View Full Version : Poll - What do thru hikers do for a living?
Just Curious
If you are a thru hiker (or have thru hiked in the past), what is (was) your occupation and how were you able to take off for 6 months?
Any thru hikers with families? How does your family support (or not support) your thru hike?
Thanks! :-?
Lone Wolf
09-04-2006, 12:45
I worked at a ski area for 10 years. Got laid off every Feb. and started back every Oct. Now I live off Exxon/Mobil stock. I hope they drill in Alaska soon.
greentick
09-04-2006, 12:59
...Now I live off Exxon/Mobil stock. I hope they drill in Alaska soon.
<POP!>
What was that? A can of worms? Range flags up!
still another trillion barrells to exploit
Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-04-2006, 13:43
::: chases L. Wolf around the site with cane - and will catch him due to his high heels :::
We are retired so we could take off for six months and still have income. We can't leave for six months due elderly parents and other family obligations so we are section hiking.
"take this job and shove it. i ain't a workin' here no more."
Quitting job for '07 thru.
hammock engineer
09-04-2006, 15:40
finished grad school for the 07 thru. I may not want to enter the real world. Hmmm, that idea keeps sounding better and better.
FHThiker
09-04-2006, 15:50
Well, I'm a Director-level position in a contact center overseeing 3 departments. I've already told my employer that in 2008 I'm leaving for 6 months for the AT and if they have my job when I come back, that's great, if not, I'll find something else. I've been with them for nearly 6 years and they are saying they'll hold my job for me...but we'll see (I can't really see them doing that). :confused: I figure I can always find another job, but the chance to hike the AT in your 30s having a family only comes once in a lifetime.
As far as family, my wife has said she supports it 100% as long as we can afford it (and I've been putting $$$ back for over a year now just for my 2008 thru-hike). She's agreed to meet me in a few town stops along the way :D
Right after college I got a job refinancing home loans during the boom. I made quite alot of money in a very short time. Well, quite alot for a single guy without expensive tastes. When the rates went up I piddled around for a litle while, then went hiking. I'm not a thru hiker though, more like long term short distance.
I'm just making the time to take off 6 months. My job(s), I've chosen for the purpose of saving $ for my hike. Before I got them, I had been taking some additional grad-level courses and trying to decide if I wanted to pursue a Ph.D. Survey Says? *ding* Hell NOOOOOOO!! Let's go hike the AT instead and then see what happens after that!! :)
hikerjohnd
09-04-2006, 17:27
Currently a professor and Oral Historian. Took time off to hike during Grad school, got my school to finance hike and wrote my thesis on the topic.
hopefulhiker
09-04-2006, 19:31
I workwith rental property and had the support of my wife and family.. waited till my youngest was about to graduate from high school to go on thru hike.. Went when I was 49 years old.. Had someone manage the property while I was gone.. In the past I have worked as an electronic technician, managed a Radio Shack, and have been a teacher. made most money in buying,selling, and renting houses in the recent appreciating market.
Footslogger
09-04-2006, 20:50
When I left the world to hike in 2003 I was a senior software analyst. 10 hours a day staring at a computer screen and dealing with unhappy customers. Good money but I was miserable.
When I got home after my thru I vegged for about 2 months and then decided to dust off my original credentials in paramedicine/medical imaging. I now work at an orthopedic/sports med clinic doing all the MRI's.
Not making the money I did in the IT industry but the work is MUCH more satisfying and rewarding.
'Slogger
the goat
09-04-2006, 21:11
i can't imagine any job that i wouldn't walk away from in a heartbeat for a thru-hike.
i'm currently making more dough than i ever thought i would at this age, but i'm ditching it all next spring for the pct.:sun
....just as i did for the a.t., it doesn't matter what you're doing for work, as long as you have the frame of mind to walk from it, but then again not everyone does.
a thru is truely priceless.
p.s. no family yet.:D
fiddlehead
09-04-2006, 21:49
I have worked for myself since 1976. Doing many different things. I take off when i want. Life is Priorities. what's yours? work? i don't think so.
