Outdoor Industry jobs?

[Poser]

I tend to agree with advice above. I moved out to CO at 40 years old because I wanted to pursue a “mountain lifestyle” day in and day out vs. vacations and sweltering summers. I do now work for a company that works with a lot of outdoor brands, though not exclusively. In my role, I make more money and work less hours than if I worked for an outdoor brand directly in the same or similar job. If it’s the lifestyle you are after, find a good job that you enjoy reasonably enough, buy your own gear and pursue that lifestyle on the weekends and after work. If you work for an outdoor brand directly, you will be shorted a lot of weekends going to trade shows and events. People do get sucked into the “free gear” mentality. Look no further than the people who take crap jobs at ski resorts for a “free pass.” If you take another job making $20 an hour, you could buy that “free pass” with 40 hours of work, have benefits, year around stability and make $10,000 more a year. That “free pass” is actually costing them money and the perks are way overrated.

So, if you’re serious, look more at a relocation in a lateral career field. Western mountain towns have bankers, CPAs, lawyers, real estate agents, chefs, entrepreneurs, personal trainers, financial advisors, contractors, electricians, UPS drivers, mailmen, warehouse managers, HR people, accountants, HVAC, sales jobs etc just like everywhere else. Maybe more limited, maybe pay less, but if you’re willing to make some creature comfort sacrifices in exchange for a lifestyle upgrade, the opportunity is there. You just really have to be willing to commit and go for it.

 

[Shrek]

I would not recommend getting a job related to what you love. Soon enough what you loved will just a F’n job. I started out getting a job in the fishing industry because I lived to fish. Six years later I hardly ever went fishing despite having the finest gear and a wealth of knowledge. I got out 28 years ago. I haven’t been fishing in probably six or seven years now. There’s no amount of money that would entice me to take a job in the hunting industry and ruin my love for hunting.

 

[aggieland]

You guys make great points for sure. Where are you located in Colorado? My folks own a place outside Pagosa, I do need to make the move sometime but just have to separate from parents and our investments here. My wife and I both work in the medical field and I also run a large farm and I'm also a real estate agent. So hopefully after the farm sells and I can liquidate other land/farm investments I will be very financially stable and can move. Now where to move.. Co, Mt, Ak, Wy, ID.. lol

 

[menhaden_man]

Environmental industry is huge in the northwest. Send a PM if you’d like - lots of great firms are hiring.

 

[Coldtrail]

I can't provide much on what states are best, I've never lived in any of them long enough to make a good assessment. I now live in northern WI and have lived in towns from a population of 200 up to 100,000. Those smaller towns, say under 2000 can be REAL clicky, especially when a new guy shows up and starts hunting in somebody's unofficial territory. Ideally living on the fringe of the bigger towns gave me what I was looking for without being in the spotlight everytime my truck left the driveway. Getting involved volunteering in some of the community events can open lots of doors in those smaller communities too. I can say that people I met in the Western States were great, still have lots of contacts via phone and email that the last time I saw them was also the first time I saw them.

 

[Mt Al]

Lots of great advise in the previous posts.

-Live where you want to live, love the advise about small towns being cliquey as a caution.
-Not a bad idea to take a personality/job "desire" test. There are all kinds of them and they seem similar, helpful and at least provide a gut check on the type of work environment your personality and background are best suited for.
-I've been in and around the outdoor industry my whole professional life. For some people it remains a job and a passion. If you're a professional in, say, IT - it doesn't matter if you're at a bank or a outdoor company, the job is about the same. There's great satisfaction designing and making things that people use to live out their passion. Hours are about the same regardless.
-The caution on it becoming a crappy job with odd hours is more in sales, marketing, etc.. You'll be at the shows, hanging with reps, designers, etc etc with some great people and lots of not-so-great people. However, even people in these jobs often maintain their passion.
-Getting in can be tough, but like everything else it's how you carry yourself, references on your past ability to work on a team and get stuff done.
-Some outdoor companies are like "drunks who own bars" - people with passion for the outdoors who try to make a buck but may not have much business acumen. Some of these people do really well, others make people's lives miserable.
-Obviously the holding company/investment/VC/etc world buys up quite a few brands. Been through that a lot. More often that not they drain the passion on day one, right after the flowery speech from the talking head with tassels on his shoes - or fake outdoor gear he just bought. Beware of this because it's going to happen, just a matter of time.

Hope you get to a location you love with a job that gives you time to be outside!

 

[netman]

If you have hard working ethics I would recommend commercial fishing.
I’m a retired LEO of nearly 30 years. I also owned and operated a commercial fishing business on the Ohio River and other nearby rivers. I made a fairly large amount of money commercial fishing every year instead of working off duty security at a hospital or titty bar.
My main business was fishing for paddlefish and hackleback sturgeon. Both fish have roe that I processed into caviar. I have caught and sold tens of thousands of pounds of caviar. That’s not a misprint. There is also a tremendous market for their flesh.
In the off caviar season I fished for catfish and Buffalo.
Right now there is a tremendous business for Asian carp. There are a lot of commercial fishermen making big money on Asian carp.
My cousins in Louisiana are shrimpers and commercial Crawfisherman. I would take vacations from my LE job and go work on a shrimp boat in the gulf. I also helped them crawfish. I learned from them but I also taught them a lot too. They make a very good living too.
Now I’m a very motivated dude. I was full time LEO and a full time commercial fisherman. I busted my butt. Then I had a heart attack and completely retired from everything.
I am willing to help you get started in commercial fishing.
I have all this experience and knowledge with no one to teach.

 

[aggieland]

I understand the fishing aspect but after raising over a million chickens a year for 15 straight years I'm kinda burnt out on the meat production side. I have had very in depth personally test performed on my for company's, I am the (Social butterfly) as most would call it.. like most have said its probably better that instick with health care jobs and real estate then just live where we want out West..

 

[Jimss]

If you are young and have the desire to work outside you may want to consider going to college in a field oriented degree? I got a degree in range management and work outside every day here in Colo. I work beside deer, elk, bald eagles...you name it on a daily basis. I'm fortunate to work 4 x 10 hr days so have a 3 day weekend every week.

A similar post was started a while back and someone brought up "nursing". It may sound like a weird profession for a guy but the demand is extreme, pays well, and you can get a nursing job just about anywhere you want. My daughter's current job is 12 hr days only 3 days a week and she gets benefits and vacation. My daughter got a 4 year nursing degree but it's possible to get it at the same college in 2 years if you go year-round.