Ever considered a career change to hunt more?

I haven't considered a career change to get more hunting time but I have passed up opportunities to make a lot more money so as not to give up vacation time. I work for a large hospital system and this year will get another week of vacation putting me at 6 weeks and 2 days of time off. With our flex time, i don't need to take time off for routine personal appointments so i can comfortably do 2 hunts a year plus take a 2 week vacation in the summer.
What about the social media thing? Have you figured out how to make money via Youtube, etc? What about firefighter, EMT, etc? My best friend is a firefighter and works 24hr shifts so he works 2 or 3 days a week. He often trades shifts with other guys to string days off together.
 
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When I first left the military, I would pick up jobs with private security contractors. Pretty good money and plenty of time off if you wanted it. I was always moving to the next contract though, the money and travel was addictive. Not a job for a family man however. I gave it up after I got married.
 
This crosses my mind all the time. I figure I've saved enough that we could live ( simply ) off investments if it weren't for one thing - Health Care. You take it for granted when you have solid employment. I haven't figured out how to solve that beyond "keep saving."
 
My buddies and I shoot the breeze on this topic all the time. How can we find a legitimate career that allows us to take the entire fall off?

My two best friends and I are all single, so it's fun and a little more realistic to consider, but will not likely happen. We work in medical device sales for a great company, and it would be too much of a good thing to give up (as of now). That's why the brainstorming is a fun challenge; of course one could go take seasonal jobs and get this done. But what about that magical job with good pay, and good benefits, and retirement, that includes three months off in the fall?

As far as compatible professional careers go, Big Fin seems to be pretty close. Additionally, I work with surgeons, and they have quite a bit of vacation freedom, especially towards the ends of their careers.

My best friend and I come from a demanding military community, and our best idea is to do seasonal overseas paramilitary contracting. The money is outstanding, and we could find contracts that don't involve the fall. It's not off the table, but we also want families soon (I'm 30, he's 28). Not exactly great for that life. Gone for 6-8 months of the year, high risk, etc.

Entrepreneurship is the other obvious path, albeit with the massive caveat that it actually be viable. Oh and winning the lottery of course.

Anyone else ever brainstorm about this? This is a healthy relationship with hunting, right? ;)

Daily. It's not far away for me and it's call RETIRED with passive business income. I got 50 verified years on my SS record, so maybe it's about time. BTW, I've never met anyone yet who was away from home that long who made it work but you might be the first somehow. Good luck to you.
 
I used to think about it almost daily when I lived somewhere that I loathed, with an ex-spouse that I despised, and a job that I disliked tremendously. Now that my kids are grown and in college, I live in a State that I love, at a public sector job that I really enjoy and has alot of flexibility, and I am able to maximize hunting every weekend and take a week or two off. So now I hardly think about it at all because I now live a life that I am very happy with. There's alot to be said of well thought out decisions when a guy is young, which I did not do......

That being said, I've heard of tradesman (carpenters, plumbers, etc) that get all their work done in 10 months & take 2 months off in the fall during hunting season, so it can be done.
 
More than half a lifetime ago, we made a career change and move so that I could live a life with hunting as a primary passion. It took preparation and some combination of balls or recklessness.

We made it work, it took a bit of time to get a job comparable to the one I left. We raised our kids, enjoy grandkids and I have close to forty years of hunting memories since our move.

Outside of marrying my wife, it is without doubt the biggest decision we ever made. I'm grateful it proved to be a good one.
 
I did a couple years ago. I was in the Nuclear power industry and 2 of every 3 years my Falls were dominated by outages. Western Hunting wasn't possible. Now I'm in the lumber industry and not only have I gone elk hunting two years in a row, I sometimes get to to go hunting for work.
 
Daily. It's not far away for me and it's call RETIRED with passive business income. I got 50 verified years on my SS record, so maybe it's about time. BTW, I've never met anyone yet who was away from home that long who made it work but you might be the first somehow. Good luck to you.

I switched from Active Duty to NG years ago, and took up contracting. I have a wife and 3 kids. The golden handcuffs get you at first, but in the end if you invest well and plan well, it can work out. Deployments were hard on the family, but I should be retiring in a couple of years, after about a decade of contracting, with a solid retirement at 39. It can be done, but it is NOT easy and requires a ton of sacrifice from all involved, including your wife and kids.

It was very rough on the whole family for the first few years, but it got better, now we're good with it, being gone 6-7 months a year. But the 6 months vacation a year isn't too bad, and I make my own schedule. There are a ton of tricks, luck and planning required, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. There tend to be 3 groups who contract, those that have been doing it for 17 years or more (seems like a good average) that will have to do it to the day they die, those that are young and single, and blow most of their money, renting Ferrari's and expensive condos in Miami, returning to work broke and leaving the job with nothing, and the very few who plan it all out from the very beginning and stick it through the very difficult road.

If you have any questions, I might be able to help out, but I would steer you away from it, the grass is always greener.

ETA I just looked at the dates on this and realized I resurrected a dead/dying thread.
 
I'm going to resuscitate this thread....

...Curious if there is anyone ELSE on here with a background in Animal Science?

I've been fortunate to get a 40 hour a week job with great benefits, and I've been there long enough to accrue the Max 4 weeks of PTO. But I often wonder if there is something better out there.

I'd like to be more location independent, and be able to take more days off during the week occasionally.
 
I'm going to resuscitate this thread....

...Curious if there is anyone ELSE on here with a background in Animal Science?

I've been fortunate to get a 40 hour a week job with great benefits, and I've been there long enough to accrue the Max 4 weeks of PTO. But I often wonder if there is something better out there.

I'd like to be more location independent, and be able to take more days off during the week occasionally.

Thanks for biting the bullet and bringing this one back.

Now no one can judge me for bringing this thread back to life. I'm not in Animal Science. I'm an on the road computer tech. I have 6 weeks PTO but they have cut out headcount so much I can't use it. I'm on call 24x7 and I'm worn out.
I'm actively looking and try to put in a job application at least once week. I'm limited by not wanting to relocate, as Momma doesn't want to leave the grand kids. My latest app was with a major player in the sporting optics field. I got an e-mail back saying, "Due to COVID-19, We are not recruiting until further notice. All open positions are on hold until further notice. "

Right now it seems the sucky job you can't get out of is better than the job you hope you can keep.
 
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My Granddad was a career farmer so he could hunt and fish more. He'd work 20 hours a day to get a crop in or out then he head off somewhere to hunt or fish. During the drought of the 50's he drove from Texas to Alaska to fish for months. Every few weeks he'd find a small town with a phone, call back to see if it had rained, and when he found out no, he'd stay a few more weeks.

I changed my career at one point, to full time hunting guide and booking agent, so I could hunt more, on someone else's dime. I loved it and would rather guide than be the trigger puller anyway. Now I work for myself so I can hunt and fish whenever I want. I never have nor ever will make as much money as I could/should, but .......
 

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