boundaries of the ski area, whether it is side country, touring, or cat/heli skiing.
A good place to start is to read Bruce Tremper's book "Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain." @James recounted how Tremper doesn't ski terrain that is likely to slide, but the opening of the book recounts his epiphany that came form his involvement in an avalanche at Bridger Bowl. It is a well written book that can give you a good introduction to traveling in avalanche terrain, including some quite interesting observations about the traps that come from relying on experience when dealing with very low probability but very high consequence risk.
Mike