View Full Version : What jobs have you done to get outdoors?
I was just wondering what type of jobs have people taken with the idea of spending time in the outdoors?
Many of us, I'm sure, would love to find that perfect job. I've tried, but alas, they weren't the perfect answer.
Tell us what you did. Did it meet your expectations and goals? Did you find it inspiring, demeaning, boring, terrifying, etc?
I will share mine later in the thread, tho I think I have mentioned it before.
Tennessee Viking
08-14-2007, 23:19
Volunterring for Trail Crew duty is always fun.
aaroniguana
08-14-2007, 23:55
I got fired on purpose so I could canoe down the Potomac. It was everything I'd hoped. Just be careful at the spillway and don't expect unemployment benefits.
i volunteered 14 weeks on the konnarock crew in '92...kinda quit college to do that. 5 more weeks on mid-atlantic (harrisburg pa.)crew ... 8 mos. as a volunteer ranger at mt. rogers in '93 making $10 a day- good time, not such a good way to make a living. every job since then was based entirely on the ability to take time off whenever i wanted- restaurants, landscaping, construction...15 years later i'm finally finishing my associates in science and plan on staying in school as long as i can after that without ever having to work again. i've done my time, played the stupid game and generally consider myself retired at 34...
Fugitive.:p i did run across a one-armed man up in pa...
well, while my job is FAR from perfect it is outside,and allows me to climatize year round,pays decent,allows for sorta long down periods,builds strength,killer tan lines and I can do it anywhere.I am a tree trimmer/removal expert and palm installer.and I am trying to convince my boss to sponsor my 09 thru hike:D
superman
08-15-2007, 06:09
I joined the military in 1965. We went hiking, camping and they gave me free gear. It was a hoot.
gsingjane
08-15-2007, 07:06
I taught wall climbing at a Girl Scout day camp this summer and enjoyed it! But it would be a heckuva way to make a living, when you worked out the numbers it was less than minimum wage. It was great to be outside all day, every day, although of course you took whatever weather Mother Nature wanted to dish out. I will probably do it again next summer, though.
Jane in CT
sherrill
08-15-2007, 08:35
I joined the military in 1965. We went hiking, camping and they gave me free gear. It was a hoot.
Good one! :p
Johnny Thunder
08-15-2007, 08:46
Volunteer trail crew for SCA in Idaho (98)
PIRG door-to-door solicitor for about 2 days (00)
Inline Skating instructor at a camp in PA (01, 02)
Johnny
Tipi Walter
08-15-2007, 08:48
I was a janitor in an Espiscopal church for 18 years which allowed me to live in a Tipi on a high North Carolina ridge for 21 years. The job required around 15 hours a week and took care of all my needs since I didn't have electricity bills or water bills, etc. I'd often hitchhike the 10 miles to work and then I got a small motorcycle which saved on fuel. Many times I even bicycled to work.
Janitor jobs can be near perfect long term solutions when looking to live outdoors. When I first started I worked only on Friday mornings and so I spent the rest of the time either backpacking in Pisgah or around Watauga County or on my long trail up to the Tipi. Later on as we moved to a larger and newer church building I had to work a second day during the week and so I'd often put up my tent on the church grounds to cover both days. Either way I was OUT.
I became a teacher and with my summers off, decided to take up backpacking. It was my job that led to my backpacking, not the other way around in this case.
Funny. I am going back to school in January for a career change. I fell into the computer field..and life is too short to do something I am not passionate about. :)
My background is history and it is my first love. I enjoy instructing, esp. for something I am fired up about. I was thinking of becoming a secondary ed. teacher years ago but I was dissuaded for reasons a bit too long to get into right now.
Now that I've done the triple crown, I don' feel the need to continue this cycle of save up money, quit a job, hike for 4-6 months, repeat. I'm hardly old at 33, but damn...starting over again every few years is a drag. :D
Long story short:
Going back to my first love (history), going back to my first instinct of getting into education. I am thinking that hiking for 6wks or so at a time will be just fine for me. Esp. if I can do it every year.