Hiking is the least expensive thing you'll probably ever do. No rent, food is cheap, no bills, no pretroleum products necessary (not much anyway) ,
Presently i sell long underwear. But i've done: finsish carpentry, roofing, cement work, selling jewelry, musician, selling backpacking equip.
nicodemus
09-05-2006, 00:54
Two monthes is all I can scrape from work. Cardiovascular technologist, and since everyone has job openings here, I can leave and still have my job waiting
Wilderness Trail Tamper.
:)
(I liked that one mrc 237)
MacGyver2005
09-05-2006, 07:58
I'm a Mechanical Engineer for the DoD/Navy. I graduated college, went for a walk, then came back to work full-time.
Regards,
-MacGyver
GA-->ME
stumpknocker
09-05-2006, 08:21
I dropped out of high school and went into construction. :)
Then I dropped out of construction and went for a walk. :)
Retired Marine, worked for books-a-million for 2 months, worked as a teacher's aid with special needs students for 1 1/2 yrs, hired by TSA and working for feds ever since.
Taking 179 days or less to thruhike next year. 180 or more then I have to go through training again and pay for it myself. 2007 here we come.
family is for it, son will be graduating in may, taking a break for that, and he is staying with the wife till I get back then he is out to life.
Restaurant Business. Get paid in cash, stay in shape....and you are highly expendable and re-hirerable at the same time. FUnny side note. I left one place to go hike northbound this year......a few months later, the girl they hired to replace me left to go hike southbound. I don't think that they like the AT much anymore :-)
I worked at a ski area for 10 years. Got laid off every Feb. and started back every Oct. Now I live off Exxon/Mobil stock. I hope they drill in Alaska soon.your full of crap..................
Lone Wolf
09-05-2006, 08:40
Really? You don't know me very well.
Really? You don't know me very well.nope, i don't......i take great pride in not sticking my nose into others business too far...........listen L. Wolf, if you say you have ex amount of pennies in stock for exxon, so be it..........but why do you want to come on here and let us know, especially when the world is hating big oil right now..........i've even heard you say the price is pretty high...........
ah, i see, lets stir the pot........that's what i think i know about you........it don't really matter, i like you much and i could care less what you have in your pocket or where it came from............
Really? You don't know me very well.
I thought you said you were a garbage collecter. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else. :-?
I remember saying to myself that would be a good job to stay in shape for hiking.
I'm a proffessional...........stockboy
Lone Wolf
09-05-2006, 08:57
I thought you said you were a garbage collecter. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else. :-?
I remember saying to myself that would be a good job to stay in shape for hiking.
I was, back in the 80s. And it did keep me in shape.
And I've only been a stockboy for two weeks, so you see I know everything there is to know about the job, because I'm a pro.......just ask me...........I tell ya I'm a legend in this business already.............In fact I already took the lead position, just ask L. Wolf..........
Plant shutdown set me free to wonder about looking for work.'-)
SGT Rock
09-05-2006, 09:12
I'm going to retire from the Army and start walking two days later to hike the Army out of my system Earl Schaffer style. After the hike I hope to get a job selling overpriced backpacker gear and fashions to yuppies with more money than sense.
Lone Wolf
09-05-2006, 09:14
I'm going to retire from the Army and start walking two days later to hike the Army out of my system Earl Schaffer style. After the hike I hope to get a job selling overpriced backpacker gear and fashions to yuppies with more money than sense.
And you can give "know-it-all" seminars at ALDHA Gatherings like everyone else.:)
I'm going to retire from the Army and start walking two days later to hike the Army out of my system Earl Schaffer style. After the hike I hope to get a job selling overpriced backpacker gear and fashions to yuppies with more money than sense.if you hire me i'll make us both rich..........because i'm a proffesional stockboy...............
Footslogger
09-05-2006, 10:16
[quote=SGT Rock]I'm going to retire from the Army and start walking two days later to hike the Army out of my system ...
==============================
Good luck with getting the military out of your system Rock. Got out in '71 and still keep finding old army behavior patterns.
