Careers

[jdmaxwell]

If you love being outdoors, consider Forestry.
State Forester is pretty good once you get few years in. Holidays, vacation, and out in the woods hiking alot.
Really enjoyable.

 

[ben h]

You gotta find a niche. In my state California, it is one of the few states where a 4 year degree is not required to become a licensed Surveyor and there is a huge shortage right now. I studied on my own and passed the exam and work for the DOT, get paid the exact same as the engineers and live in a pretty rural lowish cost of living area with tons of time off and hybrid telework schedule

If I'm reading the licensure rules correctly you still need 6 years of qualifying expierience to become a surveyor in CA (degree counts towards 4 of them if surveying emphasis). Degree or not, you still need to get past that requirement. Posting this more of a question. I'm a civil PE and often wondered what it would take to get my PLS short of getting expierience with a crew?

 

[Stache Attack]

I’ve been thinking about construction management a bit. Helicopter pilot, airline pilot, Cop. For a long time I wanted to coach college football (I’ve been playing in college, just had to end that due to an elbow surgery), I also decided I wanted to be able to hunt more and coaching doesn’t lend much time to that.

I’ve always been very entrepreneurial, started little businesses all through high-school and a couple in college. I did sales and I was decent at that but I don’t love it all the time. Worked construction and didn’t mind that. I’m good with people and I’d say I’m a good leader. I get bored with doing the same thing over and over and I enjoy being active at work. I thought it would be cool to be a wildlife photographer and I love photography but there’s not much money in that at all. It’s been hard to commit because I have so many different things I enjoy and so many different ideas.


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Had two family members who were air force pilots then went commercial. This is not the job you want if you want freedom. Choppers might be different if you get into the lineman/power company stuff. Guys I know who hunt/fish the most are lineman, railroaders, seasonal workers(guide/spray weeds for forest service) and salesman.

 

[MallardSX2]

If I'm reading the licensure rules correctly you still need 6 years of qualifying expierience to become a surveyor in CA (degree counts towards 4 of them if surveying emphasis). Degree or not, you still need to get past that requirement. Posting this more of a question. I'm a civil PE and often wondered what it would take to get my PLS short of getting expierience with a crew?

You will need to take the LSIT, then you will need your experience working under a licensed land surveyor (that you can stand) for several years, then you will need to take the FS exam then you will need to take the state specific Surveying exam. All of this is assuming that you have an ABET accredited surveying curriculum that you have attended for 4 years.

Not a huge ordeal. Only takes about 10-15 years total to make it all happen.

 

[bradmacmt]

You don't become a pilot with a wishy-washy attitude. You either want it badly or shouldn't bother. It's a commitment to attain and maintain quality airmanship skills. I grew up in an airline pilots home, and the perks are many, but it's not for everyone.

 

[mt terry d]

I've found being a trophy husband to be quite rewarding.

 

[Davisjj8]

If you love being outdoors, consider Forestry.
State Forester is pretty good once you get few years in. Holidays, vacation, and out in the woods hiking alot.
Really enjoyable.

What type of pay is there in forestry? And what education do you need?


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[MallardSX2]

What type of pay is there in forestry? And what education do you need?


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You said you were hoping to make high 100's.

That wont happen in forestry or 95% of the jobs that people have listed here.

Just bringing a reality check to you.

 

[S.Clancy]

I’m at a bit of a crossroads right now. I’ve been feeling like it’s time to really commit to a career path. I’d like to be able to hunt quite a bit and make decent money as well. What are people doing, any recommendations or opinions would be great.

civil engineering gives me decent money and quite a bit of time off. Do it for a government entity and probably get more days off. Pick a state you want to hunt and move there and go as often as you can.

I'm a CE for the Govt. I took off half of September, most of November and took a number of 3-4 day weekends as well as going to Hawaii for a week. The money isn't top tier (it is below the median if you look at the BLS) but I value my time off much more than pay. I get to work on some cool projects as well and am generally around people who like to get outside.

There is also a ton of jobs you can do as an engineer because you can demonstrate you have a functional brain.

You also mention airline pilot. Honestly, this would have been my move if I could have. My buddy is a pilot for a major airline, makes great money and gets a ton of time off to hunt and do all kinds of other cool shit. You are basically a bus driver, but you are driving a pretty badass bus. Plus, there is HUGE need in the industry right now.

 

[CorbLand]

Had two family members who were air force pilots then went commercial. This is not the job you want if you want freedom. Choppers might be different if you get into the lineman/power company stuff. Guys I know who hunt/fish the most are lineman, railroaders, seasonal workers(guide/spray weeds for forest service) and salesman.

Out of curiosity, who did they fly for? I have two commercial pilots in my family and they have the most freedom I have ever seen while still making a solid living. I know one is making north of 250,000.00 and the other I am not really sure. Both take the entire month of September off to hunt elk and still get in plenty of family trips through out the year.

