Career change advice

[JB.USMC]

Hello all, a little back story and then my dilemma.

I am 33 years old MI res. I bass fished as a kid however it wasn't until later in life (21) that I got into hunting and it wasn't until I was about 28-30 when I started chasing salmon and steelhead around my state. This fishery allowed me to see hunting and fishing from new perspective. One that has made me realize that the opportunities I have to deer hunt as well as chase fish are not guaranteed in any way for my young sons (ages 9 and 4). I served in the USMC from 09-13. I got out and used my GI bill to get my pilots license (was chasing a big paycheck). Realized I don't wanna live that life style 3/4 of the way through my flight degree. I ended up graduating with a BS in Aviation management. I now work in a cubical as an aircraft sales associate and absolutely hate it. Like white knuckling the steering wheel on the way in to work every morning planning how ill quit hate it haha. 4 years at this job I have a salary at 55k, good insurance and all that. A 4 day on 4 day off rotation (the only reason I am still here as this allows for ample time to chase game).

The issue I am having. I would like a job that has something to do with the outdoors / conservation. For 3 years I have been trying to find something that relates to this passion of the outdoors and uprooting my family would not be ideal (also not completely out of the question but we have planted roots here). Any job openings that come up through the state for conservation really prefer to hire those that started volunteering at 16... worked part time.. so on and so forth and worked through the system. I stopped a Conservation Officer at a Diner a couple years back. Tired to pick his brain on the subject. I explained what I wanted to do and funny enough he was an Army vet that also decided around his 30's he wanted a career in the same thing. He also confirmed it is rare to get into state conservation positions without "coming up through their system" if you will. This is difficult to do at my age and situation. My wife works at a local farm and doesn't bring in much income to float us while I work part time or even full time for $12/hr.

My dream right now is to work for a Local Ducks Unlimited outfit that isn't far from home. I would work there in any compacity. Just to be apart of something bigger ultimately working towards a better future for wildlife as well as my children. I have a decent resume with my time in the corps, degree from university (although they aren't exactly begging for someone holding an Aviation management degree), I spent a couple years maintaining a 150 acre camp where we managed invasive growth and such. But I cannot seem to get a foot in anywhere.

Has anyone else made this change in life? Like all of us I am sure, I just want to do something I enjoy and have a passion for but at this point I feel I may have made to many wrong turns to end up on that road. Any advise is appreciated. Feel free to PM. Thank you.

Semper Fi.

 

[wesfromky]

If you want to do public sector fish and wildlife work, you will likely need some type of biological science degree, bachelors at a minimum. Then, after a number of years of working your way up, you might end up with about the same pay as you have now. You may have better luck in the private sector, but those jobs are probably more about networking / who you know vs skills.

They are often called "lifestyle careers" because people chase that desire to be outdoors, even if the pay is low and the competition for the good spots hard. Those type of jobs are pretty tough to pivot into once you have a family that depends on you bringing home enough to support everyone.

If it is something you really feel good motivated by, use that four days off to volunteer for something that you are interested it. There are just about always some type of opportunities for unpaid work. That will help with networking, and give you a feel for what the career might be like, should you chose that path.

 

[Weldor]

If you like outdoors hit up the border patrol, get in and then move over to USFWS. Best way is to get your foot in the door.

Semper Fi, Good luck with the switch.

 

[JB.USMC]

If you want to do public sector fish and wildlife work, you will likely need some type of biological science degree, bachelors at a minimum. Then, after a number of years of working your way up, you might end up with about the same pay as you have now. You may have better luck in the private sector, but those jobs are probably more about networking / who you know vs skills.

They are often called "lifestyle careers" because people chase that desire to be outdoors, even if the pay is low and the competition for the good spots hard. Those type of jobs are pretty tough to pivot into once you have a family that depends on you bringing home enough to support everyone.