'Slogger
Time To Fly 97
09-05-2006, 10:40
National Account Manager
Put a good resume together by working hard for several years
Saved money for thru-hike and re-entry afterwards
Bought some gear I didn't have already, planned an intinerary, sent resupply boxes, got in shape
Put everything in storage (used to live in an apartment)
Loved every day I thru-hiked
Found a better job three weeks after my hike
Three years later, did the same thing
Now, I have a wife and baby, house, bigger responsibility at work...and do not have the time I used to. Now I do long weekends. No regrets...because I took the time to thru-hike when I could.
Happy hiking!
TTF
What do thru-hikers do for a living? Hike!
FHThiker
09-05-2006, 12:00
What do thru-hikers do for a living? Hike!
Amen brother! I second that!
Footslogger
09-05-2006, 12:01
...and if you COULD actually make a living hiking the trail just imagine how crowded the trail would be !!
'Slogger
After 23 years I retired from the largest newspaper in Maine in a small buyout. The paper closed its evening edition and had to get rid of some reporters. I was a couple of months shy of 62.
That summer I walked the trail in Maine for a month with a 9=year-old grandson. The next summer I ran for the State Senate -- and lost. In 1993 it dawned on me that I had nothing special to do, so I went south to Springer with the idea of walking home to Katahdin.
A mysterious "nerve" disorder forced me to take a couple of weeks off and to bypass Massachusetts and Connecticut, but I climbed Katahdin on Oct. 16.
Before and after my long walk I wrote fund-raising letters for my town's land trust, and helped found the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, all of which keeps me busy most days and many nights.
I figure I haven't stopped working -- just stopped earning money for that work. But my earnings are more valuable than money: the sense that 800 acres of land in a coastal Maine town and a mountain in western Maine will remain a source of enjoyment for a lot of people long after I'm gone.
You can share that nice feeling. Just open www.matlt.org and make a donation.
Weary
Just Jeff
09-05-2006, 12:17
...and if you COULD actually make a living hiking the trail just imagine how crowded the trail would be !!
Well, you CAN make a living out there. Just not a working. There's a difference, and I wonder why the US calls earning money "making a living" when it usually interferes with living.
Alligator
09-05-2006, 13:35
Well, you CAN make a living out there. Just not a working. There's a difference, and I wonder why the US calls earning money "making a living" when it usually interferes with living.money=food and shelter=living.
spittinpigeon
09-05-2006, 14:36
I worked as a Lumper, (someone who unloads freight from trailers by hand) for about 7 years, and it's still open for me to go back. Good money, short hours. And made my hands like leather so I never got blisters from hiking poles. :)
Cold weather months- Drywall/plaster finisher. Walking around on stilts keeps your legs in amazing shape.
Warm weather months- Bicycle mechanic
I do the drywall gig on my own and the money is good which allows me to take off for long periods to hike and bike tour. I quit the bike job this year to thru-hike. I been finishing drywall for 5 years now which is awhile for someone my age and my elbows are already feeling it. I'm saving now to take various certification courses and plan on pursuing a career as a mechanic or wheelbuilder. I like bikes.
I have another proffesion other than stockboy now.............Proffesional window washer and panhandler in front of Cowboys in Damascus........I have a placard that says "Not unemployed. Not homeless. Just give me your money and I'll spit on your windshield and buff it off with one of these here Lightload towels I got off of Wideload.....
bido7614
09-10-2006, 18:23
i graduate highschool in december then I am taking off for the hike.. Im paying for it all myself though.. I am currently at walmart and mcdonalds.. just started saving made 900 in 2 months.. so its happy.. i should have enough by march..
While I don't count as a thru-hiker, I do section hike on the PCT. How do I do it?
First: I have a very flexible boss. Summer is our slow time. We have a standing promise I will be there from October thru December, for the X-Mas season (online company) and I work hard when I am at work. I can take time off in summer and go.
Second: I have a husband who gets it ;)
I am thinking of next summer of walking the Oregon section of the PCT in 3 weeks. We'll see. As long as I work hard in winter it shouldn't be an issue ;)
Tha Wookie
09-10-2006, 23:12
Jack of trades, master of none. At least not yet. Maybe when I'm 70.:o
I guess scientific forest management research has paid the most dependably.
Going back for my PhD now to make it pay more dependably.
