Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Need some Ideas here... about life

Tanner, I have a degree and do taxidermy as a side business. It funds all my hunting toys. I did it fulltime for awhile and got really burned out. Stay in college.

Tanner you've already been given some great advice and it has come from personal experience. I whole
heartedly agree.

Remember this, someone said recently, "the best way to kill the joy in what you love, is to make a profession of it."

Certainly there have been exceptions to that but more times than not it turns out that way.

Generally....the carpenter never get HIS house built.
the plumber never get HIS leaks fixed, etc,etc.

Don't get in a rush.

Jerry

Tanner,

Go live with Poohbah for awhile.

You'll get to play with dogs, look at his pretty wife and you can work on his guns because he's old and can't shoot straight anyway.

Of course, you will have to listen to all the stories about the African Safaris he took in the late 1800's.

Start, by following your inner conviction.

this will set you on your way. then, as you travel your path day by day, things will come your way that will "feel right", and you move with it--like sound and echo, with no thought to "which way is the perfect way or direction".

our lives are much like creating a work of art (composition): we start with a thought or idea and move towards physically creating it--at times the original idea is lost and we move it in a new direction, capitalizing on a "happy accident" that occurs, or unexpectedly comes our way within the work. it is important to "stand back" and let the medium do some of the work--too much "control" results in dead compositions--killing the life they once had.

again, perhaps like going to a party or gathering; if we go thinking that we are going to "have a perfect time"--we may very well be disappointed. but if we go with no great expectation, and yet are "open," without preconceptions--having nary a notion of a "perfect time"--the experience will unfold with a life of its own...

Unless you're going to college on an athletic scholarship that pays a large percentage of your tuition and fees, you've got your focus all wrong. College is just a vehicle for preparing yourself for a post-collegate career, which for the vast majority of athletes isn't in professional athletics. Failing to make the golf team may be the best thing that ever happened to you, professionally and practically speaking. I don't know what year of college you're in, or what your study major is, but now is the time to get great grades and find summer internships with major organizations in your field of interest, so that you will have something meaningful to put on your 1st resume. College is a means toward an end, not a destination.

Jeff

"I plan on staying in school, but to do what?"

Tanner,
Obviously, golf was not the reason you were going to college, right? Will not being on the golf team maybe give you the time to experience more of the hunting/shooting interests that hold your attention right now? Many folks don't even get to attend college, it can be a great opportunity.

During my college years, I had similar disappointments come my way, three of them as a matter of fact. One instance, well, I'll never know if it was for the worse or better. In the other two I didn't get what I thought I "already had" or "deserved" and as it turned out, my life ended up so much better because of the changes I was "forced" to make.

One of my most prized possessions is a letter (postcard really) from Jack O'Connor (yea, THAT Jack O'Connor); a handwritten response to my adolescent inquires. He wrote that I'd be nuts to try & become a hunting guide cause they make almost no money; and that I wouldn't be much better off making a career out of becoming an "outdoor writer" either.
Point is, you're not alone in the asking. And I'm not a writer or a guide (well, not YET anyway).
You've got the same thing here, advice from a highly successful writer (Mule Deer / John Barsness), whom I would put up against O'Connor anytime (and I even know John :)). I'd take his advice.

Give college a try. Summer or parttime jobs maybe? Forest Service, BLM, local gun shop or fishing store. Poke your head through every doorway you can. (Except in the women's dorm......them wimmins be BADDDD for you!).
It's all about the experience sir, and best a'luck to ya!

Chuck

That would not hold snot here in Central Idaho other than the money part.The locals hunt every day of every season before and after work with hunting being just around town quicker than most could drive to Wal-Mart.

An education is important but after spending that several thousand dollars to be educated and borrowing the money as most do,what is waiting in the real world and where?

All you have to do is watch the news to see people with bachelor degree's in line for a job at McDonald's or Wal-Mart.

It sure isn't like it used to be.

Jayco

Thanks all for your input, I value and respect everybody's time and advice more than you would ever know.

Maybe getting cut was the best thing that'll ever happen to me. I sure as heck was a little bit different kid than the rest of those golfer kids, they're a pretty spoiled and sheltered bunch.

I'm sure that learning and living will open up a door for me sometime soon.

I need to ask Pat how I get to the point where I hunt and trap for a livin', and if he needs an assistant

Getting the pants off hasn't proven to be a challenge in my first week... whoops.

Tanner,

I recommend that you stay in school and get your degree. As my Grandmother once told me, "You can get a degree and still be a farmer, hunting guide or mechanic, but, the hunting guide without a degree is not going to get hired for jobs that require one".

Having a degree gives you more options and usually more earning potential in the long run.

Where I work, the only job you can get without a four year degree is the receptionist.

Chet

I had planned to be a career Army officer, but when the USA decided that I was going to be sent to Europe for 5 years, no choice, no alternative, I requested a release from active duty, got an MBA, finished my ROTC commitment, and got on with my life. Clearly the best "bad break" that I ever got.

Jeff

You have a good point there Logcutter, but there are still good opportunities in some surprisingly small towns out there. That is actually why I chose to work where I do. We have offices located in little rural towns throughout the country and have locations in Salmon, Council, Cascade, Grangeville, Nez Pierce, Lewiston, Orofino, Moscow, Plummer, etc. The guy that runs our office in Grangeville makes $90,000 a year plus a benefit package that equals 30% of his base salary. He gets five weeks of paid vacation, comp time over 40 hours per week and can still hunt in the mornings an evenings as you described. You do need a four year degree to get the job, but you don't need an expensive degree from Harvard. A good state school will do just fine and only cost about $6,000 a year.

Heck, Tanner will probably spend that much on beer and bullets this year.

Now, if you get a degree in Art History....you are on your own.

If you are interested, Tanner, let me know. We have internship programs where you can work part time during the school year and full time in the summer. When you graduate, we give you a full time job.

Chet

First, get a degree
Second, get really serious about grades...be in the very top of your class
Third, learn to do something that will make money for you
Fourth, get something that will allow you to move around the world like engineering or pharmacy or medicine
Fifth, check out Namibia....there are some great places in the pacific like NZ
Sixth, be very selective who you reproduce with
Seventh, be very careful who you wed
Eighth, spend less than you earn and invest the rest
Ninth, you only need two or three big game rifles
Tenth, keep this shooting hobby under control until you do the first eight and then you can do whatever you wish.
Last, health is the first wealth!

Rick,

Sounds like a story there?

Chet

Chet,
I see disasters in my office daily. Hard to keep the weinix under control and under wraps, if you get my drift.

Ha! I'll bet you see some doozies in your line of work.

Chet

Tanner:

1. Decide where you want to live.

2. Decide what you have to do to make a living in that place.

3. Declare a major as soon as possible in a field that will get you to that place, and take summer courses until you're done.

How are you with math and physics?

Well Tanner, if I was starting college today the first thing I'd do is get a video camera. There is plenty of time for guns but whilst young you should take advantage of all the young ladies and get an education to boot.


Enjoy!

What he said...plus beer.