career help?

[texag93]

I have to agree with Chunky on this one as well. I have a wildlife degree from TAMU and when I graduated with a BS I was either over or under qualified for everything. I DO NOT RECOMMEND A WILDLIFE DEGREE. The hours are usually long, good chance your busiest times will be hunting season, and the pay usually sucks. You are still young. You don't have to know now what you are going to do with the rest of your life.I was a commercial electrician for almost 15yrs. I decided it was time for a change. I am now 38 and in sales. I might change careers again. I am still young.

Business/Marketing and technology are always safe bets. If you have the opportunity to get a degree, GET ONE. It will take you further in life no matter what it is. You will figure it out but you don't have to do it right now. Good luck.

[loyal1865]

I just graduated from SFA in May of 2007 with a Bachelors of Science in Forest Management with a Minor in General Business. I went the route no other student wanted (all the people I graduated with told me I was stupid) and looked for jobs in the public sector and found one with Homeland Security, but I am getting my Master in Public Administration so I can get a 12K increase in salary when I reapply.

Many students coming out of the college with a wildlife degree find it hard to find some type of work that pays decent that's the reason you see many of them in graduate school working on their masters. The jobs that are out there are held by people that have had them for years, and when the jobs open up they are filled quickly.

My advice is just like what others have said, get a degree that can finance your love for hunting.

[Kdog]

Follow Tink's advice. If anyone can answer that question it would be Tink and Fred Bear.....I think so anyway!

[Burnadell]

Several people have posted some great advice, and I agree with most of the posts. Chance says it well. If you try to make a career out of something you enjoy so much, such as hunting, fishing, golfing, etc., the fun can go out of it in a few years. Remember that we are usually better off when we have a good job that pays us enough to make a good living, provide for our retirement, and allows us enough time and MONEY to be able to pursue our pastime. Folks who turn a love of fishing into a job, find that their love of fishing wains; folks who turn a love of golf into a job, find that their love of golfing wains; folks who turn their love of hunting into a job find that they have no time to enjoy it themselves.

Get a college degree in something that educates you and is flexible enough to allow you to pursue various careers. If you get a history degree, or a wildlife biology degree, or a chemistry degree, and either there are no jobs available in that field...or you decide you don't like that field, what will you do? Most young folks (and neither did I) have no idea what they want to do for a living nor do they have a clue what they will be doing 20 years after they graduate; so, GET A COLLEGE DEGREE IN A GENERAL FIELD and look for something that you will enjoy that will EVENTUALLY provide you with the lifestyle AND INCOME to enjoy your pastime.

Trophy8, you have irritated a number of older, experienced and wiser folks on this great campfire. You appear to have a good head on your shoulders, and you appear to be (somewhat) mature beyond your 18 years; however, it is wise to repect those who have more experience, and it is wise to listen to those who have more experience, and it is wise to listen to your parents. You have wisely asked for some advice; yet I sense that you are pretty headstrong and may not really listen to the advice that you seek:

"Tell me that i can't do it. Tell me that i shouldn' even try. Tell me it's impossible.Tell me the risk is too high,the challenge too much,or the feat too tough.tell me that i wont do it and i will.
tell me i cant do it and ill do it better."

It is good to be confident, but those who ignore wise counsel are doomed to fail. Your signature implies more of a headstong young man who does not listen to advice rather than a confident person.

Mellow out a little. You will do fine in life, but it, like a fine wine, takes time.

[trailboss]

I'd think about it long and hard before giving up the business degree. When the glamour wears off the wildlife job and you find yourself starving to death, a business degree will take you a lot futher. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Trailboss

[leebtattoos]

Follow Tink's advice. If anyone can answer that question it would be Tink and Fred Bear.....I think so anyway!

ditto

[Tmag]

Bottom line. Pick something you enjoy doing or your life will be miserable.

[dumas]

I just graduated from SFA in May of 2007

KA!? Do they still have 'fight night'?

I graduated from SFA summer '88. I was a Sig Tau (do they still exist?) and fished more than I studied.