A little carpentry in between helps the slow periods. One time recently I got outpaid by illegal workers while I hand plucked muddy stones from a sorry pond job. Actually I quite enjoyed it.
Tha Wookie
09-10-2006, 23:17
Well, you CAN make a living out there. Just not a working. There's a difference, and I wonder why the US calls earning money "making a living" when it usually interferes with living.
Jeff that is one the most excellent things I've read from you.
Well put. You should put it on your web.
warren doyle
09-11-2006, 09:02
In the last 35 years, I have never quit a 'job' to do my eight thru-hikes and six section-hikes of the entire AT. I am an educator and I have made wise decisions since the age of 21 to not let the 'practical' overcome the 'ideal' but to have both live in harmony together. I was 'first-generation' college educated from a working class background (I am no 'trust fund' baby).
I am frugal following the creed that 'the best things in life aren't things' and 'the more I know the less I need'. Thank goodness I put these creeds into practice before I ever was seduced by the 'Shylockian debt pimps' of our society.
I have a daughter who is a senior in college and a son who is a college junior. I have been part of their lives and will continue to be such.
My wife of four years and I have flowed up the Appalachian Trail, Long Trail and John Muir Trail together with more trails in the future.
Hiking and dancing form the basis of, and reflect, my faith and reason and this 'romantic realist' will continue to flow until he can neither walk nor dance.
Happy trails and twirls!
I've quit seven jobs to go hiking and will quit again!
Time To Fly 97
09-11-2006, 11:38
i graduate highschool in december then I am taking off for the hike.. Im paying for it all myself though.. I am currently at walmart and mcdonalds.. just started saving made 900 in 2 months.. so its happy.. i should have enough by march..
My orginally Bulgarian wife shed some light on my not so wise tendency to be a slave to marketing and... it isn't what you spend, but rather what you save. For many years I have made this a practice and it has bettered by life emensely! From you post, it looks like you get this. Congratualtions on being young AND WISE!
Happy hiking!
TTF
bido7614
09-20-2006, 17:41
TTF-
Hey there I would love to take the credit for everything ya know, but I have kinda been put on a bidgeting system. I am only alowed to spend $200 every month so that i dont go broke before the trail and so that I will have money while im on it.. Im still adding money though.. thanks i am actually pretty smart when it comes to saving my money but the little rules help me.. lol. Your wife sounds like a very smart lady.. bye for now...
lissie
I sued the living **** outta my next door neighbor and was awarded a huge settlement and quit everything to hike the AT. 1- He SNORRED way loud at nite and kept his windows open thus cuttin into me sleep time. 2- his DOG barked and ran at me one time. 3-He always was talking on that damn CELLPHONE out in his back yard messin with me reading time. 4-hammocks and tents everywheres round his house every June and some of em NAKED!5- He carries a big ass PISTOL every time he mowed the grass and last but surely not least, He was such a whinny ass cry flippin baby. So I took all that he had and now live a leisure life slackpacking when ever the urge strikes on the ever so peacefull trail of the Applachian mountains.
:D
sherrill
09-20-2006, 18:56
I bet he blue blazed through your yard too!! :D
J Link NJ
11-20-2006, 01:00
i work at Eastern Mountain Sports, which is how i became encrazed by the idea of this adventure. I am resigning in good terms, with every intention of going back when i finish the trail.
Recreation consultant (part-time) in private practice. I actually was employed by the ATC to conduct access surveys at each of the shelter sites along the trail during my '06 thru-hike. Besides that, my wife is the breadwinner and was also a highly enthusiastic supporter and my own 'Trail Angel.' I'm back to consulting again, but looking for other avenues of employment, volunteerism, and the like.
I work in IT and inventory control at a large poultry plant. Can't wait to leave my desk, computer and phone faaarrrrr behind. Hopefully I can get a leave of absence but if I can't I've got to go anyway.
See you on the trail!!
