Ever considered a career change to hunt more?

[jlong17]

I am a Firefighter Paramedic for a municipal fire department. The pay is pretty good, the hours are great, and the job satisfaction is high! I live within my means, as my wife stays home with our daughter. We don't have the big boats, the trailer, the 4-wheelers, or a massive lifted truck to pull the heavy loads of debt behind it... but we are content. This was my first year taking hunting serious and here is how the year has gone:

My family and I took 35 days off from August to September. We traveled through Montana and Idaho, and ended the trip with an archery elk hunt in Colorado.
My family and I took 10 days off for a cow elk hunt in Idaho at the beginning of November
I hunted mule deer a total of about 15 days locally by my house, and scouted/hiked around another 20 days on top of that

What I'm getting at is this... I love my job because I love what I do- and it affords me to take a lot of time away to hunt! I'm more than happy to offer you any advice or help you need if interested in my profession.

Jake

 

[Irrelevant]

Ha. Daily.

I’d peddle some crack around Montana if it would pay for a stone sheep hunt.

You've seen Breaking Bad right? I mean if a high school teacher can do it...

 

[Irrelevant]

I think about the OP's question almost every day. But I keep coming back to the fact it would be hard pressed to find a job for better pay and more flexibility and get to live in a small town. Unless I was a Fireman, State Patrol, or electrician....

I've also tried numerous times to work on my writing in the hopes of becoming an outdoor writer, but the more I learned about the profession the less appealing it became.

Lastly, my Grandma used to offer this piece of advise, it was aimed at the females in the family, but it jives with @wllm1313 stay at home Dad idea... "you can fall in love with a rich person just as easily as a poor person."

 

[Trial153]

Yes I consider it every single day, usually during morning coffee, and every couple hours after that till I go to sleep.

 

[ida homer]

As mentioned above, firefighter checks a lot of those boxes although I know around here at least, it’s not easy to get into. Nothing good is.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

One not mentioned by anyone as far as I can tell: Salesman. Lots of ways to go for it, but I know a lot of Ag salesmen who only really sell seed and inputs (chemicals, nutrients, etc.) which allows for an easy fall since they don't have to do much with the harvest.

There are many other types of salesmen as well, but most of them will be all commission to get that kind of freedom. If you want a nice salary with commission on top, you won't have the ability to take the whole fall off.

 

[DouglasR]

Every single minute while I’m there but I can’t find any careers that are gonna pay me any more money for less work and be cool with me practicing with my bow and calls while I’m on the clock so... Lol

 

[daltrix99]

One not mentioned by anyone as far as I can tell: Salesman. Lots of ways to go for it, but I know a lot of Ag salesmen who only really sell seed and inputs (chemicals, nutrients, etc.) which allows for an easy fall since they don't have to do much with the harvest.

There are many other types of salesmen as well, but most of them will be all commission to get that kind of freedom. If you want a nice salary with commission on top, you won't have the ability to take the whole fall off.

I'm in sales, and I'm on full commission. I have an amazing manager who gives me a long leash, and doesn't care where or what I am doing as long I hit my numbers. I'm very fortunate, and I realize that. It allows me to take lots of long weekends, and even weekday hunts when the schedule is slow. Unfortunately, I also have to cover emergency call every other weekend, so it comes with a pretty big catch.

I truly enjoy my job, and the life it provides, but I don't think I will ever be able to stop my mind from wandering to plots that would remove the leash entirely!

 

[daltrix99]

I think about the OP's question almost every day. But I keep coming back to the fact it would be hard pressed to find a job for better pay and more flexibility and get to live in a small town. Unless I was a Fireman, State Patrol, or electrician....

I've also tried numerous times to work on my writing in the hopes of becoming an outdoor writer, but the more I learned about the profession the less appealing it became.

Lastly, my Grandma used to offer this piece of advise, it was aimed at the females in the family, but it jives with @wllm1313 stay at home Dad idea... "you can fall in love with a rich person just as easily as a poor person."

My hunting partner's dream gig is also to become an outdoor writer. Tough to make a living, as you know. I still strongly encourage him, and I hope you are still at it from time to time. Plenty of websites and magazines always need content!

 

[Deleted member 16014]

There are types of government work, both fed and state, that have either so much time off that you can take a month, or allow you to bank comp time over a summer field season in the west. Academic appointments, community college teaching, etc. can work, but of course you have to arrange it so you don't have classes in the fall. Trying to think of the guys I know who get the most days out...government jobs with comp time, university employees, self employed business owners probably.

 

[ida homer]

A buddy works for the department of interior, he does contracting. He did contracting in the air force for 6 years then
straight into the DOI. I think he gets 20 or 25 days of PTO and he gets every other Friday off. Good pay, but
top notch benefits.

 

[JDH]

Hard to beat a public sector job with a flexible schedule when it comes to time off. I've been in my current job for 3 years now, and this year I'll have taken 6 weeks off and still bank most of my annual leave.

I'm currently thinking about applying for a job at your place for the extra time off and ability to hunt on location.

 

[Irrelevant]

My hunting partner is SP and he used to talk about the old guys on the crew that will take 3-6 months off a year. He's not even halfway through his career and gets to take well over a month off. But then again, you run the risk of someone shooting you, really any given day.

 

[daltrix99]

My hunting partner is SP and he used to talk about the old guys on the crew that will take 3-6 months off a year. He's not even halfway through his career and gets to take well over a month off. But then again, you run the risk of someone shooting you, really any given day.

Yeah that’s why I’m not overseas contracting right now. But trust me, not a day goes by I don’t think about it.

 

[mplane72]

Didn't read all answers so someone may have already said it. Own your own business. If your fotuneate enough to succed there is a catch. You have to be willing to pay someone else enough that you can get away from the day to day and trust them to do things correctly. I have one buddy that has done this and he's living the life. Hunts and fishes his butt off, does all the family stuff and also has gotten into some other small businesses because he's not tied to the day to day of his main business. I have another buddy who is just as successful but can't bring himself to pay someone else what it would take. We're talking about taking a cut to your profit and he just can't swallow it. He also just got out hunting for the first time this past weekend.

 

[2rocky]

I know a corrections officer that does a month during the fall. Think he filled 7 tags in 3 states.

The right business could work for the self employed but it has to be a mature business with a lower management level to stand in while you are gone. To often i see guys who have to pull out of camp to do the "Weekly call" with their people or have an emergency pop up. I think it would take 10-20 years to build something where you could be away for 3 months at a time. And truthfully I don't see people who are actively working in that business who can unless the have sold it and are getting payments as an "emeritus" owner. The people who can sold a business, and then will work for the joy of it when they want...

 

[Bambistew]

I considered moving to hunt more cool stuff, and did... still have the same career more or less. I could hunt more, but its tough with a family to disappear for weeks at a time. I can barely use all the time off I get now.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

And as far as the OP question "would you"...I changed jobs that benefited my hunting opportunities twice. Once for more days off, and once to get even closer to the areas I prefer to hunt. Both times I took a pay cut, but I don't regret either one.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Marry a professional (doctor, lawyer, c-suite) then be a stay at home dad. Then do some amount of work, preferably from home that allows you to earn enough so that in the fall you can afford an au pair.

And have a good divorce attorney for when she runs off with her trainer

 

[Deleted member 28227]

And have a good divorce attorney for when she runs off with her trainer

or strive for that Ryan Reynolds dad bod.