BHB, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania-Park and Resource Management...lots of loops to get into the law enforcment training...but i got in for next year. theres other schools with similar majors and programs...but from what i know, the law enforcement training and everything else we get is pretty untouched by other schools which makes us more desireable/marketable.

im not going to lie, im in it for law enforcement work. once im federal trained i can go anywhere and do anything from border patrol to USFWS to FBI if i wanted. and, have a 4 year degree to fall back on.

to get fully federal trained in LE im looking at another 6 months of training after school when im offered a permanent position. pretty sure that will all be paid and paid for though..not sure.


yes, i'll have a pile of loans to pay back...yep, its no 9-5 mon-fri job. but, like i said before, you cant put a price on happiness. i HAVE to work to survive and provide for possibly a future family. i want to be happy with my career. i'll find time to hunt and fish.

I work for the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) and I love it. I'm not getting rich like a doctor but the money is very respectable and you cant beat the benefits(health care, vacation, retirement). As far as having time to hunt, i have 14 days scheduled off this coming fall and thats not counting the new flex schedule i'm starting which gives me every other friday off. I have a bachelors in Environmental Science.

OK, since everyone is talking about government jobs and going to college to get a maters......etc......let me expound a little on my last comment and current situation.

I own and operate a fishing and bear hunting camp in NW Ontario. I don't have a degree of any sort. Hell, I barely made it through High School.....it wasn't because I wasn't smart enough, I was way too preoccupied with hunting and fishing.

I grew up in a family that owns grocery store, hardware stores, greenhouses and my father has owned other businesses such as restaurants, etc.

During my early years and all through High School I had a serious debate as to what I wanted to do for a living. I tried 4 different colleges and bombed out.....big time. Again, I was too preoccupied with hunting and fishing.....pretty common theme in my life.

Rewind....when I was 9 years old my father took me on my first fishing trip to Canada. Needless to say, I was hooked. Ever since that day, I knew what I wanted to do with my life......I just didn't know how to do it. That was until 6 years ago.

At the age of 25 I had the opportunity to buy into my current camp with my brother and another guy. I jumped at it and so did my wife. BUT, before I did, I had to decide if I wanted to make my passion my "job." I did.

I quickly realized that it was a hell of a lot more work than originally thought....but I was outdoors and doing/being around things that I love. I have a love for people and I love to see them having a good time in the outdoors.

I don't get to fish as much as I used to, but like most here hunting is my true passion. I bust my arse off for 14-16 hrs a day for5 months straight in the spring and summer and I work a ton at marketing in the winter and early spring. BUT, I have from mid-September until the end of December to virtually what ever I want......HUNT. Actually, because I guide bear hunters, my hunting season starts in late July.

There are days I wonder what the hell I'm doing.....things would be much easier working for the man and collecting my check, but not nearly as rewarding. When I have those days, I look at my other options and smile.....I'm right where I want to be.

SO.......I guess what I'm saying is, if you have the desire and an outdoor life is what you want, do it.....choose your path in life and love it. I have and so can you.

Depends on who you are working for. You'll get a set amount of vacation like any other job... how you use it depends on your family requirements.

My godfather was until recently my Dad's counterpart in wildlife (he's actually the director of the whole agency now... THE boss over wildlife, non-game and fisheries who reports directly to the governor, the board and the sec of natural resources). He is also one the the leading authorities in the country on whitetail deer... and if VA could have a "mayor" it would be him. he is a super super guy, and heck of a hunter and hell I can't say enough good stuff about him. He gets to hunt a lot, but thats how he spends most of his vacation time. He enjoys doing field work, always has. When you make it to that level, you can kinda decide what direction you want to go in. But keep in mind, both he and my dad have one or more post grad degrees (I don't know if Bob has a Ph. D or not) and they are top in their fields... and have been working for the state for over 35 years each.

The best way to get paid to hunt is to invent something... think about all the guys who see who are really filthy rich big shots hunting on TV... they are marketing and business geniuses... the two or three big hitters (Bill Jordan, Toxy Haas and Will Primos) found a niche and put their products in it. Bill's secret (he is the one to look at in my opinion) was to find a way to put his product on EVERYTHING and collect a royalty on it. He bascially did what Bill Gates did with Microsoft... make everything need it to work! Toxy did much the same thing. Primos started with game calls, and started to expand into accessories when he sold the controlling shares of his company to a third party investment firm whose name I don't remember.

Now, look at the guys who work for these big hitters.... Waddell, Blanton, Cuz Strickland, Brad Ferris, Troy Ruiz etc etc.... most of them will tell you that the way they got their job was pure 100% being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right person. They each have their own ways they found themselves in the right place... Waddell's for example was competition turkey calling... which is also how a lot of the HS guys got their starts like Ray Eye, Alex Rudledge, and Eddie Salter. Almost all your bigtime waterfowl guys either make calls or blow calls on stage. Some like the duck commander are just flat out people that others like to talk with and see on TV, and they are genuine and real enough to stick to products. Lee and Tiff are two I can't figure out. I don't know how they made it. I know Lee was a Chem Engineer, so he probably had some pretty big money for a pretty big farm... and since he's a pretty damn good hunter anyway and had a pretty wife that took to it as well... they were marketable. They hunt largely on their own property, and film their own hunts.. so Scent-loks investment in them was probably fairly small to start... once you make a name.. you can run with it. Problem with it now is everybody wants to do it, and a lot of those avenues are closing up fast.

Me and my old lady have our ideas... and we have our contacts... but what we don't have is ANY startup money... hell we just now got a piece of furnature to sit on that doesn't fold up to take to the beach....

^ that is ok, i am thinking of another career i would like to pursue. but thanks for answering.