My advice is hold on to your full time job as long as possible.....because the learning curve is going to be more than you probably expect. I would recommend starting with videos & books before going to school. Those will tell you early if taxidermy is for you before spending a lot of money on school. It will also give you a foundation so you aren't learning just basics at school.

I've been learning/doing (more learining) for a little over a year now. My understanding is...if you want to make a good living at taxidermy, be prepared to work hard at it (and a lot of hours) and you have to open your work up to more then just deer heads (fish, turkey, etc). I've also heard the money is in the exotic/african animals.....which makes sense. But you first have to learn how to do them good....and you can't go in you back yard and shoot one for practice.

What it boils down to is...if you do good work, your work will bring you the money. If you do crappy work, then you won't get rich fast. Also if you do crappy work, you will have to price your work around $200 per head just to get work in the door. Meanwhile, your competition is charging $500 and he is still getting in more heads then he wants......why is that? Because his work is good enough to charge $500. So he is making more money than you and doing less work.

So I'm not saying don't explore taxidermy....just don't put all your money/plans there until you dive in. I hear too many people who want to make a lot of money...or want a career change.....so they automatically look to taxidermy like it is a get rich fast career. Sorry, it isn't. Rewarding - yes. Get rich quick - Nope.