If I had to do it all over again, I would go to A&M and get a masters. A college degree doesn't mean much these days unless it is specific. Problem is, young people have to figure out what they want to do at an early age to really benefit from the education... and that's tough. Hell, I'm 41 and don't know what I want to do when I grow up.

After graduating, I used my mgt degree for 6 years before taking up a hobby... photography, for my profession. Now, I hate photography. And I'm sure I would hate fishing if I was a fishing guide for 20 years.

[Shane]

T8, you're getting good advice all around. I remember being 18 and trying to decide what I was going to do the rest of my life. That sucked. I knew I did NOT want to raise cotton anymore, but I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. I decided that a business degree would be good, but I went back and forth between Finance and Management. After 2 of the 6 accounting classes required for a Finance degree, I decided I'd hire an accountant instead of being one. I did well in the classes, but just didn't like it. I finally settled on Management. I still didn't know what I wanted to do for my career, but I knew that whatever it was, I wanted to be the boss. Management sounded like being the boss - plus I didn't have to take any more accounting.

I also remember being more of a planner and long-term thinker than a lot of people my age. That is a strength, but it was also my biggest weakness. I was always so impatient to "get there" and achieve everything. It REALLY ****** me off when old farts would tell me how I was too young to be able to do anything. I'd go out and do it anyway, but they still wouldn't give me the credit or respect I thought I deserved. I found that, just like they told me, respect has to be earned over time.

Nobody can tell you what career to choose, but even a hunting-related career is still a JOB and work. If it didn't have a lot of downside to it, nobody would have to pay somebody to do those jobs. That's why jobs come with a paycheck - because they're not fun enough to do for free all the time.

Like others have said, look for a job that will provide a comfortable living (whatever that is for you) and that will also allow you to have plenty of regular family time and some recreation time too.

Read Ecclesiates and Proverbs in the Old Testament. Solomon talks a lot in those books about trying to find the perfect living on earth. He found that everything the world has to offer that is glitzy is just "chasing after the wind". He found that the best thing to do is to find enjoyment in your work (no matter what your work is), and to be content with what you have.

And guess what I am doing now..... I'm a Financial Advisor and a Certified Financial Planner. Guess I should have stuck with the Finance degree, huh?

[McPatrickClan]

Good thread.

I am 30 years old now & have been married for almost a decade. We have three kids (two on Earth, one in Heaven) and I love each one of them dearly. I started out as a self-employed small business owner in Abilene, eventually moving my operations to Houston. After evaluating what it would take to consistently turn a significant profit (70+ 6-day work weeks for five years was my guess), I decided to go corporate.

I have a B.S. in Psychology w/Biblical Emphasis from Abilene Christian. I have been working at a financial institution for about seven years now. Honestly, I really don't like the job and I decided about a year ago that I want to be a church planter & teaching elder/pastor. Yes, I realize that I will be taking a pay cut & be working longer hours. That being said, working with the gifts your Creator gave you to use will not feel like work at all but rather a wonderful experience of communion with God.

You only get one life. Just one. When it's all said and done, they lay your body in a box & say nice things about you (most TBHers, anyway :>). Why were you created? Why are you here? What is special about you? What has God created in you that is unique?

What comes easily to you that others find difficult?

For me, it is a couple of things. I find articulating myself a pretty easy process. I enjoy theology. I don't mind answering questions about God. I like writing and communicating. It has all added up for me & now it's just a matter of time before I invest even more of my time into vocational ministry.

On the bright side, I am now a student at Westminster Theological Seminary in Dallas & have enjoyed the two classes I have taken so far.

This was the best book I have ever read on this subject. It's available as a free PDF download. The first 100 pages are tough but as you progress, you will see the payoff.

I would suggest you read this book & seek God's fingerprints in your life as to what He has uniquely given you as gifts. Once you find those things, find a way to use them & trust Him that He will take care of the details (money, etc.).

http://www.dontwasteyourlife.com/

[loyal1865]

KA!? Do they still have 'fight night'?

I graduated from SFA summer '88. I was a Sig Tau (do they still exist?) and fished more than I studied.

Yes sir I am a KA. We don't have fight night anymore, after we were kicked off campus in 2002 (quickly came back in 2005) Sig Tau took over fight night but it became to much of an insurance hassle so they haven't had it in two year.

