Being young making decisions would you do it all over again.

[martensmax]

I know there's been a couple of these so far but the thought have been on my mind to type one up and see what you guys think.
I am 22 years old born and raised in the heart of Minneapolis MN never have been much for the city for as long as i can remember. I am at a point in life where i am trying to figure out what to do next. My drive for the outdoors is strong and will be influencing this decision majorly. I have spent the last two years guiding in AK for salmon and in Idaho Montana Utah and washington for everything else. After this season i was burnt out. I am sure there are some guides on here that understand the feeling. Free time to hunt and fish yourself is far and few between working 6-7 days a week sun up to sun down for 6 months strait. So i decided that it was time to think elsewhere. I am a certified welder and did that for a year before i went guiding working in the shop every day bored the living daylights out of me. I am currently and apprentice electrician working for a shop that my friend hooked me up with here in MPLS. Great guys being an apprentice is boring they are willing to pay for my school and stick with for the next 4 years tell i get my journeyman's. living in the city again is about making me insane. So here the question stick with it for 4 years and save every penny i can , then move? Alaska is always in the back of my head calling my name strongly. The next 4 years might be a suffer for me here if i can hold onto my sanity in the city but would setup me up for a good job. Or look at becoming a welder in Alaska. Its far away and a scary thought of not knowing anyone but its Alaska! My plan after getting my journeyman's would be to move as well either to Alaska or outwest.
What would you do if you could do it again?

 

[brsnow]

Get your journeyman’s and then live where you want. At some point in time you might get married and have kids. Being a parent increases your capacity for passion and drive. The desire to provide for and inspire your kids is leaps and bounds higher than chasing fish or game.

Good thing is they will probably want to as well. Enjoy your life, but take steps along the way to improve your standing. Time flies.

 

[Boo Radley]

When I was 27 I made a plan with my little brother to move to Montana after he graduated college. Then I got my girlfriend pregnant. Nowadays my little brother guides elk, deer, and sheep in Montana and I still live in the cities with my wife and our 3 wonderful kids. I’m 38. Go with your gut, regrets are a bad thing. I personally have none.

 

[Rs3003]

Stick with the apprenticeship and get the Journeyman license. The journeyman license will provide money for you anywhere you go. If you really want to become a wielder, do that AFTER the electrician apprenticeship. If this apprenticeship is part of the IBEW then it will provide you with a pension and a 401k type of retirement fund. I am a a IBEW journeyman. If you have any questions send me a pm and we can talk more. Good luck.

 

[Mt Al]

What brsnow and Rs3003 said: stick with it! You can take your electricians license, at least experience, anywhere. It's an investment in your future and will earn you flexibility and freedom. Looking back, that's what I'd do in an instant.

 

[Jacobo2012]

I agree with sticking with it and getting that license! I’m an apprentice electrician myself with the Ibew in Ca and plan on getting my license and maybe relocating myself. The great thing about getting your electricians license is you can go anywhere with it including Alaska! Grind it out for the next 4 years then live out your dream!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Desk Jockey]

I will throw in here. Most of the people I know that were guides or something similar (outward bound instructors, Martial artists, etc.) that did low paying passion jobs were very happy for a while. Some found ways to make that passion into rewarding careers. Some tried to and failed in that effort. Most eventually moved on to other things but stayed connected to that passion some how. When I was your age, I spent a few years stomping around in the woods, jumping out of planes and blowing shit up for the army. When I wasn’t doing that, I was in the gym, doing jits or swilling beer at hooters or some nasty strip club near Fort Bragg. I was happy as can be and wasn’t thinking much beyond the next thrill or pitcher of beer. at some point I realized I wanted a different career. I did a 180 and spent the next 20+ years in a desk job wearing a suit. It has its benefits but I can’t say I love it and I am still there. I find my adventures where I can but like you I get crazy if I am in a city too long. If I were doing it over, I would have tried to find more of a blend somehow.

On the other hand, I will also suggest, it doesn’t get easier to devote the time to acquire trade skills later in life. Professional credentials, schools, masters degrees. Kids, wife, financial obligations and frankly age will start to weigh you down as life ticks by. Not a bad thing but just a bigger set of considerations for any major plan or decision. When I speak to people your age about careers I always suggest they knock those out Early. If you did nothing else by the time you are 30 than Figure out something that you both like and are good out and set your self up on that path, then you are in a good place. Having a good, valuable and portable skill is a hell of a thing.

Maybe down the road you can blend trade work and the outdoors in a way that keeps you happy. Look at Cam Hanes. He is 20 years into a municipal services career on top of all the other crazy shit he does. I have a friend that is a contractor and ultramarathoner and hiker. He schedules his jobs so he works all fall and winter. By late spring and for most of the summer he is running and hiking all over. My brother spear fishes and does a somewhat less challenging sales gig that lets him get in the water at least one day a week. There are ways to make it work.