If it is something you really feel good motivated by, use that four days off to volunteer for something that you are interested it. There are just about always some type of opportunities for unpaid work. That will help with networking, and give you a feel for what the career might be like, should you chose that path.

Thank you taking the time to read and reply. I do have a meeting with the VA rep where I graduated to see what it would like to go back for a degree better suited to help me get where I want to end up.

 

[Article 4]

I also was prior military and made the transition, somewhat successfully, into major sports and outdoor sports. One area where I could have done a lot better was in networking and ultimately, that is what was a huge factor in sponsorships and eventually staff positions at some very prominent outdoor companies.

Familiarity in hiring is a huge factor in the private sector. The more you can expose yourself, collaborate with, and have recognition of your individual skills and how they relate to your dreams, the more you will have opportunity to get a seat at the table.

Do not discount shaking hands and F2F meetings while at the same time, classy and tastefully impactful self promotion through the outlets available today must be taken advantage of.

Last, what do you bring to the table that no one else does? Answer and promote that, you have a good chance. Sounds like you are willing to do the work, which is going to be what it takes.

At the height of my collaboration, I was sponsored by 11 companies and even a VP at one of the prominent ones. Not tooting my horn at all, just giving an example of what is possible when you put it all together!!!

 

[JB.USMC]

If you like outdoors hit up the border patrol, get in and then move over to USFWS. Best way is to get your foot in the door.

Semper Fi, Good luck with the switch.

Thanks brother, I have not searched this approach yet. I will look into this.

 

[JB.USMC]

I also was prior military and made the transition, somewhat successfully, into major sports and outdoor sports. One area where I could have done a lot better was in networking and ultimately, that is what was a huge factor in sponsorships and eventually staff positions at some very prominent outdoor companies.

Familiarity in hiring is a huge factor in the private sector. The more you can expose yourself, collaborate with, and have recognition of your individual skills and how they relate to your dreams, the more you will have opportunity to get a seat at the table.

Do not discount shaking hands and F2F meetings while at the same time, classy and tastefully impactful self promotion through the outlets available today must be taken advantage of.

Last, what do you bring to the table that no one else does? Answer and promote that, you have a good chance.

Thank you for the advise. I am thinking I may keep the waders and rods hung up this year and use that time I would be on the river to network through volunteer programs.

 

[Article 4]

Thanks brother, I have not searched this approach yet. I will look into this.

I have 2 friends that are in the BP in Az. They love it and after 15 yrs for one and 18 years for the other, they have great benefits and workload but are disenchanted with current politics associated with the souther border

 

[JB.USMC]

I have 2 friends that are in the BP in Az. They love it and after 15 yrs for one and 18 years for the other, they have great benefits and workload but are disenchanted with current politics associated with the souther border

I couldn't imagine working the southern border at this time. Fortunately MI has a decent BP presence here near Detroit as well as north on the Canadian border in Sault St Marie.... where I fish for Atlantic salmon in the summer. I'm going to make some calls during the week and explore avenues for both.

 

[Fisherhahn]

Get into safety. You have the perfect background for an OSHA position. Many of the instructors and compliance officers have military backgrounds. Good benefits and a pension. Good mix of out of the office, in office, some travel for training. If you’re willing to bounce around a little bit, you can move up rather quick. With a good foundation many move into private industry for significantly more money. It’s not what I do, but I’m in a similar position. Get to make my own schedule. Plenty of time off when I want it. Do my job well, and don’t have people breathing down my neck.

 

[JB.USMC]

Get into safety. You have the perfect background for an OSHA position. Many of the instructors and compliance officers have military backgrounds. Good benefits and a pension. Good mix of out of the office, in office, some travel for training. If you’re willing to bounce around a little bit, you can move up rather quick. With a good foundation many move into private industry for significantly more money. It’s not what I do, but I’m in a similar position. Get to make my own schedule. Plenty of time off when I want it. Do my job well, and don’t have people breathing down my neck.

