Post your "ideal" outdoors job

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milani74

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Feb 15, 2009
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If you could do it all over (or maybe your just starting out), what outdoors job would you choose? What skills would you need to know before you could get started and how would you apply yourself to get hired?

I personally think hunting guide would be pretty awesome. But I think that a forester would also be a cool job. I think hunting guide would be hard to get into based off of who you knew, while the forester job would require a degree.

Which would you be?
 
Alaska Wildlife Trooper. Biggest, most beautiful state (biased opinion) and state provided toys to play with on the playground. Of course, it's a law enforcement position so the requirements for hire are rather steep. Applying oneself to be hired would require adhering to the law, being an upstanding citizen, ability to handle high-stress situations and work alone in a large wilderness full of people with guns.
 
I watched a couple tour guides while I was up in the daintree forrest , and I figure , their job would have to go dam close to being ultimate ..

they are supplied a 4x4 , get to drive around thru some of the most breath taking areas I have ever seen here , their camping gear is provided ( for the longer tours anyway ) aside from having to deal with people , it seems to me to be about it ..
 
In '81 I took the test for some game warden positions open in Wisconsin. Out of over 12,000 applicants I scored #255. I thought that was a good score and I might even get a chance to interview. It really hurt when I found that a bunch of the people hired were in the #8000 range. Can't tell y'all how much I wanted to be a warden.
 
I just switched out of a forestry major. I went into it thinking it would be fun to get out and do surveys/timber cruises. I quickly realized that it was boring (to me) and I would likely end up working for a paper company and their forests generally are all even-aged/harvested all at once = not as much wildlife in them.

It might be different out West- like on those logging shows. I'm sure foresters see some wild out there...
 
I changed majors a couple of times as a college freshman. Came down to where I had to make a decision and move on.
I literally flipped a coin to chose between forestry and electrical engineering. EE won.

When I look at my wife, children and grandchildren, which all came about because of a job assignment, I have never really regretted the choice.
 
You shouldn't regret that. I'd guess a lot of Southern foresters end up measuring even-aged Loblolly Pine plantations all day.

I don't mean to be hard on forestry or foresters, I just don't think I'd be happy in that field.

I also don't mean to dissuade others from getting into forestry. As in any career field- talk with people in it already, shadow them for a day, etc.


Sorry to get off-topic. My ideal outdoor job: Alaska Wildlife (as mentioned above) + SAR volunteer
 
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In high school and while I was in scouts I wanted to be a forester or forest ranger. Then after I got Eagle my scoutmaster hired me to work on his survey crew. That was my most favorite job to date, did that for about 4 years then became a machinist. Now I am a pt knife maker and stay at home dad, which is rather rewarding in itself.
 
Following this thread carefully. I'd love to get some good ideas.

I hunt all the time and the idea of being a hunting (or fishing) guide doesn't appeal to me at all. Those guys get to do all the work (frequently for people that think the object of a hunt is meat on the ground) but it seems like they would be cut off from most of the joy of the process.

To me, Fred Bear had about the ideal outdoor career. He made a great hunting product and got to spend tons of time in the field promoting it. Sadly, I'm no Fred Bear.

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Beckerhead #42
 
I'd have to say seismic surveyor,got to see some pretty country. Too bad when you are actually doing the job,it is just that,a job.
 
My full time job is an environmental health inspector but for years I have worked part time in season for a local canoe/kayak outfitter guiding trips on the local rivers, swamps and ponds. No more than 5-6 people per guide makes it personal and educational. Unfortunately it doesn't pay diddly and you do occassionally get a jerk or two. I may do it full time when I retire.--KV
 
What do you do as an environmental health inspector? What do you inspect? It sounds really interesting...
 
crktm1612m said:
I just switched out of a forestry major. I went into it thinking it would be fun to get out and do surveys/timber cruises. I quickly realized that it was boring (to me) and I would likely end up working for a paper company and their forests generally are all even-aged/harvested all at once = not as much wildlife in them.

It might be different out West- like on those logging shows. I'm sure foresters see some wild out there...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I thought that foresters would be managing older growth forests instead of newer ones. I doubt it would be different out here as they clear cut entire areas that have been planted.
 
A beach bum! Seriously, I've always thought it would be fun to live a summer at the beach as sort of a homeless hobo, then write a book about the experience. I've been intrigued by this ever since I watched a movie about the Fort Fisher Hermit on Youtube a few years ago. But then again, he was found dead under suspicious circumstances; some say murdered. But I've already got too many bills to pay and mouths to feed to try that now. Maybe when I retire.
 
Rancher that is what I wanted to be.
However between the government around here confiscating the land and the Colombian Guerrilla crossing the border to kidnap whoever has a little money I am a little discouraged.
So for now I will keep working at an evil multinational company as a cubicle dweller and being a weekend adventurist.
 
crktm1612m said:
What do you do as an environmental health inspector? What do you inspect? It sounds really interesting...
Click to expand...
I work for the local Public Health District.Most of my time is taken up with land use issues-i.e-Soil tests to prove feasability for septic systems/potable water wells for residences/subdivisions.Plan review/permitting/construction supervision of same.Oil and chemical spills,complaints. Some food service establishment inspections. Some lead,asbestos,hazardous materials issues with older homes and demolitions.Food borne outbreak investigations occassionally. Just about anything that is covered by the Public Health Code. My A.O. is 4 small rural towns with a total population of about 15,000 so there is no public water or sewer. Every building has its own well and septic system and everything that goes along with it. If I worked in the larger towns I would be doing public housing inspections[Hate 'em],restaurant inspections,complaints etc. I probably would not do this if I had to work in a large city and put up with all the crap that goes on there. My job title is "Registered Sanitarian" in some states and "Registered Environmental Health Specialist" in others. Same job though.Enforcing the Public Health Code.--KV
 
River bank guard. I'd patroll the riverbanks for criminal bass in the day and miscreant cats at night. I'd need a camp chair and cell phone to let my family know I love them, but I have an important job to do.

- Keeping Canada's rivers safe from bad fish.
 
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