Outdoor Career

[abo4ster]

If you are using this forum, you must have a love for the outdoors. I was curious if any of you have a career in the outdoors or are working in that direction. If not, what would be your outdoor dream job?

I'll go first: Not currently. I actually have a B.S. in Forestry and worked as a professional forester for six years before being put behind a desk full time. Got sick of the desk job and very low pay and went ahead and got a desk job with high pay. I have been a sales manager for three years now and having been longing to get back to the woods.

 

[Moine]

Ah... desk jobs. They really are hard on a guy.

I just can't work emprisoned in a glass cage anymore.

In my younger years (when I lived in Quebec), I've been guiding people down rivers, on canoe or kayak trips. This really was great. I've been doing this on and off for a while, but the pay was ridiculous. I needed more money to pay for my study debts, so I had to go into desk jobs with high pays but little or no happiness... I've been working as a journalist, and then went on to making web sites. Great pay, but even less happiness. I lived in a huge city, filled with well-dressed morons and other kinds of pollution. I couldn't bear it anymore.

I managed to get fired from this crap, and I went back to the backcountry. I now live in the Alps, and I'm working hard to get my survival school going. When I step outside, now, I don't see the building across the street anymore. I see a 1200 meters straight, vertical cliff, and an enormous circus of 2000+ meters high mountains. The air is cold and pure. Sheeps move around like ground clouds. I now live again.

Check a picture out, if you feel like it:
http://www.davidmanise.com/img/photo/drome2002/008_6A.jpg
This is what I see 300 feet from my doorstep, during winter.

My indian grandfather (mi'gmak) has taught me just about everything I needed to know for living in the woods. I added some medical training to this, and I read a lot. I am in a training phase since about 6 months. I need to really test all the stuff before teaching it.

This is hard work. It's hard on the body, but it's feeding the soul.

Cheers,

David

 

[Evolute]

"I was curious if any of you have a career in the outdoors or are working in that direction. If not, what would be your outdoor dream job?"

I'm going for the gusto--I've created my outdoor dream job.

I'm a nature photographer. I go where I want to, from one spectacular location to another. I explore and adventure and play. I get to learn as much about the natural world as I can, then put my naturalist skills to use. I find splendor, interpret it and try to create art.

It doesn't pay too well, but it's early in the career, and it'll pay better in time, as the business grows.

It is physically rather strenuous--brutal, even... at least for me. But it's worth it, to see, and to be.

Unfortunately, there is also the mundane side of the business: generating sales, doing paperwork, etc. Hopefully, as the business grows, I'll be able to hire someone to handle that side of the business for me, so that I can stay outside, playing.

--Mike

 

[Wotan]

I`m a land surveyor and work outdoors when snow is not too deep (most of the year).
I can tell you all that it`s a mixed experience. Sometimes when the weather is ****, I long for the warm, dry office and just hate my job. Other days I think off all the people not having the oportunity to get out on such a beautiful day.

 

[crucible]

I've had a lot of jobs in the outdoor industry - alpine guide, search and rescue technician, rescue consultant, climbing equipment manufacturer's representative, snowboard manufacturer's rep. The outdoor rep jobs were great for a single person, spotty in terms of consistent financial renumeration, but priceless in the area of getting outside- one year I climbed and snowboarded for a cumulative total of 200 days.

The rescue jobs were extremely challenging and interesting, but paid in the ballpark of 40-48K. They also meant lots of nights away from home looking for and rescuing people in the dead of night in awful weather.

Every job has its perks and tradeoffs. You just have to figure what you want and what you're willing to put up with.

George

 

[YoYoMa]

I'm aiming towards camp work, which, although is not as rigourously outdoors as some jobs mentioned here, has it's good healthy share of it. Like canoe trips with the kids, etc.