So it does not allow me to work outside...but it does allow me to balance my life better so I can be outside more. Also helps it is something (I think anyway) that I will enjoy as opposed to cubicle land. ;)
Jim Adams
08-15-2007, 11:45
I joined the military in 1965. We went hiking, camping and they gave me free gear. It was a hoot.
So, how was that rain forest hike? Noisy?:D
I am a paramedic. I work 2, 24 hour shifts a week. The pay sucks but I have 5 days a week off and enough seniority that I pretty much write my own schedule. I get outdoors alot for 2 main reasons. 1. I really like the outdoors. 2. The outdoors are much cheaper than most of the other recreational activities.
Probably the best perk of my job is that I can take time off just about anytime. I can work 2 full time jobs, (4 days a week) still have 3 days a week off and save most of the second jobs pay for a thru or a long distance canoe or motorcycle trip. There are only 1,600 paramedics in the state of Pennsylvania therefore we are really in demand. My employers HATE when I take off for six months but they always refuse my resignation and give me a six month leave of absence and tell me to walk fast!
:sun
geek
I have had several jobs that have allowed me to be outside. My first job ever was working at a water park in Central Florida. I worked there for almost 10 years. Right after college the ,first time, I worked as a surveyor (also in central florida). Now, I'm a teacher in Wilson County Tennessee. We are on modified schedule so I get a two week break in October and another one in April. I also get a six week summer. That leaves me plenty of time to get outside!:banana
Pennsylvania Rose
08-15-2007, 12:02
I was a teacher, but am now a copywriter. I work at home and can accept jobs or not depending on whether time or money is the priority. Or, I can spend the day hiking and work until 2 am.
My brother works construction in the summer and at ski resorts in the winter. He arranges his work schedule so he has 3-4 days off each week and spends weeks in the spring and fall between jobs backpacking and climbing. He doesn't make a lot, but doesn't have a family to support.
taildragger
08-15-2007, 12:11
Worked for the Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife Conservation one summer in college. By far the best job that I've ever had, and the second worst pay. My main task was helping with fishing workshops (kinda like hooked on fishing). It was a blast, I was a certified archery instructor by the end of the summer, and fished at least once a week. It was a great gig, I'd love to do it, except its a gov't job and I went and got the wrong education (stupid engineering degrees :banana) Now I'm thinking about rural medicine, get me out of the cities to a smaller place where I can still talk with turkeys in the spring, deer in the fall, ducks in the winter, and the hills whenever my freezer is full.
Obsidian
08-15-2007, 12:12
i worked in reality television/documentaries...got paid to watch tv and sit online all day...but it's not steady and you switch jobs every 2-4 months (still qualified for unemployment every time I was let go if needed). It was easy to jump from job to job and it was nice to move on to a new show when an old one got boring..
I too joined the army, in 1982. Free pack, canteens, boots, poncho, hats, and even socks. Oh, and packaged 'trail food', which got worse, in my opinion, over time. The canned stuff was good, and you didn't have to cart off your own garbage. You either buried it, or they hauled it off for you in a truck. Then they went to some stuff in brown and green plastic bags, but i didn't like it much. Got a free trip to Europe for 3 years, Africa for a couple months, and another short trip to a Caribbean island paradise out of the deal, Did that until 1995. Oh, and they paid my schooling, or half of it, to boot.
After that, I started my own business. Had as much free time as I was willing to trade for money, as well as the weekends (45 minutes from the Smokies too!) Those were 7 good years from a camping standpoint.
Now I work some fast/slow cycles. Things are fast for a month, and you can build up a couple weeks off in comp time. Then they go back to normal for a few months, and you can take that comp time in large chunks. then the cycle starts again (i help train army guys, but don't get outdoors often.)
like the paramedic, there are only a few of me in 'the system', fewer still with more than a year or 2 of experience, and that makes getting time off pretty simple. so i guess in that regard, i'm luckier than most in that all my jobs have enabled me to camp fairly easily.
Jim Adams,
I too am a paramedic, however we work four 24 hour shifts/week, not nearly as good as your schedule. I am considering the resignation/leave of absence tactic that you mention, but we are a very poorly staffed service (difficult to find paramedics with this schedule). There is a shortage of paramedics here too. I'm getting close to putting my priorities over the services tho.