SalParadise
11-20-2006, 13:01
Am in editing and quit my last job to thru-hike. Unfortunately it's not an industry you can quit and come back to, or jump around employers a ton. I'm not quite brave enough to be a freelance travel writer and make a living of adventuring--maybe one day.
bigmontana
11-20-2006, 15:10
I sued the living **** outta my next door neighbor and was awarded a huge settlement and quit everything to hike the AT. 1- He SNORRED way loud at nite and kept his windows open thus cuttin into me sleep time. 2- his DOG barked and ran at me one time. 3-He always was talking on that damn CELLPHONE out in his back yard messin with me reading time. 4-hammocks and tents everywheres round his house every June and some of em NAKED!5- He carries a big ass PISTOL every time he mowed the grass and last but surely not least, He was such a whinny ass cry flippin baby. So I took all that he had and now live a leisure life slackpacking when ever the urge strikes on the ever so peacefull trail of the Applachian mountains.
:D
This sounds interesting
superflatz
11-20-2006, 21:58
Retired Air Traffic Controller. Got tired of telling pilots "where to go".
So out of every one chiming in, how many of you actually had/have families when you started your thru(s)? I've been wanting to hike the whole thing since I was about 10, but now since I have a wife/child, it would be hard to leave them for 4-6 months. I know they could meet me along the way on my hike (once I ditched my job) and I could keep them informed via phone. Was your significant others supportive in your decision to take off for so long? Mine is somewhat supportive about me doing a thru because she knows how important it is to me!
For work? Why, I worked as a piano player in a whore house. It creates a great atmosphere and is an unusual touch. When I decided to thru hike I made several tapes and DVD's for the place to play while I was away. I supplimented my income along the way by carrying an electric keyboard with me and I played in hostels, barber shops, and outfitter shops in trail towns for tips. When i finished my thru hike I found the whore house I played at had been raided and closed so now I play background music at a silent movie theater located in Monson, Maine. If the residents of Monson ever find out there are now "talking movies" my career will be over.
blindeye
11-21-2006, 20:28
c.n.c. machinist which i will be soon leaving. wish i had that exxon/mobil stock L. Wolf was talking about. L. Wolf i'll bet you wish you had that $450 million golden parachute the C.E.O. had at retirement! don't cry about $3 a gallon gas anyone!!
Jim Adams
11-21-2006, 22:22
paramedic. high demand, low pay. time off is a perk i guess. i gave a two week notice to quit and management refused---told me to walk fast.
delete this post see next post
So out of every one chiming in, how many of you actually had/have families when you started your thru(s)? I've been wanting to hike the whole thing since I was about 10, but now since I have a wife/child, it would be hard to leave them for 4-6 months. I know they could meet me along the way on my hike (once I ditched my job) and I could keep them informed via phone. Was your significant others supportive in your decision to take off for so long? Mine is somewhat supportive about me doing a thru because she knows how important it is to me!
i'm a maintaince man. i do general maintaince on group homes for people with developmental disabilities. doing it for 25 years. i have 6 kids. 19,18,14,12,10,8 i feel somewhat selfish but have their support on taking 6 months if needed to complete. i think they may even be glad for the break as mom is more laid back than me. i'm 50 and wanted to do it now rather than later in life. and my job is allowing it. will have to pay for my own health beifits after vacation time runs out. starting end of march 2007
Flower lady
01-28-2007, 17:23
We just said it was time. Hiking the AT has been on our list of things to do for a while now, We have a little plant nursery and decided to take the season off. We are lucky we can do this., but I think if you truly decide to do something, you can make it work, key word is work, work toward your dream and as long as you don't quit you will get there. Just do it. We very humbely hope to compleat the whole thru-hike of the A.T NOBO but if we can't make it we will become section hikers and we will finsh it. Flower Lady and Cedar
Fly By Mike
01-28-2007, 18:15
For work? Why, I worked as a piano player in a whore house. It creates a great atmosphere and is an unusual touch. When I decided to thru hike I made several tapes and DVD's for the place to play while I was away. I supplimented my income along the way by carrying an electric keyboard with me and I played in hostels, barber shops, and outfitter shops in trail towns for tips. When i finished my thru hike I found the whore house I played at had been raided and closed so now I play background music at a silent movie theater located in Monson, Maine. If the residents of Monson ever find out there are now "talking movies" my career will be over.
