Outdoor Industry jobs?

[aggieland]

I am wondering what would the best Avenue is to finding an outdoor industry job? Is their a network to listings of jobs that are in need of sales reps, vendor booth workers at conventions or even guides? My cousin and I are both considering making a change and have often talked about this line of work. Both of us are experienced outdoorsmen and have degrees in multiple fields. If anyone has any suggestions, general advice or connections shoot me a P.M. Thank you for your time, Casey

 

[bozeman]

Top right corner 'Search', there are a few previous threads on this and I remember some had excellent info. I am sure others will chime in here, but if you wanted to get ahead. Best of luck in your search.

 

[aggieland]

I appreciate it Bozeman.

 

[CiK01]

You can try LinkedIn. I follow about every gun/archery manufacturer out there just in case they ever need an experienced product development engineer with an extensive plastics background. Just in case.

 

[alexanderg23]

I’d just get you resume together and start calling and emailing. Lots of guide jobs if you like being poor.

 

[alexanderg23]

What state are you in? How old are you?

 

[slaton]

Don’t.

Find a career that pays good and allows for time off. I did it for several years in the archery industry and it became just a job. Almost lost my love for shooting. Now I’m an electrician so money is decent and can take off almost anytime I want to hunt.


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[JimCraig]

The outdoor industry is huge, so it would help to narrow down a more specific industry within the industry. Also, think about what you'd love to, like to do, or be willing to do. It's hard to get where you want to be if you don't decide where you want to be. PM incoming.

 

[aggieland]

Currently in Texas 40 yrs old. I enjoy archery the most specifically traditional archery.

 

[aggieland]

My cousin is as interested in this as much as I am. It will take some learning for sure but we would both love to have a Job that was actually something we loved doing before we're dead or retired. If that makes sense.

 

[Poser]

Currently in Texas 40 yrs old. I enjoy archery the most specifically traditional archery.

In short, you can basically go down one of the following paths:

-R&D (unlikely for an outsider)
-manufacturing
-managing manufacturing
-marketing (SEO, Social, Paid Search, Targeting, email)
-marketing management
-creative (branding, design, photography etc)
-IT
-finance
-HR
-shipping and receiving/warehouse
-customer service

If you have upper management experience, you could consider VP type jobs, but most will require 10+ years experience in the outdoor sector and are usually specialized in marketing, branding, finance, manufacturing etc.

 

[Travis Hobbs]

I’d go with Instagram influencer

I ran a guide operation a few years ago (fishing) for a few years and I loved it... but honestly, I think getting out of the outdoor industry was the best thing, more money, more time to do what I love, when and how I want.

 

[aggieland]

Another thing I want to mention is if I lived out West and could actually spend time doing what I love doing it would help a lot. I live in NE Texas and I don't enjoy the outdoor environment here at all. Small acreage tracts with a hunter on every corner. No public land, etc. What's the point of owning all this gear for Mountain/western hunting when all their is ar your home area is pine thickets. Sure I get to visit Colorado for elk every season for a week or two or perhaps Utah or an occasional other hunt which is more than 90% of the population does. But you guys that live and breath it out West are more blessed than you can imagine. And yes I am jealous.

 

[come2elmo]

Another thing I want to mention is if I lived out West and could actually spend time doing what I love doing it would help a lot. I live in NE Texas and I don't enjoy the outdoor environment here at all. Small acreage tracts with a hunter on every corner. No public land, etc. What's the point of owning all this gear for Mountain/western hunting when all their is ar your home area is pine thickets. Sure I get to visit Colorado for elk every season for a week or two or perhaps Utah or an occasional other hunt which is more than 90% of the population does. But you guys that live and breath it out West are more blessed than you can imagine. And yes I am jealous.

Sounds like you are just looking for a change of scenery. They probably have needs in the west for your particular profession. I would seriously consider just finding a similar job in a place you like and venture out more. Then dip your toe into things. A few years ago I wanted a change from my work environment and considered jumping into something new because I was pretty much shredded. But I soon came to realize that didn’t make much sense so I decided to start my own IT consulting business and have more money and free time to join my fellow Texans and clog up the trail heads. Now I just need to find some electric utilities in Wyoming or Montana who need critical system/facility support and life would be even better.

 

[RCB]

I have no experience in the field so take this with a grain of salt. I suspect pay is going to be relatively low in this industry compared to more “boring” industries. There are a lot of passionate people who love the outdoors, so there is going to be a lot of competition for jobs, which will tend to drive down wages and salaries. Or, at least, make it harder to find a job.

 

[Coldtrail]

Good paying jobs don't often coordinate with being in prime hunting country, took me a few years to figure out where I wanted to live and then picked my career around that. Usually means you will drive some distance to get to work .....but walk out your door to be in the woods.

 

[MattB]

Currently in Texas 40 yrs old. I enjoy archery the most specifically traditional archery.

Traditional archery, that's where the money is..... I kid.

As stated above, get a job outside the industry in a place you want to live and hunt. Most of the folks I know who are "in the industry" struggle to keep the love for the reason they got into it in the first place.

 

[alexanderg23]

Yeah. You need to move out of Texas. Head west.

Another thing I want to mention is if I lived out West and could actually spend time doing what I love doing it would help a lot. I live in NE Texas and I don't enjoy the outdoor environment here at all. Small acreage tracts with a hunter on every corner. No public land, etc. What's the point of owning all this gear for Mountain/western hunting when all their is ar your home area is pine thickets. Sure I get to visit Colorado for elk every season for a week or two or perhaps Utah or an occasional other hunt which is more than 90% of the population does. But you guys that live and breath it out West are more blessed than you can imagine. And yes I am jealous.

 

[Coldtrail]

It is very true that if you work in the outdoor business you likely won't enjoy it as much on your free time. My greatest memories of hunting are working as a grunt laborer for next to nothing 9 months a year living in an area surrounded by national Forest and state, county, and timber company land. When work slowed I'd be throwing my mediocre gear in a 20 yr old F150 for 3 months and living the dream. It's not too hard to keep costs down on hunting gear these days & that gives you lots of flexibility for career choices. Spend your money on lining up the "experience" rather than the gear and you can get by pretty easy.

 

[Poser]

I tend to agree with advice above. I moved out to CO at 40 years old because I wanted to pursue a “mountain lifestyle” day in and day out vs. vacations and sweltering summers. I do now work for a company that works with a lot of outdoor brands, though not exclusively. In my role, I make more money and work less hours than if I worked for an outdoor brand directly in the same or similar job. If it’s the lifestyle you are after, find a good job that you enjoy reasonably enough, buy your own gear and pursue that lifestyle on the weekends and after work. If you work for an outdoor brand directly, you will be shorted a lot of weekends going to trade shows and events. People do get sucked into the “free gear” mentality. Look no further than the people who take crap jobs at ski resorts for a “free pass.” If you take another job making $20 an hour, you could buy that “free pass” with 40 hours of work, have benefits, year around stability and make $10,000 more a year. That “free pass” is actually costing them money and the perks are way overrated.

So, if you’re serious, look more at a relocation in a lateral career field. Western mountain towns have bankers, CPAs, lawyers, real estate agents, chefs, entrepreneurs, personal trainers, financial advisors, contractors, electricians, UPS drivers, mailmen, warehouse managers, HR people, accountants, HVAC, sales jobs etc just like everywhere else. Maybe more limited, maybe pay less, but if you’re willing to make some creature comfort sacrifices in exchange for a lifestyle upgrade, the opportunity is there. You just really have to be willing to commit and go for it.