I agree with @bradmacmt that you have to want to do it if your going to do it but if its something you want/can do, I would highly suggest it.

 

[180ls1]

I’d focus on getting a business of your own going and not worry about hunting for now.
When you’re making bank you can hunt whenever and wherever you want.

That goes for meeting to guys at the bar every night and watching sports.

If you put your head down and get after it in 10-15yrs you’ll be set for life.

The world is your oyster


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Amen. 10 yrs into my business and things are opening up. I do Group Benefits/401K plans for small businesses.

In my industry you're underpaid for the first 5-10yrs, paid about right for the next 5-10yrs, then overpaid the rest of your life.

The attrition rate is also around 90%...

 

[Loo.wii]

If you’re up for it
The military is always a good option.
I had some of the best experiences of my life while in the army. Depending on your MOS and your units op tempo you get plenty of time off. By default everyone accrues 2.5 days a month.

On top of that, being a firefighter or a pilot are both very attainable careers in the army. If I’m not mistaken the army still has their street to seat program where those who qualify get the chance to go to WOCS then rotary wing school. I had one homie who did just that. Now he’s a gunship pilot.
I highly recommend you look into it.

 

[Stache Attack]

Out of curiosity, who did they fly for? I have two commercial pilots in my family and they have the most freedom I have ever seen while still making a solid living. I know one is making north of 250,000.00 and the other I am not really sure. Both take the entire month of September off to hunt elk and still get in plenty of family trips through out the year.

I agree with @bradmacmt that you have to want to do it if your going to do it but if its something you want/can do, I would highly suggest it.

Delta, American, and Alaska

 

[IdahoBeav]

civil engineering gives me decent money and quite a bit of time off. Do it for a government entity and probably get more days off. Pick a state you want to hunt and move there and go as often as you can.

But the salary is a joke compared to that from a private consultant. If you have good people working with you on your team and you work for a firm that offers comp time or unlimited PTO, you can take all the time that is needed. I have never had a situation where work has prevented me from being able to take a hunting trip. I do, however, have to reply to a few emails every few days, but this is usually pretty quick and easy and done from my phone.

 

[jmez]

'I’d like to be able to hunt quite a bit and make decent money as well."

Generally mutually exclusive, especially when starting out.

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[roadrunner]

Avoid the petroleum industry like the plague. Too cyclical and everything is an emergency "right now" problem when it's really not.

Construction management will be feast or famine, so to speak, with feasting during peak hunting season when you want to be gone. A PMP cert (PiMP ) is the route career minded and trades people go that engineers do by default.

As mentioned, move to where you want to be. Degrees, other than nursing, don't normally allow that unless you're a CPA or provide real professional engineering services for the public (not the faux prof engineering for a corporation, that doesn't really mean much since most are self insuranced).

Lastly, if you want a lot of time off, also avoid working for a company like the plague. Starting out, you may only have a 3 to 4 qeeks of PTO after being there a year, and then there's always the pretend emergencies that don't really exist that may compromise your hunting ability.

As mentioned, emergency response/immediate healthcare or trades and start your own business.

 

[Fatcamp]

Construction=Lineman
Healthcare=ICU RN to CRNA

This opinion is based on a long career in the building trades with a transition to nurse as a second career. I'm too old for CRNA school or it would be my only focus.

 

[CorbLand]

Delta, American, and Alaska

Interesting. I dont know much about those companies. I just know the two in my family have a lot of freedom. They both get to pick their schedules so they choose how much freedom they have. One has friends that fly a ton because they want to make as much money as possible. He likes to hunt so he flies a bunch before hunting season, then takes a couple months off.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

I've seen a PMP cert mentioned a few times for a construction management career. I keep getting spam emails about getting that. Is that in lieu of a Bachelor's degree in Engineering/CM or in addition to?

Always seemed like some BS to put in your email signature that no one actually cares about. Like a LEED cert nowadays.

 

[sconnieVLP]

If you’re up for it
The military is always a good option.
I had some of the best experiences of my life while in the army. Depending on your MOS and your units op tempo you get plenty of time off. By default everyone accrues 2.5 days a month.

On top of that, being a firefighter or a pilot are both very attainable careers in the army. If I’m not mistaken the army still has their street to seat program where those who qualify get the chance to go to WOCS then rotary wing school. I had one homie who did just that. Now he’s a gunship pilot.
I highly recommend you look into it.

Key word here being “depending”.

AD for 12 years now, there was a stretch for 5 years straight where I ended up on a cycle of deploying for the entirety of hunting season.

It’s a total crapshoot and you have no way to forecast it. I was supposed to go bear hunting this spring but that got nixed due to my report date for my next assignment changing, and that’s not the first hunting trip I’ve missed because of stuff like that.