Advice needed...

J

jlouis976

Joined
Feb 25, 2008
Messages
396
So I feel a bit strange/awkward asking something of this nature, and while I've been absent from the community for a bit, I feel you are a good group to ask.


I'm going a bit crazy at my current occupation. Sitting in a cube all day makes me itch. I work in the business world for a small manufacturer as their Latin American Market Director. When I'm not stuck in my cube I'm traveling all over Latin America to push a product that went out of style 10 years ago in an industry that is as exciting as toast-- hence why our product still moves in some areas. While I am very thankful for my current employment.........I want to be involved in my passions on a day to day basis.


That being said-- I live for the outdoors. I'm thinking about going back to school for a masters degree and I can't figure out what to study that would allow me to use the experience I have and allow me to work outdoors. My undergrad and all of my experience up to this point is in business. (I am also trained as an EMT-B and I've volunteered as a fire fighter as well)


Do you guys have any recommendations? Are any of you guys in a similar situation?
 
I'm not sure where you live, but I'm thinking conservation might be a way for you to go. Basically any job for the national park system would be cool...
 
I'm feeling the same way. My father-in-law worked as a county trapper for 18 years. He would take the calls to come and trap nuisance animals, and sometimes to hunt them down and shoot them. 18 years, and he said he didn't work a single day, because he loved it so much. I am thinking about trying to get into that line. Maybe an idea?
 
Forestry,Wildlife Management,Wildlife Biology,Game Warden,Hydroligist.If I had it to do over,one of those.
Randy
 
Archaeology. field season puts you outside during the best times of the year. Flexible schedule allows for pleanty of time in the woods.
 
I just got a degree in Environmental Science - Natural Resources Management.

Great degree for work in the forest, it's quite a competitive field right now.
If I could do it all again it would probably be conservation biology, or ecology. Had my fair share of both in my degree though, so I'm happy. Along with geography, environmental law, etc. Quite an interdisciplinary degree really.

Why not check out some local non profits? I worked for the National Audubon society for a while, quite rewarding work which is very fun and you get to meet a bunch of neat people (lots of volunteers from all walks of life out to do restoration work). Might be easier to get into without going back to school. At the branch of the Audubon Society I was at, their lawyer used to get his hands dirty with the rest of them.

Look into some geography degrees too, there are some really interesting ones with lots of applicable work out there. GIS is big in many fields right now, I got to get wet and dirty mapping streams with those classes, I have a friend mapping some restoration habitat set aside for the port of SF too.

There's always research opportunities for grad students - you can get funding to go pretty much anywhere with the right program. Plenty of people end up setting up various programs overseas, there're some great opportunities out there for just about anybody.

Some good books that you might want to check out:
The song of the dodo
Monster of God
Both by David Quamman. The song of the dodo would probably be the best of the two. It's a fantastic introduction to Island Biogeography and how we got to the new ideas presented. He meets many of the prominent people in the various related fields, experiences their studies first hand all the while explaining the various theories and their backgrounds. He really gives a great overview of many prominent ecological/biogeographical ideals.

Monster of God is written in a similar vein, only in regards to the history of our interactions with large predators and various theories on how should/are protecting them.

Hope that helps, if you have any questions feel free to pm me or something.
Matt:)
 
Bolt-action bultema said:
Archaeology. field season puts you outside during the best times of the year. Flexible schedule allows for pleanty of time in the woods.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah - my fiance is in a masters program for Maritime Archaeology at the mo, she's really enjoying it. She's done some terrestrial field school too, I went to help out a couple times and had a ball digging stuff up.:thumbup:
 
if you can handle law enforcement duties (it's definitely not a job for everyone), most states (including ours) are scrambling to get game wardens- it used to be a field where literally 1000's of applications would be received for a few openings, not the case anymore- qualifications vary by state, you may already qualify already for some states w/ your business degree????

you won't get rich, but the benefits are generally pretty good and you will definitely get lots and lots of outdoor time. one of the down sides is that if you are a avid hunter (most going into the field are), your may be better off w/ another job as it significantly cuts into your "fun time" afield
 
I quit a job I hated earlier this year to pursue a more passionate life. I recommend it highly. Life is to short to sit in a cubicle hating each day.
 
Not nearly enough info to recommend a career change for sure. Some random things to think about to prime your pump:

Do you care about money or 'stuff?'
Do you have dependants or do you plan to?
What do you want to do when you're outdoors? Hike/camp/fish/hunt?
Must your career change be outdoors-oriented or do you simply want more leisure time to be outdoors?
Do you ski, snowboard or scuba well?
Are you people-oriented or can you tolerate being along outdoors?
 
+1 on being a Game Warden/Conservation Officer. It's still a pretty popular job from what I hear in Michigan, but you get to work from home and you get a bunch of toys (boat, ATV, snowmobile, jetski, bad @ss truck etc). But it's hard, as I think game wardens get alot more negative attitude than normal LEOs.

I personally imagine a career where I could be in the woods all day, but I similarly worry that I might not like being there as much if it was my job. I say find a job that will allow you to spend more of your own time in the woods, not your employers time.
 
I worked for Western Geophysical for a while. If you can tailor your master's to a job that will get you out in the field for any amount of time (6 weeks a year doesn't SOUND like a lot, but it's about 20 weeks of workup/work/workdown, with plenty of time to woodsbum at home) - geologic exploration might work out. Oil, mineral, whatever.
 