In the distant past I worked summers at a Scout camp, counseling in environmental, wilderness, backpacking and first aid merit badges. Also was the medical officer for a couple of years. Enjoyed it throughly, plus it led to two fully paid backpacking trips to Philmont in New Mexico for me. :-)
In the more recent past I have also worked 5 years for Vision Quest. Was inticed by their ad for EMTs and Nurses. Also by their use of wilderness camps, Backpacking quests, wagon trains etc. in the treatment of juvenile delinquents. I spent the final6 months with them living/working on one of their sailing schooners - not wilderness, but definately outdoors! The AT passes by one of Vision Quest's Wilderness Camps on South Mountain in PA, just south of Caldonia. This was a good experience, very fullfilling, but also VERY stressful - way worse than the worst day as a medic.
I'm now back to being a paramedic and considering using the shortage of them to facilitate taking some extended time off and still returning to a decent job.
Others have stated they chose teaching. I also considered this when I was in college, but for some reason decided against it. I sometimes kick myself for not doing it. Having summers off would have been great.
totally Boagus
08-15-2007, 12:38
As the Master Wheelwright at Colonial Williamsburg, I work in a shop that is completely open on one side. It can be hot with heat index of 117 ( last week) or cold with snow blowing in. No heat or AC. I willing to take the weather as long as I can just walk out out and eat an apple in the Palace gardens during the Spring.
Wanderingson
08-15-2007, 12:41
Vonteered as a mountain guide in the Hakkoda Mountains in Northern Japan. No Pay, but the opportunity to take 18 folks at a time into the mountains was a hoot. Winter trips were snowshoe trips and added to the awe of those volcanic mountains. Would love to return some day.
I work weekends on a sportfishing boat. Doesn't involve hiking, but I am most certainly outdoors. Every Sat and Sun I'm in the sun from sunrise to sunset, and I'm on ocean to boot. It is the perfect job for me. As soon as I finish this 20 year Navy gig, I'll fish full time...
Pennsylvania Rose
08-15-2007, 12:46
As the Master Wheelwright at Colonial Williamsburg, I work in a shop that is completely open on one side. It can be hot with heat index of 117 ( last week) or cold with snow blowing in. No heat or AC. I willing to take the weather as long as I can just walk out out and eat an apple in the Palace gardens during the Spring.
What an interesting job! How'd you end up doing it?
flyingduckmonster
08-15-2007, 12:50
I'm an IT consultant/RF engineer. It pays my bills and gives me the opportunity to save up enough money to take a leave of absence for 6 months, for hiking.
When I grow up, I think I'm going to be a librarian. (As in, when I get done hiking, I think I'm going back to school.)
Waterbuffalo
08-15-2007, 12:57
I'm in outside sales for a Chemical company I got my territory to be the NE GA mountains so I spend every day in them and when I feel like it I throw on my boots and take a hike.
totally Boagus
08-15-2007, 12:57
P.R.
I came out of college with a history degree and a strong interest in better understanding pre-industrial (18th century) technology. I came to CW in the winter of 1985 and served a 6 year apprenticeship. Now after 22+ years I am Master of the shop and I am training two apprentices.
There was no plan just the path life put me on. It all fits, hiking is the true 18th century way to travel and how news travels up and down the trail is just the way it did back then......do I smell sabbatical.......it's been a long hot summer!
SGT Rock
08-15-2007, 13:18
US Army, but they keep sending me to deserts.
When I grow up, I think I'm going to be a librarian. (As in, when I get done hiking, I think I'm going back to school.)
Similar to what I am about to do.
Exploring America on foot three times (AT, PCT, CDT) was great. But I am ready to maybe see the trails for weeks rather than months at a time. As with you, I work in the IT field. I fell into it and miss my liberal arts background. :(
Jim Adams
08-15-2007, 13:27
US Army, but they keep sending me to deserts.
:banana You will love the southern PCT!
geek
BlackCloud
08-15-2007, 20:16
US Army, but they keep sending me to deserts.
