Let me qualify myself a touch here... because what I'm about to write isn't meant to sound negative, or condiscending... its just the honest to God truth coming from someone who has been around it his whole life.

My father is now the Director of Fisheries for our state. He of course is a fisheries biologist by trade that has risen over the course of 35 years to the highest position in the state, without being in more than fisheries. Dad of course started out as a regional field biologist. I grew up on a trout hatchery as a kid (which he managed at the time), which is about as wonderful a way to grow up short of perhaps your dad owning a major league baseball team, a Hooters, an arcade and a Candy Store.

Everyone always asks me (always have always will) if I was going to, and now why I didn't follow in my Dad's footsteps... part of it now is because I can't... its a conflict of interest, I'd have to work in another state.... the other reason is, because I know better....

In order to get any sort of position with the state that isn't hourly (most of the hourly's are grad students... not all, but most), you are going to need AT LEAST a master's degree in your field. Infact, thats just to even get an interview. The job market is EXTREMELY competitive. Dad usually looks at over 500 QUALIFIED resume's, and usually interviews about 20. You can almost forget about getting a job in the state you want... if you do, then you are flat lucky. There are of course always exceptions.

Now, whats your financial reward for being #1 of 500... starting out... about $32,000K a year... and thats pre-tax.... and keep in mind, unless you are a minority, your father a perminantly disabled vet or MOH recepient, or unless you just happen to have extremely good grades, then you are probably paying off some student loans on at least six years worth of higher education. Keep in mind, you could do like quiksilver did and be out of law school in the same time period... where most jobs start around $125K...

This is also one field where the school you go to makes a big difference. If you have a bachelors from the University of Phoenix, or ITT Tech... its going to be tough to get into a good grad program... and that is what really makes or breaks you. My father did his undergrad at Cornell and earned his masters at Virginia Tech... Va Tech has one of the better programs in the country in the College of Natural Resources there (Clemson, Ga and Ga Tech, Auburn, Tenn to name a few are also schools with great programs... Clemson and Ga Tech have had some big studies on whitetails in the last few years so I've read).

There are other places you can get jobs at besides "the state" itself, but most of those are either non-profits, or research type work for often state owned schools (such as the VA Institue of Marine Science - VIMS here in VA... attached to the College of William and Mary... they have a phenomenal staff there.. and the girlfriend and I went to see Guy Harvey speak there a few weeks ago on schooling/feeding behaviors of sailfish). A gent who worked for Dad for several years and recently retired has started his own business doing research and studies as an indepentant contractor for large firms that often are required by law to do environmental impact studies (usually power companies). I actually did some work for him last summer (I did a lot of volunteer work shocking fish and what not in high school, so I learned how it needs to be done, and how to collect data and so forth). We were doing a job on the Roanoke River in NC for Dominion Power on the dams impact of spawning in anadromous fish species (fish that spawn in fresh water and return to salt water each year... striped bass, blueback herring, hickory shad, American Shad etc etc).

As to that sort of job impacting your hunting... lets put it this way... today (ironically) is Dad's 57th birthday... I called him this morning before work and he was already ass deep in a board meeting... and keep in mind... he's the boss (or one of them).... he did however manage to sneek away this afternoon and go striper fishing down on the river. His advice would be that if you like to fish... be a fisherman... because working around it isn't going to help you fish more. With regards to hunting... I suspect that you'll be doing less, because when hunters are harvesting game and find some weird growth on a deer.. they'll be calling you to come identify it.

The guys I know who get to hunt a lot have or are one or more of the following things:

1) Retired
2) Own their own successful business/make their own schedules
3) Are single, or hunt with their wives
4) Trust Funds/spoiled/on parental teet
5) Farmers (not much to plant in the winter.. but there is always something needs work).
6) (Like me) Work four LONG days in order to hunt three days straight... but you don't make a lot of money, and your quality of life suffers... its a good thing to do when you are 25 and single... but it will someday have to come to an end.

Final advice... you will be happiest doing what you really love, and if you are like me you'll succeed most only doing things that you really love. My dad knew what he wanted to do from the time he was 6 years old.. and he knew what was involved. I'm 25, have a college degree and I still don't know... I just want to hunt... and I'm too busy hunting to figure out how to make a living at it.... maybe it will find me.. who knows... good luck bro.