I worked at a tool and die company for 14yrs... in the engineering dept for 8 of them. Long story short, as I moved up the ladder the pay got better, but the stress got worse... my cheese finally slipped of my cracker... and I had no alternative but to quit. I became a stay at home dad for almost 2yrs. When I decided it was time to go back to work I enrolled into a self employment program to assist me in starting my own studio for recording music... specifically percussion... It was called DrumTracker. On the final day of the program, they brought in an insprational speaker to instill a little motivation in us before setting off on our own. He talked about following your gut insticts and listening to your heart. He said its the mind's job to try and talk you out of leaving your comfort zone.... your mind will always try to convince you to take the easier route while your gut will instinctively point you toward the path you were meant to take.

The next day, I ditched my Drumtracker business plan, and started making leather bags and outdoor gear for folks. Something I had always done for myself. Things began falling in place for me. A few months later, I learned of this guy who played a wicked guitar and had just moved in about 20mins from me. He was also an ABS Master Smith... cool! I hooked up to jam with him in his shop. We started talking about knives... and the rest was history. Every night I go to bed smelling like leather and steel.... its awesome.

Rick


One of the most significant days of my adult life... Jammin it out with MS Wally Hayes.
rick.jpg
 
Last edited:
Rick brings up a really good point.

6 years ago I had root access on iTunes. I ran Santa Tracker that Christmas, was part of the team that DAILY deployed all your internet (well, something like 60% at the time) video.

Wasn't doing it for me. We went and lived on a boat for a year and sort of inched my way to where I am now- always going another step more independent, contracting, to landscaping work, to off and on construction while I figured out what I was making in the shop (I've done more than knives, knives just ...work for me)

I don't tend to suggest just running out and ditching everything you have and know- though I've done that twice in my life- but hell, don't take it off the table, either. :)
 
man im an et just getting ready to start parmedic school in january, if you lie helping people i would suggest this, you are well on your way plus it will definatly be cheaper than a masters degree my class last two semesters then your done and depending on where you decide to go you could make a desent living, also if you like to fight fire after you get your medic you will be VERY hirable to a full time department or you might be able to get on a flight crew as a medic or even be able to get your RN pretty easy.
just some thoughts hope this helps

mke
 
c00per said:
I just got a degree in Environmental Science - Natural Resources Management.

Great degree for work in the forest, it's quite a competitive field right now.
If I could do it all again it would probably be conservation biology, or ecology. Had my fair share of both in my degree though, so I'm happy. Along with geography, environmental law, etc. Quite an interdisciplinary degree really.

Why not check out some local non profits? I worked for the National Audubon society for a while, quite rewarding work which is very fun and you get to meet a bunch of neat people (lots of volunteers from all walks of life out to do restoration work). Might be easier to get into without going back to school. At the branch of the Audubon Society I was at, their lawyer used to get his hands dirty with the rest of them.

Look into some geography degrees too, there are some really interesting ones with lots of applicable work out there. GIS is big in many fields right now, I got to get wet and dirty mapping streams with those classes, I have a friend mapping some restoration habitat set aside for the port of SF too.

There's always research opportunities for grad students - you can get funding to go pretty much anywhere with the right program. Plenty of people end up setting up various programs overseas, there're some great opportunities out there for just about anybody.

Some good books that you might want to check out:
The song of the dodo
Monster of God
Both by David Quamman. The song of the dodo would probably be the best of the two. It's a fantastic introduction to Island Biogeography and how we got to the new ideas presented. He meets many of the prominent people in the various related fields, experiences their studies first hand all the while explaining the various theories and their backgrounds. He really gives a great overview of many prominent ecological/biogeographical ideals.

Monster of God is written in a similar vein, only in regards to the history of our interactions with large predators and various theories on how should/are protecting them.

Hope that helps, if you have any questions feel free to pm me or something.
Matt:)
Click to expand...


Thank you for all the time you put into this response. It was a ton of help.
 
Wow.

I read through all of these responses and there is a ton of wisdom shared. It was really pretty inspiring hearing the things that many of you have done.

In regards to some of the quetsions


Do you care about money or 'stuff?'
I make good/decent (i guess it depends on your perspective) money now. If anything I've learned that it is neither positive or negative. I'd rather be excited when i wake up in the morning than have more money.

Do you have dependants or do you plan to?
I have a wife and 2 young boys. If it weren't for them, I'd be in the military (and probably not be asking this question). But, thankfully I met my wife in college and married her before I had the chance to be checked for lice and shipped out.

What do you want to do when you're outdoors? Hike/camp/fish/hunt?
Honestly I do everything. Hike, camp, fish, hunt, snowboard, mountain bike, mountain climb. If it is outside, I do it. It would be more difficult for me to think of an outdoor activity I do not currently or have not previously pursued.

Must your career change be outdoors-oriented or do you simply want more leisure time to be outdoors?
Good question. Really all I want is a passion for my 9-5. Outdoors-oriented seems like the natural path for me.

Do you ski, snowboard or scuba well?
Snowboard and free dive. I use to live in Panama and I got hooked on free diving and spear fishing while I was there.

Are you people-oriented or can you tolerate being along outdoors?
I am definitely people-oriented, but at the same time i enjoy being alone outdoors.

Thanks for all the great questions.
 
koyote said:
I worked for Western Geophysical for a while. If you can tailor your master's to a job that will get you out in the field for any amount of time (6 weeks a year doesn't SOUND like a lot, but it's about 20 weeks of workup/work/workdown, with plenty of time to woodsbum at home) - geologic exploration might work out. Oil, mineral, whatever.
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest USGS.
 
Ive been an environmental health inspector for a local Public Health District for 20+ years and spend a lot of time outdoors . Any business involved with the environment is going to be a good field to be in for some time to come.--KV
 
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