Job Vs. Trail

[Wyoming]

I don't agree with the 'let them know you want to hike the trail' approach unless the hike is more important than the job. I know if I was looking for a person to hire and they said that, I would be thinking "next. Let me see if I can find someone that wants a job more than a vacation." We appreciate the difficulty of the decision. Companies seeking employees appreciate profits and hard workers. They do not hire people that lead with things like "when do I get a raise" or "when do I get time off" or "how much do I have to work". I am giving you real world advice, not how I wish the world would be. Search the net for things not to say at an interview. We are biased here.

Having said all this, only you can decide what is important. If the hike is more important, be honest with them and see what happens. If the job is more important, then present yourself that way to the company and forget the hike for now.

By far the best advise here is the above. A few additions.

It is none of our business and you don't need to fill in details, but use your own knowledge about what you have been trained to do and what that job market is like and likely going to be like. Many new graduates MUST find work in their chosen profession very soon after graduating or their degree becomes 'stale' and later graduates will be given preference over them. If that job is your dream job and the above applies you do everything you can to get that job and you do not mention the trail. This is just being smart and mature. Another issue for you is that it 'seems' as if you have used your relationship with your professor to help you get in line for this job. If you do something stupid and it all goes sour that professor is quite possibly going to not be pleased that they used up 'their' equities on someone who turned out not to be what they thought they were and will be unlikely to ever recommend you again. Professional relationships are/can be very important to build in many professions (does this apply to you? - if so...). Do you have large student loans which will be in need of servicing? I should not need to state in today's world and economy that there is LOTS of competition for any 'dream' job. There is no guarantee it will come around again. The job, as you mention, is what you hope to make your life of - just fyi the Trail IS NOT YOUR LIFE and you do not want it to become your life. The Trail is a really nice 'vacation' which can easily be replicated in other ways like section hiking should you have to wait until you are retired to thru hike like I did and many like me.

[futureatwalker]

Opportunity is a guest who doesn't linger.

Go for the job. The trail will always be there.

[Damn Yankee]

Actually, the first step would be to research the company to see if their mission and company goals match yours. If they do, apply and see where it goes. If called for an interview, ask where they see the company going in the future. Ask questions. People will like to talk about the company and will also like the fact that you researched and have questions. If the first interview goes well, most likely you will get a second before hiring. During the final interview phase ask about the possibility of a delayed start date because you have something you would like to complete before you start. All they can say is yes or no. I do think you owe it to your professor for going out on a limb for you. Good luck, however it works out.

[Starchild]

I have found a listing of AT Thru Hiker Class of ('xx) to be very helpful on the resume, it opens that initial door to get a interview, and the interviewer has a interest in your experience which does seem to help. You are someone that many people want to talk to and will leave a lasting impression. I would not be concerned about your degree becoming stale due to a thru hike.

[teefal]

Keep in mind please ... everything depends on your field, company environment, hiring norms, etc.

Since we know nothing about this, we honestly cannot advise you. If you are a web developer, I'd say go for it. If you are an mechanical engineer, I'd say hold off. Some careers have limited slots and cyclical hiring practices.

I do agree though that you likely don't want to disappoint a professor who's both impressed with you and capable of finding you work

[Deadeye]

Opportunity is a guest who doesn't linger.

Go for the job. The trail will always be there.

the flip side to this: you can work until you die, you're only young once. Some job will always be there.

[Wyoming]

the flip side to this: you can work until you die, you're only young once. Some job will always be there.

Hmm...

The OP mentioned that this was his 'dream' job and what his education was oriented towards. Dream jobs are not normally 'work until you die' type of jobs and you are making a huge assumption that hiking the AT is more valuable than getting ones dream job. Five months in the woods over a potential lifetime of satisfaction?

What do you base your implication that hiking the AT is only properly experienced when you are young on? That sure does not match my personal experience.

[MuddyWaters]

Hmm...

The OP mentioned that this was his 'dream' job and what his education was oriented towards. Dream jobs are not normally 'work until you die' type of jobs and you are making a huge assumption that hiking the AT is more valuable than getting ones dream job. Five months in the woods over a potential lifetime of satisfaction?

What do you base your implication that hiking the AT is only properly experienced when you are young on? That sure does not match my personal experience.

Jobs are a dime a dozen.
Particularly for new hires, out of school.
Im literally amazed at the way some think that jobs are .....rare. They arent.
Unless you are middle aged, with family and mortgage and need one in the same location and field you are currently in. Then that gets harder.

A job, is a way to pay the bills, and fund the experiences that will define, and become, your life.
Those experiences are what you will remember about your life.

The opportunity to do another 6 month hike wont come for most until they retire, if ever.

Could OP be turning down a good opportunity? Maybe.

May there be a better opportunity later? Maybe.
Might they meet a spouse on the trail? maybe.
Meet others that become their lifes best friends? maybe.
Decide that their lifes priorities are changed from what they were before? maybe.

In the end, you have to follow your heart. That is what you are accountable to.
Do that and you will never have any regrets.

[CarlZ993]

Some tough choices here. I'm not sure of the financial considerations you are facing (student loan repayments, bills & other obligations, etc). That could definitely come into play.

I got my 'dream job' @ age 25 (after 3 yrs military & then college). I worked there until I retired. Then, I hiked the AT a few years after retirement. Many hikers around my age complete the AT. I'm sure it's easier to hike it when you're younger. But, it was nice to hike it w/o worrying about money issues.