Don't fret Sarge. No deserts in China, where you'll be goin sooner rather then later...:(
BlackCloud
08-15-2007, 20:21
Spent some time in the great outdoors wearing a Smokey Bear hat for the Nat'l Park Service at three units:
Shiloh NMP, TN
USS Arizona Memorial, HI
Jewel Cave NM, SD
Each was as great an experience as they were different from one another. My life is better from having been to each of those places.
Also did a summer as a wildland firefighter at Ft. Lewis in WA State. Lost 19lbs in 3 months working my ass off, literally.
Now I am happy to report that I am no longer chained to that desk in D.C. and am free to roam again. This time as a criminal investigator w/ the Dep't of Homeland Security:banana :banana :banana
Jim Adams
08-15-2007, 20:51
Now I am happy to report that I am no longer chained to that desk in D.C. and am free to roam again. This time as a criminal investigator w/ the Dep't of Homeland Security:banana :banana :banana[/quote]
That job sounds like da' bomb!
geek
Become a lineman or outside telephone plant repairman. You'll get all the outside you can stand and no one will have stronger legs than yours. Stay at it long enough and you'll earn six weeks vacation a year and you can section hike the AT. It's how I've spent the last 34 years and I've loved it. I've completed over a third of the trail and will thru hike in 2010 God willing.
bobgessner57
08-15-2007, 22:16
Self employed masonry chimney restoration artisan. I keep my legs and cardio in shape climbing staging, ankles tough standing on roofs, and am acc.limated to all sorts of weather. Sometimes if I am swamped it is hard to leave work but the call is mine. Last week it was too hot to do good work at home so I escaped to the (somewhat) cooler Shenandoahs for a nice hike.
NYC Structural Ironworker all the hot and cold weather you can handle. Been retired 12 years.
Lone Wolf
08-17-2007, 23:59
I was just wondering what type of jobs have people taken with the idea of spending time in the outdoors?
Many of us, I'm sure, would love to find that perfect job. I've tried, but alas, they weren't the perfect answer.
Tell us what you did. Did it meet your expectations and goals? Did you find it inspiring, demeaning, boring, terrifying, etc?
I will share mine later in the thread, tho I think I have mentioned it before.
was a snowmaker for ten winters. lotsa outdoor time mostly in darkness and terrible conditions. loved it. miss it
BlackCloud
08-19-2007, 15:38
was a snowmaker for ten winters. lotsa outdoor time mostly in darkness and terrible conditions. loved it. miss it
I now live in the deep south:
The recipe for making snow if you please.........:-?
Lone Wolf
08-19-2007, 16:21
high pressure water and compressed air.
budforester
08-19-2007, 17:34
I wrangled dudes for an outfitter in SW Colorado one autumn. Unfortunately, there wasn't a job through the winter, living at 10,000 feet gives me high blood pressure, and responsibilities since then have interferred with my going back. It was the best job I ever had!
Amazing thing but I too had a Gov't job where I got to do a lot of backpacking with supplied gear and rations, although in the 80's and 90's light gear had not taken hold in the Army. Even got to do a desert outing along the Euphraties valley in 91. Kinda noisey but interesting non the less. Thankfully my gear now is lighter without the clip on extras. Oh I also was a landscaper once ,and if I were ever to win the lottery I would go back to that at least until my money ran out.
see ya in the woods
wudhipy
Forest ranger, park ranger, park superintendent. My 35 years in state and local parks have pretty much satisfied my urge to be in the great outdoors. Combine that with about 25 years of farming and ranching as a side-job and that emplains why I haven't done much AT hiking since the early 70's.
RockyBob
08-22-2007, 13:51
Summers during college, worked for the NPS. Best job I ever had.
BlackCloud
08-22-2007, 18:00
high pressure water and compressed air.
At any temperature professor?:cool:
The Old Fhart
08-22-2007, 18:19
BlackCloud-"Don't fret Sarge. No deserts in China, where you'll be goin sooner rather then later...:( Seems the fourth largest deserts in the world, the Gobi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobi_Desert), is partly in China. Rock still has a chance!;)
Lone Wolf
08-22-2007, 20:20
At any temperature professor?:cool:
depends on the wet bulb
The Old Fhart
08-22-2007, 20:27
Lone Wolf-"depends on the wet bulb" Were you bobbing for lightbulbs or did you use a psychrometer?;)