Sig Tau is still around and one of the largest and best organized fraternities here on campus. I believe they are on suspension or some form of discipline because they didn't participate in rush this semester and have had an issue with hazing a couple semesters back (we have all had these issues).

[4barchery]

I agree with Berandel. Get a degree in a general field that you can use in various industries. I can give you so many phone numbers of my fraternity brothers that graduated and went straight to work as hunting guides (me included). We did it because we thought it would be the LIFE. We were wrong. Most of the time, its very early hours, low pay, and 60% of the time its dealing with very difficult people. We all got out of it. Thankfully, our parents made us finsih our degrees at UT before starting living the LIFE, as we called it. Now each and everyone of us is in graduate school or law school. You are very young and need to think about this decision very carefully. You have a lot of good people telling you to think it over----THINK IT OVER. I promise you, as well as what Chance has told you, it is not as glamourous as you think. We all thought we would hunt between clients and eat steaks every night around the campfire. We were way wrong. When we did not have clients, we were sleeping or leaving camp just to be in civilization.

[ranchdog]

I guess I will follow up on my advice too. If you are technically skilled or inclined towards engineering then I would look at a technical degree of some sort that is marketable. For example, one of the engineering degrees at University Texas in West Texas. Maybe petroleum engeering or one of the other engineering degrees. You could also look at Industrial Distribution to focus on sales. Also, Engineering Technology at Texas A&M they have many specialties such as electrical, telecommunications, and materials. The oil business is doing well and you can apply these degree to this industry with big pay. I grew up in Odessa and worked my butt to make something of myself.

You could run your own business and have the potential to make a lot of money but you will work your arse off everyday of the year. If you go that route you would need to go to work for someone and learn the ropes from them for like 5 years and then try and break out on your own.

Remember this, I think others would agree, Sometimes you have to work hard at doing something you may not love for a while to get something you do love. I hated 6.5 years of night school getting my Mechanical Engineering degree and working too. But I love my company and my job now and it has paid me so well. I just bought another 40 acres connected to our camp in Michigan. I could not have afforded this without my engineering degree and the job I got. With my degree, I have so many opportunities.

Good luck, you will do fine, work hard for your goals. Take a look at my signature it says it all !!

Ranchdog

[Chunky]

Most everything has already been said, but I am going to add one more thought and then shut up.

If it were me this is how I would go about it...if I were young and starting over.

Instead of choosing a field of study, I would pick a job (the exact position) that I wanted. It would have to make the acceptable income I want, it would have to be something that I would enjoy doing, and there would have to be enough opportunities (demand) for qualified people that you know a job will be available when your plan is completed.

Then I would build my plan, which would enclude talking to people with that exact job, planning the education, maybe internship, and whatever else to reach my goal. When that was all done, I put it in place.

I would also have a plan B, that would use most of the same requirments as plan A.....just incase something unforseen happens in the mean time.

It is good that you have asked for advice, because of your age you just don't have the experience, even if you are very intelligent.

Let me give you an examples from my own case. When I was your age, I wanted to work outside, wear jeans and not a suite, and have no boss standing over me. I thought, money is not important....happiness is all that matters.

Well let me tell you, you are much better off being paid for using your mind than your muscles. Working outside in all conditions gets old, especially as you do. I got very lucky ( I was dumb as a rock) but my father gave me a gentle steer that saved me.

When I was your age I had no concept of real money. A friend of mine graduated with a masters degree in chemical engeering and got a positon with Haliburton for 35 k a year. I thought OMG, rich behond all my dreams. If I could just make that, I would want for nothing...so much money. That is not that much money today. If you were making that, you might be happy, but you would not be buying your own south Texas ranch or going on safari in Africa. The point being, you are making decisions for the rest of your life, with little life experience to base them on. I hope you are wiser than I was, or at least as lucky.

[tx_dropem]

TAMUK has new program they are introducing called the W.R.E.N program it combines buisness with ranching sorta. They basiclly take you and show you the ropes on how to run and operate your own hunting ranch. They also offer internships through this program which could have you working on some of the most world known Texas hunting ranches including the King. It may be something you would like to look into.