Did you ever get any tips? Or did you prefer it all? :D
(sorry, couldn't help myself).
dadecker
01-28-2007, 19:02
I've been in college for the last five years, also working as a massage therapist. Although most of my friends think I am a bum. I'm okay with that - Darrel
Socrates
01-28-2007, 19:53
I don't work. I'm lucky in that department. But after my thru, I'm going to school to be an RN and I'd like to work in the ER. But I'm thinking that I'd like to take my medical training and somehow use it in a rescue field or some kind of outdoors area.
I'm the office manager and financial manager at a small construction company. I gave my notice so I could hike, but the owner said he wanted me back when I was done.
I went back to work less than 12 hours after I got home from my hike. It keeps me from moping around the house...
And I've started saving towards the next adventure.
4eyedbuzzard
01-28-2007, 23:07
Field Engineer / Electrical & Instrument Technician. I spent 25 years in steel mills, power plants, and industry. Now that the children are older my wife is full time with the USPS. I now work on contract on start-ups, outages, etc. mostly doing PLC and instrumentation/electrical troubleshooting. I only work about 9 months a year and can string together 6 months off pretty much anytime. My wife is planning on joining my daughter and I for a week here and there on our 2010 thru.
Jim Adams
01-29-2007, 14:43
Paramedic.....big demand....low pay! I gave my current employer a 2 week notice for my 2002 thru hike and they would not accept it. They gave me a 6 month leave of absence and told me to walk fast!
geek
TurkeyBacon
01-29-2007, 14:55
graduated college, hiked, tried getting a job with a degree that required a masters degree, went back to school in a different feild and now work as a clinical microbilogist for Duke Hospital. Low pay but fun.
TB
Electrical Engineer. Been at it 30+ yrs now. It's getting a bit old. Retirement would be nice, but is still years away. Pay is good but free time is scarce. This year I get a four week "sabbatical" and will use that for an extra-long section hike, possibly even reach the "2000 miler" goal.
Lone Wolf
01-29-2007, 15:23
Electrical Engineer. Been at it 30+ yrs now. It's getting a bit old. Retirement would be nice, but is still years away. Pay is good but free time is scarce. This year I get a four week "sabbatical" and will use that for an extra-long section hike, possibly even reach the "2000 miler" goal.
dude. you're on here all day, every day. have been for weeks on end. no free time?:D
dude. you're on here all day, every day. have been for weeks on end. no free time?:D
Not enough for hiking on the AT.
dude. you're on here all day, every day. have been for weeks on end. no free time?:D
I know, I'd love to get paid while I posted to Whiteblaze all day.
Lone Wolf
01-29-2007, 15:29
Not enough for hiking on the AT.
i'm lucky in that respect. i retired and reside 60 yards from the AT
Lone Wolf
01-29-2007, 15:30
I know, I'd love to get paid while I posted to Whiteblaze all day.
i'm sure tons of people are posting here throughout the day from work.:)
soulrebel
01-29-2007, 16:09
chippendale's---"Hiking up the mountain" is one of my favorite stage moves.
The Solemates
01-29-2007, 16:25
i'm sure tons of people are posting here throughout the day from work.:)
and you'd certainly be correct :D
I am a veterinary technician and have already put in for a leave of absence in 2008 for our thru. Been there 6 years and say there will be a job when i get back. if not, lot of animal hospitals in the area.
Hubby (fofer) is a merchant marine....much more interesting than my profession. He is a second mate on commercial ships and is gone for motnhs at a time. Luckilly, he gets equal time paid vaca for the time that he's out. We've been stockpiling vaca time and $ so in march 2008 we'll be heading to GA qwith our dog to thru!
saimyoji
02-04-2007, 14:46
i'm sure tons of people are posting here throughout the day from work.:)
and you'd certainly be correct :D
Wasn't there a middle school teacher who admitted to cruising and posting to WB while her kids were taking a test? :eek: :D
Systems Analyst.
Now that my intentions are becoming known, they are "offering" a new position that I may be happy with. If I get that, I will probably take it and go for full retirement. (8 years) We'll just have to wait and see...
But, I will have time to do shorter hikes in those years. (2 or three months max I am thinking) We'll see...