A bit of a ramble and frankly a mixed message, but if I was summing it up, I would say next best thing to having all the money in the world is to pursue a plan that will let you strike a balance between your passion and some stability. Maybe that is a job in the outdoor industry of some kind. Maybe that is structuring a trade career in a way that gives you the time and freedom to pursue adventures. Do it right and you can have the best of both worlds.

 

[Scottyboy]

I would move away from downtown to help keep your sanity for a few more years. Maybe you enjoy uptown, dinkytown, or any other ‘town’, but if you like the west/Alaska, I would venture to say you are better suited living north of the cities and commuting. If your job is flexible and you can start early, traffic should be a non issue

 

[bascott1]

Get the license for sure, then you will have the option to make decent money anywhere you want to go. I don't care what anyone says you have to have money to be somewhat comfortable.

 

[martensmax]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement !! That was the idea that i was going for but its a hard thought somedays ! I do my best to find thing to keep my sanity here currently training my bird dog just got back from 2 hours at the river with her. Gonna hit the gym then fire up the smoker to get some jerky made. Loving this forum ! If any MN guys wanna meet up sometime lets do it.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Do you have any interest in the fire service?

 

[martensmax]

Do you have any interest in the fire service?

Never really thought about it. Is that what you do?

 

[lab-roamer]

Get your Journeymen's Card and then get the hell out of this Liberal $hithole state!!! The IBEW union seems pretty strong in Alaska so you could probably also transfer at some point too.

 

[martensmax]

Get your Journeymen's Card and then get the hell out of this Liberal $hithole state!!! The IBEW union seems pretty strong in Alaska so you could probably also transfer at some point too.

I feel that !!1

 

[Alaskanopolis]

I know there's been a couple of these so far but the thought have been on my mind to type one up and see what you guys think.
I am 22 years old born and raised in the heart of Minneapolis MN never have been much for the city for as long as i can remember. I am at a point in life where i am trying to figure out what to do next. My drive for the outdoors is strong and will be influencing this decision majorly. I have spent the last two years guiding in AK for salmon and in Idaho Montana Utah and washington for everything else. After this season i was burnt out. I am sure there are some guides on here that understand the feeling. Free time to hunt and fish yourself is far and few between working 6-7 days a week sun up to sun down for 6 months strait. So i decided that it was time to think elsewhere. I am a certified welder and did that for a year before i went guiding working in the shop every day bored the living daylights out of me. I am currently and apprentice electrician working for a shop that my friend hooked me up with here in MPLS. Great guys being an apprentice is boring they are willing to pay for my school and stick with for the next 4 years tell i get my journeyman's. living in the city again is about making me insane. So here the question stick with it for 4 years and save every penny i can , then move? Alaska is always in the back of my head calling my name strongly. The next 4 years might be a suffer for me here if i can hold onto my sanity in the city but would setup me up for a good job. Or look at becoming a welder in Alaska. Its far away and a scary thought of not knowing anyone but its Alaska! My plan after getting my journeyman's would be to move as well either to Alaska or outwest.
What would you do if you could do it again?

Start applying for welding and or electrician jobs on the north slope of Alaska. Two weeks on, two weeks off is the standard schedule up there and the pay is good.

 

[Boarmaster]

I would find a profession or trade where I could move to where ever I wanted without having to start back at square one.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Never really thought about it. Is that what you do?

Yes, I'm a firefighter/paramedic. I have a degree in forestry and did that for about 8 years before joining the fire department. Now, I do my own forestry work on the side.

We work 24 hours on and 48 hours off. Every department is a little bit different, but it can be a pretty good setup.

 

[Mike 338]

Where does a person start?

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Journeyman then to Alaska while your young.Stay and enjoy your outdoors and your life.

 

[S.Clancy]

I know there's been a couple of these so far but the thought have been on my mind to type one up and see what you guys think.
I am 22 years old born and raised in the heart of Minneapolis MN never have been much for the city for as long as i can remember. I am at a point in life where i am trying to figure out what to do next. My drive for the outdoors is strong and will be influencing this decision majorly. I have spent the last two years guiding in AK for salmon and in Idaho Montana Utah and washington for everything else. After this season i was burnt out. I am sure there are some guides on here that understand the feeling. Free time to hunt and fish yourself is far and few between working 6-7 days a week sun up to sun down for 6 months strait. So i decided that it was time to think elsewhere. I am a certified welder and did that for a year before i went guiding working in the shop every day bored the living daylights out of me. I am currently and apprentice electrician working for a shop that my friend hooked me up with here in MPLS. Great guys being an apprentice is boring they are willing to pay for my school and stick with for the next 4 years tell i get my journeyman's. living in the city again is about making me insane. So here the question stick with it for 4 years and save every penny i can , then move? Alaska is always in the back of my head calling my name strongly. The next 4 years might be a suffer for me here if i can hold onto my sanity in the city but would setup me up for a good job. Or look at becoming a welder in Alaska. Its far away and a scary thought of not knowing anyone but its Alaska! My plan after getting my journeyman's would be to move as well either to Alaska or outwest.
What would you do if you could do it again?

Continue your current path or go into civil engineering and move wherever you want.