I don't think guides make a very good living. I would not expect a 401K with matching contributions from your outfitter employer. I would not expect a healthcare plan. I would not expect paid holidays or paid vacation. I would not expect a salary. I would expect that you would work 7 days a week and from before sun up until after sun down. I would expect that basically you would be paid pretty poorly. To sum up, I don't think it would be good advice that becoming a guide is a good career path. Better advice would be to go to college and earn a 4 year degree in something, maybe going on to either medical school, law school, MBA school, or some other graduate program if the undergraduate program hasn't totally destroyed your interest in learning.

On the other hand, if you are young and single and want to learn more about hunting or fishing and don't mind working your a$$ off, being a guide for a couple of seasons would not be totally wasted time. I just caution you about seeing this as a bright long term career prospect. You won't be sending your children to college on the money you bring home from guiding.