:confused:
OrionTheRanger
02-04-2007, 17:38
Although I am too young to have a job I have thought about this. I firgured I would either hike after high-school or college then get a serious job, likely in the military.
I am actually a tree climber for a residential tree service company, and hope to hike within the next 2 years. My job is sweet, I get to hang from ropes sometimes 80 or more feet in the air and run a chainsaw. We usually do trimming or remove dead or dying trees that are threatening a house. It is a great job and keeps me in pretty good shape for hiking.
RockyBob
02-05-2007, 09:28
nope, i don't......i take great pride in not sticking my nose into others business too far...........listen L. Wolf, if you say you have ex amount of pennies in stock for exxon, so be it..........but why do you want to come on here and let us know, especially when the world is hating big oil right now..........i've even heard you say the price is pretty high...........
ah, i see, lets stir the pot........that's what i think i know about you........it don't really matter, i like you much and i could care less what you have in your pocket or where it came from............
Im a Chemical Engineer. Working on the design of a drilling rig for work Anwar.:sun
RockyBob
02-05-2007, 09:35
Im a Chemical Engineer. Working on the design of a drilling rig for work Anwar.:sun
oops. Left out "in".
fujiboots
02-05-2007, 09:38
I'm an English teacher in far away Japan.
RockyBob
02-05-2007, 10:42
I'm an English teacher in far away Japan.
Good for you fuji :banana
Well Im a pressman and im Just going to quite do the AT. If I have the Balls I might go for the triple crown. Then I might live like a bum for a couple of years before I go back to work. O' bye the way I am a happy divorced guy with no kids, at the wonderfull age of 31. So if I don't do this now then I might not have a change later in life. I want to have some memories when I die.
4eyedbuzzard
02-05-2007, 11:12
Im a Chemical Engineer. Working on the design of a drilling rig for work Anwar.:sun
Ah, the joy of the politics of drilling in the ANWR;):D.
:welcome Welcome to WB, from just another cog in the wheels of industry.
I am a veterinary technician and have already put in for a leave of absence in 2008 for our thru. Been there 6 years and say there will be a job when i get back. if not, lot of animal hospitals in the area.
Hubby (fofer) is a merchant marine....much more interesting than my profession. He is a second mate on commercial ships and is gone for motnhs at a time. Luckilly, he gets equal time paid vaca for the time that he's out. We've been stockpiling vaca time and $ so in march 2008 we'll be heading to GA qwith our dog to thru!
Hey Beaker2, your husband has the perfect job for long-distance hiking. Can't beat that "paid" day-for-day vacation! I did it for 26 years, but retired before I hiked.
WandererKMK
02-05-2007, 16:45
IT recruiter by day, sing with a blues based jam band at night, quitting to do my thru and when I come back, am going to go to massage school. I can't stand the idea of being tied to a desk for 10 hours a day any longer.
sparky2000
02-05-2007, 17:05
Who hates fuel oil except a person who hates for the joy of hating.
I retired military..........
Housewife, the position will still be open when I get back.
maxNcathy
02-08-2007, 10:04
I retired from inner-city teaching in Hamilton, Ontario eight years ago. cathy and I moved north where we now reside with our dog and cat along shores of Lake Huron. Our three sons are "married" and in their twenties living in Missouri, Alberta, and Ontario.
My plan is to go south to hike 6 weeks in spring...after snowmobile season and before kayak and motorcycle season.
the_iceman
02-08-2007, 11:04
54 - ran my own consulting practice for the past 18 years. Sent the last kid to college and decided to leave wacky Massachusetts. Move to FL where your vote can make a difference if you can firgure out what hole to punch.:D
Have to start a new buisness (or career) with 2 tuitions to pay and all. Figured I'd hike now before I am locked in for another 18 years.
Figured I'd hike now before I am locked in for another 18 years.
I figure my life goes on an 18-year cycle. I'm 54. :cool:
Gadog430
02-08-2007, 11:32
I work at a bank. In an accounting department. Which is pretty weird...considering that I have two honors degrees in IT. But it was the job I got when I graduated due to the job I had before I went back to school. It pays the bills and gives me play money. That's good enough.
