You sound like my mother.[8D]

Your mom is pretty smart then.

In all honesty, with the state of our country now, jobs are harder and harder to come by; unless of course you don't mind bagging groceries or flipping burgers. Having a degree will only help your chances in finding a well paying job that allows you to support your family and still enjoy our increasingly expensive hobby.

This isn't coming from some 50 year old, been there made that mistake, old[er] person. I'm 20 and went through the same thoughts you're having now. I took a good hard look at where I wanted to be some day and know that I want to have a family. In order to do that I need a job that allows me to provide for them. Can't do that anymore without some sort of an education outside of the required high school diploma.

Take it for what its worth, but you'll look back on your decision some years down the road... Hopefully you don't look back and wish you'd made the other choice. Good luck, I s'pose.

to the young guy... listen.. your getting good advice.. school school school. Get a good job, get a degree and become a teacher.... WHY you ask? benefits pensions, and LOTS OF Free TIME. enough free time to also have your own part time business or work parttime doing something else.. all jokin aside.. I married a teacher for most of those reasons.. great benefits (health) the most imporant, good job, and EVERYONE respects you, and lots of free time so sometime in the near future hopefully she could be chasing baby deer hunters around the house. =]
get a degree, become a teacher.. but whatever you do.. get a degree man... do it and get it over with.. i work in a restaurant.. family biz. and its a great living.. but whats it werth when i can never take off on a weekened, nevermind its pulling teeth just to get a day off.. it sucks im miserable alot.. i like what i do, but its very demanding. good living $ wise.. but miserable.. cash business but doesnt mean jack SH&&*&*&(

At least go back and learn some type of craft. Plumbing, electrical, heavy equipment operator, whatever. You can work for someone for a while and then take some side business classes and maybe start your own after that. Yea as cool as it sounds wanting to “live the outdoor life” the odds are just stacked against you. Probably nearly all the “pros” started out with regular jobs as well.

Here is something that helps me and I wish I did at your age. REAL ESTATE.Start with a small fixer uper ,something real cheep.You will learn as you go like plumbing,wiring ,roofing ,flooring ect.Then rent it out .When that one is making money use it to get a loan for another, getthat oneup and making money .Now you will have the credit to move up to multi units .Some may take up to a year or more to redo but this is your job.By the time you are 30 the places will be payed off and you will be bring in some big money.I'll work at that all year,come sept. it's time to go hunting ,you can be anywhere doing the hunting you like and still getting payed.Self employment is not for eveyone but it is for me.One more thing is you need a wife that lets you run off in the fall,has a job with good heath benifits. By my spellingand writing you can tell I do not have a degee, but I do have it made!


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EXCELLENT post. Greg/MO (and Wash.....wise beyond his years in this case....and most others) also had great advice.

When I got out of college.....I go tinto the PGA of America's apprentice program....because I loved golf. Careful, there.....

While I don't regret ever doing that.....I can tell you that I got to PLAY the game I loved a LOT less than most would think. I gave up my youth to working every weekend, as well. If I had people like Justin and Greg (men with a few years of practical experience and insight) to give me advice back then....I "might" have taken a different path. Everyting worked out wonderfully, for me.....but I can also tell you I put down and didn't TOUCH a golf club for 7 yrs when I got out of the industry. I LOATHED the game I once loved.

Listen to Wash. Get your education, first. THEN listen to GregMO and Justin's advice. Do something that will afford you the financial means AND THE TIME OFF to pursue your passions.

I'm 43......and I'm "there", now. I got lucky.....EXTREMELY lucky.

Whatever you do, listen to these guys about your education. You will need it.

I dropped out of high school 6 weeks into my 11th grade year. I had big plans. A year later I was studying to earn my GED. I passed it with flying colors. Being smart was not the problem. Thinking I could make a living without an education was. I enrolled in a Community college for Computer Maint/Repair, scored a job while enrolled, and graduated. I somehow got into the Cellular Phone installation and repair.(Booming Bus. at the time) I worked my way up to Serv. Manager in 2 years over a complete Warr. Repair/Installation shop. After the owner got to big for his own good, I scored another job in the same field with little effort. All this while being married. I have been in the Cellular industry for 17 yrs now. I am now a Cellsite Technician. I have 5 weeks of paid vacation, 1 week of sick time, and great medical/dental/vision/retirement benefits. I get to hunt more than I probably really need to. The benefits alone are worth having an education. Good luck and please use the advice you see in these posts.

LT

As several have stated get the education

I went to two community colleges out of high school and wanted to get a Bachelors in management with a specialization in the printing industry. I had to drop out because I couldn't afford to live, this was three classes short of my associates. Shortly after that got offered a job at a ski and snowboard shop!! Yeah, I thought. After seven years running the business and working 60-80 hours a wekk I realized the sport I loved was what I hated most. I knew everyone in the industry and snowboarded with some of the founding fathers of the sport, was well known and respected and up one day just walked away and left it in my past.
After the "Dream Job" I got into plumbing, but the Union screwed me over with getting in right away and had me on a waiting list so after a year of BS I quit that. Since then I have worked at a Cellular Company in Customer Service and worked my way into management after my first five years of taking phone calls in a tech support role. I get 4 weeks vacation, 7 personal days and 5 paid sick days plus they pay 8k a year for school. At the ripe youg age of 35 I am about to finish the bachelors degree I should have finished more than 10 years ago and regretting what I never took care of. Next stop is my Masters, already started taking some classes toward it and work pays for it. If you can find a company that has paid schooling and a flexible work schedule you will be better off than trying to get a job in the industry, IMHO

Thank you guys. You all gave me some really great advice and it got me really thinking and i really apprecaite you guys taking your time to give advice to a young gun. You guys are 100% correct about the degree thing, now i need to figure out what field i want to be in. [&:]i really like the outdoors as do all of us im sure, I know a little about computers and im sure the computer business will only be growing, maybe i should get into something along those lines. Would be nice to be able to work at home on a computer and jsut postpone my work for a 4 hour sit in the morning and in the evening. Maybe website design? I dont know how much those individuals make or what but i think that would be pretty cool. Any of you have insight on this?

Well I can tell you then you do not want a Job then[&:]
In today's Job market you HAVE to market yourself. You need a Job skill that is in demand. You need to educate yourself in a field. I would do so in one that is in demand.

I worked in the hunting industry for 4 years, and I will not work for a hunting company asmy main job again You know what, when you work in the hunting indusrty, you are busy when? During HUNTING season.

Go to school and just so you know even in this shakey economy. Software Developers have less than 1% unemployment rate