Adams wrote: Amen to that! When I landed my current job , fresh out of college, I was so fortunate. Great pay, best benefits around, the only drag was the constant threat of layoffs. 4 years later I've made it through all the layoffs and even a buyout, but I've also realized I'm not living my life as the person I really am. Being couped up in a cubiclewith no view of the outside world for 9 hours/day (half of which I'm bored out of my mind), doing work thatmakesno improvement to society,is driving me nuts! I'm an outdoors person, I belong out there, not in here. So I decided to go back to school and get a degree in Wildlife Conservation. It will take me 3 years, but in the end hopefully I'll land a job working with what I really love and making a difference in the world. Sure I'll take a pay/benefits cut, and may not have the flexibility that I have now with vacations, but the time I'll lose hunting in God's country will be replaced with helping to preserve God's country so other's can enjoy it too. I say trust your gut instinct andgo with what you think will make you the happiest. If it turns out you're wrong, you can alwaysfind another job.

rybohunter,

I sympathize because I'm going through the same thing. Our CEO announced his retirement yesterday in our Executive Committee meeting and I had always said that when he goes, I'm going too. I'm fortunate to work in an industry where most of the business owners are hunters also. If I move to another job before deer season, I would gently probe the new boss to see if they were open to taking off some time without pay. Of course I don't know what your situation is, that may not be possible. But, I agree with Western MA Hunter that your family comes first and hunting come second (boy, that was hard to get out).

I kind of hope that the parent company will lay some of us off right before the season starts. Good severance package, and plenty of time to hunt. It hasn't taken too long in the past for me to find a new job.