Good luck in your decision.

[rocketsocks]

Life owes not one of us a living.


...when the sun is shinning, make hay.

[Rising3agle]

If this were a younger-me (ok, I'd have to go back 25 years) I would recommend to myself -

don't open with "I have a life-long dream of completing a thru-hike on the AT, would you mind waiting for me to start for 6 months from now?". "Dream" jobs aren't overly common; jobs are common, depending on your field (I'm in cybersecurity - I have no job availability issues due to stupid people always doing stupid things on the interwebz) but finding THE job that you would look forward to going to work to do, AND in a location that works for you (10 minutes from your house), AND offers decent pay / benefits / etc - those are sort of rare. Even in a field with a gazillion available jobs.

I would recommend approaching the job as enthusiastic as possible - one of your professors recommended you, so you are most likely one of his better students. In the business culture, corporations are more interested in 'if I hire this person, what do they bring to the team' and how it affects the bottom line of the company, over 'what do I have to offer this potential applicant'. It makes sense, because at the end of the day most companies are around to make money. Oh some have pretty nice benefits - but those companies still need to show a profit, or change how they do things.

I'm not saying forget about your thru-hike, or to not mention it. During a follow-up discussion, or maybe email a question about it - but don't tie the AT discussion to the interview. That will come across as 'condition for hire' and in general, most hiring guys just don't care for that. Check back with your professor - whoever he put the good word in about you to may have some insight.

Letting opportunities slip by to 'follow a dream' rarely work out.

Unless, of course, you have decided that hiking a thru-hike is more important than having a job that you would look forward to going to each day; if that's the case, then enjoy your hike

[BirdBrain]

Fully agree with the above. Your odds of getting the job will decrease if you mention the hike in any form at the interview.

Others have commented that companies respect people that have shown the ability to accomplish something as difficult as a thru. I agree. However, you have not accomplished a thru. Your degree is the respectable accomplishment that you have in hand. You do not get points in any company's eyes for talk. You might fail. And how does that help at any interview for the next job.

By the way, I started working when I was 9 (obviously not full time until I was 18). I have never had a dream job. I do have over 35 years in the same company. I don't regret my path. I get to hike. I will never do a thru. I could. I just can't prioritize that amount of time. That is a decision that only you can make. There is time for that decision.

[RED-DOG]

Take the "JOB" the trail will always be their, do the job for a couple of years and if it's not what you thought it was gonna be then you can thru-hike the AT, sounds to me you want the job way more you want to hike.

[Francis Sawyer]

As an employer I would think twice about a potential employee who tells me that I need to accommodate his hiking schedule before the needs of my business.

[Wyoming]

Jobs are a dime a dozen.
Particularly for new hires, out of school.
Im literally amazed at the way some think that jobs are .....rare. They arent.
Unless you are middle aged, with family and mortgage and need one in the same location and field you are currently in. Then that gets harder.

A job, is a way to pay the bills, and fund the experiences that will define, and become, your life.
Those experiences are what you will remember about your life.

The opportunity to do another 6 month hike wont come for most until they retire, if ever.

Could OP be turning down a good opportunity? Maybe.

May there be a better opportunity later? Maybe.
Might they meet a spouse on the trail? maybe.
Meet others that become their lifes best friends? maybe.
Decide that their lifes priorities are changed from what they were before? maybe.

In the end, you have to follow your heart. That is what you are accountable to.
Do that and you will never have any regrets.

Boy do I disagree with you.

I am literally amazed that you can equate what he has described as his dream job with a hike of the AT (even if that is something he has dreamed about as well- hopefully he has lots of other dreams too). There is no equality in substance between the two.

"Dream" jobs are hard to come by. Good jobs are anything but a dime a dozen.

He is going to be a Civil Engineering graduate. As a retired electrical engineer who used to help sometimes with hiring new folks I can assure you that he does not want to mess around. If he skips a hiring year he most likely competes with next years crop. That puts him at a disadvantage (even if he then has the hike on his resume - which odds are he will not, completion rates being your best indication of that). If hiring is slow and there are plenty of graduates he might just be looking at graduate school to be able to get a good job. And the need for a Masters in Civil is not real high.

A job IS NOT just a way to pay the bills. Don't put your bitterness onto a young person. Let them find it themselves - or not. Dream jobs have a way of making that not happen.

Maybe that dream job creates a situation which leads to even better jobs and accomplishments.
Maybe that dream job leads to meeting a spouse - far more likely than on the trail by the way.
Maybe that dream job leads to lifes best friends - far more likely than on the trial - though either is possible.
Life's priorities should always change, but you pursue your best options first and they tend to lead to other best options.

The heart and mind are not separate entities. They are one and the same thing. Being conflicted somewhat by ones choices is normal. But self examination (hopefully assisted by some good advise) should be able to separate out ones best choices. Taking ones best choices generally leads to the best end result and the best additional options.

Hiking the AT is a great vacation. I myself intend to take another one just like it each of the next two years. But if that kind of life was what your number 1 'dream' of what to do was then he would not have chosen his 'other' path of an engineering career. He has not indicated in any way he thinks his path is a mistake. If he did he would not have made his original post. Unlike the OP I did decide that the outdoor life was for me. From the age of 15 to 24 I did nothing but climb cliffs and mountains and hike the wilderness as that was what I wanted to do - jobs were just to pay for it. Then I changed my mind and went to university and on to a full professional life and some pretty significant accomplishments. Now I hike again. No regrets either way.