Outdoors Career

[Yooper906]

PM me .. I can give you some insight, as I have first hand knowledge of some careers mentioned above...

 

[Yooper906]

LEO for a land management agency...

You referring to Forest Service LEO?

 

[BuzzH]

You referring to Forest Service LEO?

FS, BLM, NPS...

 

[NDcoyote]

I am currently enjoying the adventure of being self employed! Landscaping and snow removal is my game. My partner and I have been moving snow for ourselves for 4 years now and this will be our first your on our own for landscaping. Lots of physically demanding work but it helps keep me in shape for hunting season.

Like anything it has its pros and cons..If you're a hard worker and enjoy talking and working with others I truly believe that that the sky is the limit! My end goal with it all is to hopefully be able to work very hard spring-summer and bang out as many jobs as possible. Then slow down substantially come Sept. I know it is doable but will just take time. As of lately I have been doing more ice fishing then snow removal which is great other then fishing doesn't pay the bills! Snow in the forecast though!!

Downside to self employment would definitely have to be the lack of benefits that are commonly provided while working for a company.

 

[2rocky]

Want lots of time off to hunt or want to be outside a lot but have less time to devote to out of state adventures? That is the main gist of the question you ask.

I know a Corrections officer who took an entire month off to bowhunt across the West. I think the key was picking up extra shifts in the off seasonand trading time off. He's single, no kids and in his 30's.

On the other hand I took a family on a pack trip while in college and I had a CO at a well known California Bay area Federal facility who described his career as "keeping animals in cages" and said he would trade jobs with me in a second....I was making $1200 a month and a college student.

If you can get a job right out of school and fund your retirement early, it would give you more flexibility in your later years provided you were able to squirrel away some money. The way I see it is it is easier to dial down your "career intensity" than to increase your earning in your later years.

 

[gouch]

Land Surveyor for the BLM is a pretty sexy gig if you love the outdoors.

I did that with the BLM and the Forest Service for 25+ years. I don't know if it was sexy but it did keep me outdoors all the time. I think with a criminology degree becoming a BLM or forest Service LEO would be great. Spend a lot of time just driving around the forest and you can retire at 55. I have found that retirement is by far the best job I have ever had. Wish I could have done it at 25. This last elk season I met a guy who retired as the head of the Oregon State police wildlife enforcement division. He now works for a big timber company just driving around making sure people aren't doing anything they shouldn't on the timber company's land. That seemed like a nice gig.

 

[Dunning Kruger]

Border patrol. Get to spend a lot of time in the mountains with good quality optics and get paid for it.

When people say game warden, i think thats a terrible idea. You have to work during hunting seasons.

 

[JohnCushman]

I spent a lot of time outdoors in the Marine Corps. Not all MOS's do though.

With a bachelors degree you can go into the military as an officer. Go into the military police field and gain some experience. The national guard in some states will pay off student loans for officers with a few years commitment and you'd only be part time. Any military experience looks good on a resume. Military experience could get you a foot in the door into some jobs you might not be totally qualified for. Plus the guard will help pay for further education if you wanted to pursue another degree.

 

[NYyotekiller]

I did that with the BLM and the Forest Service for 25+ years. I don't know if it was sexy but it did keep me outdoors all the time.

I have two guys that went to college with me for land surveying and when we graduated they went to Alaska to work for the BLM and have been there ever since. They have some pretty amazing stories that all happened while they were surveying. Sometimes I wish that I would have gone up there to work out of college but I wouldn’t be professionally where I am today if I had.

Of course they have been able to do a ton of big game hunting being that they are Alaska residents which I am quite jealous of.

 

[Hunting Wife]

What Cushman said. Nearly all federal officers being hired now are veterans. If you want to be LE for any of the federal land management agencies, you will have a difficult time getting a job without veterans preference.

 

[JohnCushman]

What Cushman said. Nearly all federal officers being hired now are veterans. If you want to be LE for any of the federal land management agencies, you will have a difficult time getting a job without veterans preference.

I totally forgot about veteran's preference on federal jobs

 

[IDFireLass]

I would NOT become a LEO for the BLM or Forest Service.
Become a farmer all the outdoor work you can handle.
Land surveyor is a good option.

 

[Pine Tree Views]

You said no "police officer" but know and hunt with a number of guys in Border Patrol and Customs...If I were to leave my desk job, that would be the direction I would head. Some schedules vary more than others (ie, you may work nights and then days your next rotation, etc.) but the Federal benefits, amounts they make with the overtime worked, and still having good bunches of time off (especially during the week when others are all working) are all strong considerations. You also can work just about anywhere near fantastic hunting opportunities depending on what you are looking for.

Reminder you would need to do some time on the southern border for BP (generally the guys out in the field actually patrolling) - Customs (the ones sitting at the crossings letting you come back in) the last I knew still did not.

 

[Stay Sharp]

One that's very flexible and pays well.

Self employed if you really want to hunt and fish. You still get yours 50 hours in, but it's on your own terms.

I will second that. Start your own bowhunting company and work as a hired contractor for other bowhunting companies and you will get to travel all over with bow in hand killing stuff to test the products you design. That's what I am doing it rocks.

 

[Sagebrush1]

One of my long time friends has been a warden for about 15 years. That guy hunts more than anybody I’ve ever met. I swear he’s off from October to December every year. Traveling the west. He works a lot of hours throughout the year to fund his fall comp time.

He works in a part of the country that is dominated by saltwater fishing so I assume fall/winter is the “slow” season for those guys. Hunting there is not a huge draw for most people - just us gluttons for punishment.

From what I can see it’s a pretty sweet gig.