I used to worry about jobs. Now, I sort of do, but not really. I have worked at the SAME IHOP part-time for seven years. If need be, I can make the mortgage with that.
It's really freeing to just know...whatever. I am going to be happy in spite of corporate America.
It may be wrong, but at this stage in my life, I give them part of my time, and they pay me. I keep a certain set of stuff straight for them (it was a god-awful mess when I took it over), and they don't bother me while I do so. I think it is an excellent deal for both sides.
Dawg
4eyedbuzzard
02-08-2007, 11:34
54 - ran my own consulting practice for the past 18 years...Figured I'd hike now before I am locked in for another 18 years.
Hmm, I'm planning to thru-hike with my daughter in 2010 - the year I turn 54.:-? This is getting scary.:rolleyes:
Gadog430
02-08-2007, 11:40
I figure mine is about 6-7.
But your focus changes as you get older. I don't/won't do things that make me unhappy. Life's too short for that.
Still have the girls to get on their way, but they are doing well and that section will be fine. The hard work was put in many many years ago. Patience is such a virtue.
Dawg :banana
I figure my life goes on an 18-year cycle. I'm 54. :cool:
Graphic Designer for a weekly publication. Quitting the job to set foot on the trail in March. Can't wait!
I'm an arborist and forester. Yes, luv 'dem trees! For the past 3+ years I sold tree work for a large tree care company. Sales=yuk! So, I said "F this!" and quit to do my hike.
Obsidian
03-01-2007, 06:26
before I worked in reality jumping from job to job which would have been perfect cause you can take as long as break as you want between shows, but now I've decided to go back to school, which I should finish in 2010 when I intend to do my thru, I am still debating if I should do my thru pre doing a years residency or post. I'm thinking my thru might help me clear my head and decide where abouts I want to set up home
Footslogger
03-01-2007, 10:25
Hmm, I'm planning to thru-hike with my daughter in 2010 - the year I turn 54.:-? This is getting scary.:rolleyes:
===================================
Might see you out there. The wife and I have each hiked the AT individually (she 2001/me 2003) but want to hike it together and have decided that 2010 is the year. A year before that I plan on pulling the plug on work all together and heading out on the PCT. Wish I could figure out how to make time fly !!
In the meantime I am finishing out my career in medical imaging at an orthopedic/sports med clinic here in Laramie and my wife is faculty at the University of Wyoming.
'Slogger
Jim Adams
03-01-2007, 10:33
pimp......
Manager for a Fortune 100 company for the past 20 years.
I'll be eligible for early retirement in 7 years at the age of 53, to young for full retirement. I'm planning my thru-hike for 2014.
I'm looking for suggestions for work that I can do for 6 months at a time after that until I'm 65, paying the bills, banking all of the pension until full retirement ... I plan on hiking 4 to 6 months a year from 53 on.
Ideas?
Footslogger
03-01-2007, 11:36
I'm looking for suggestions for work that I can do for 6 months at a time after that until I'm 65, paying the bills, banking all of the pension until full retirement ... I plan on hiking 4 to 6 months a year from 53 on.
Ideas?
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Sometimes those "Greeter" positions at WalMart look pretty good, in comparison to how I spend some of my days ...
But seriously though, I'm in sort of the same situation. Plan on pushing back at the end of 2008. Will need something to bridge over from age 60 till when I decided to pull the plug all together.
'Slogger
RockStar
03-01-2007, 12:21
I was an underpaid underappreciated stained Glass Artist but, paid the bills. My boss had already suffered through losing his most valued employee in 200 as he left to hike the A.T.. When he, "caretaker", returned in October he started his own S.G. business in his hometown Greenville,AL. When I returned I also started my own S.G. business, here in troy. :D better pay, flexible hours, and my boss is HOT. ;)
LIhikers
03-01-2007, 15:42
I work as an aircraft mechanic and have a job that I just love. I wouldn't quit to do a thru hike and can't get that long a time off, so for now the wife and I are doing 1 and 2 week section hikes. If I ever loose this job I'll load my pack and head for one end of the trail, or the other, depending on the time of year it is.