I would have never even thought about this without your input. Thank you for taking the time to read and reply. I do appreciate it and I will start looking into this!

 

[Mt Al]

Full disclosure: it's been many years since I was involved in conservation orgs. Similar to what was suggested above: network, volunteer and consider taking jobs that aren't exactly what you want for a while to position you for the future.

One guy volunteered for RMEF seemingly forever, raised a ton of money, started new corporate partnerships on his own time, found more product donors, etc.. Took him a long time but now he's 'in the fold' and was loving it last time we connected.

Another is a civil engineer who volunteered for DU on some restoration projects, lent his specialty and shook a lot of hands in the process. Even wrote up some newsletter-y things. Now his company is paid by DU. He says he'll never make back what he volunteered, but he loves it.

Your degree does count. Just because it's aviation doesn't mean that your personal skills and professional experience can't port straight over to another field. Most successful organizations hire for quality of person (work ethic, ability to work on a team, produce valuable results, interpersonal skills, etc.) than for a specific degree.

 

[JB.USMC]

Full disclosure: it's been many years since I was involved in conservation orgs. Similar to what was suggested above: network, volunteer and consider taking jobs that aren't exactly what you want for a while to position you for the future.

One guy volunteered for RMEF seemingly forever, raised a ton of money, started new corporate partnerships on his own time, found more product donors, etc.. Took him a long time but now he's 'in the fold' and was loving it last time we connected.

Another is a civil engineer who volunteered for DU on some restoration projects, lent his specialty and shook a lot of hands in the process. Even wrote up some newsletter-y things. Now his company is paid by DU. He says he'll never make back what he volunteered, but he loves it.

Your degree does count. Just because it's aviation doesn't mean that your personal skills and professional experience can't port straight over to another field. Most successful organizations hire for quality of person (work ethic, ability to work on a team, produce valuable results, interpersonal skills, etc.) than for a specific degree.

Thank you very much for your insight. Ill be shaking more hands than making casts this summer thats for sure.

 

[Johnny Tyndall]

If you want to do conservation/environmental work, there are a few options.

At the federal level, veterans preference actually helps a lot to get hired into a permanent job. The trick with the feds is that your career advancement depends almost entirely on how much you are willing to move, so if you don't want to uproot every 2-3 years it's hard to advance, and promotion and salary increases require advancing.

I don't know if states have veterans preference, but they will probably have more local jobs with upward potential. Pay does tend to be low and it's hard to get in, so if you want to go this route just be prepared to spend some time trying to get that first gig.

Don't discount the nonprofits, like DU. You're unlikely to do much outside work, but it can be interesting, you're working on outdoors issues, and the pay can actually be pretty good at the majors. That said, it's a different kind of work - policy, donor relations, that kind of thing.

 

[JB.USMC]

If you want to do conservation/environmental work, there are a few options.

At the federal level, veterans preference actually helps a lot to get hired into a permanent job. The trick with the feds is that your career advancement depends almost entirely on how much you are willing to move, so if you don't want to uproot every 2-3 years it's hard to advance, and promotion and salary increases require advancing.

I don't know if states have veterans preference, but they will probably have more local jobs with upward potential. Pay does tend to be low and it's hard to get in, so if you want to go this route just be prepared to spend some time trying to get that first gig.

Don't discount the nonprofits, like DU. You're unlikely to do much outside work, but it can be interesting, you're working on outdoors issues, and the pay can actually be pretty good at the majors. That said, it's a different kind of work - policy, donor relations, that kind of thing.

Thank you. I am going to keep applying to DU every chance I get for sure. I feel the federal level may have to much politics involved to enjoy the work, but could be wrong. And I certainly wouldn't turn down the offer to find out. Ill be shaking hand with em all as much as I can this year. I do well with presentations and relations as I am in sales now. I really like what I read about DU and the fact that they are a 15 minute drive from my current home certainly does not hurt.