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    Career Path Struggles

    Ok TBH this is gonna be a long read but would very much like yalls input, nothing bashing, only serious comments, be honest and truthful, but remember I am driven by my dream.......

    I am 27 years old, turning 28 this year in March, married and have a 16 month old boy. I separated from the Military in 2012 and since then finding a job has been rough, one that i enjoy at least. I am now attending school full time under the Post 9-11 GI Bill. I am transferring to TCU next semester to pursue a Bachelors Degree in Ranch Management, here are some issues I am facing.....

    I joined the military right out of high school, so it is really all i know professionally. I don't have all the experience I need and want to get a job on a ranch right now. I have a lot of great qualities and things to offer that the military has instilled in me but, it is hard to tell someone you are disciplined, a hard worker, smart, good with your hands, a natural leader, self motivated and a quick learner and for them to believe you and give you a chance.

    I didn't grow up on a ranch or farm, I grew up in the city wishing i was a country boy. I have been around it, and even helped a few times with cattle, doctoring them, riding horses, a beginner roper, heck I even work part time at the sale barn in Decatur doing all kinds of work with livestock, a lot of my buddies work on ranches but it isn't enough for someone to trust my skills, my learning ability and bring me onto help. I have tried and tried to get on somewhere part time/full time to gain the experience, i just can't find the person that will give me the chance. I will tell you this, it is what i want to do, it is what I love doing, even though I don't have a full spectrum of what it takes, but i am not afraid of work and i am not afraid to work my way up and be someone's hand, i believe in the system of proving yourself and your knowledge. That part of life is programmed in me and i wouldn't expect to be treated any different from the get go. I just wonder if me going to TCU obtaining the degree and keeping a part time job like working at the sale barn is enough. Is it enough for when i graduate to actually get a job in this field? I feel like ranching isn't the type of career field that wants to see a piece of paper that says i stuck it out for 4 years, got my degree, so now lets go you're hired! I actually am pretty darn sure thats not how it works.

    My wife has a great job so money is not what i want out of this, I want to enjoy my job and this is what I want to do. So i guess I'm asking, if you were in my situation, would you stick it out, get the degree and bust your butt trying to get into the ranch world, or am i a city boy turned country living a big dream?

    #2
    You are on the right track. Keep working hard. I think attending school will help you. There will be lots of opportunity to get into an internship or a coop and get that on the job experience that you need. Good luck.

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      #3
      I ain't got much for you ol buddy except for this... Stay after it. Anything that comes without sacrifice ain't worth having. When you stay after something, when you REALLY want it, and it's hard to get. Then one day all the pieces fall into place and it works out, you will truly appreciate what you have.

      I wish I was in the loop and could make a call for you but I'm not. Hang out at the sell barns, put adds out in the papers and classifieds, and stay after it.

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        #4
        Originally posted by Ttechhunter View Post
        You are on the right track. Keep working hard. I think attending school will help you. There will be lots of opportunity to get into an internship or a coop and get that on the job experience that you need. Good luck.
        +1 Don't get discouraged yet. Once you get to school you will meet dozens if not more people wanting to do exactly what you're striving for. Just network network network! Talk to friends, advisors, profs, etc about jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities. A lot of the good management jobs out there need a degree, so use your time in school to find those jobs. I'm sure that tcu has a career center and/or a job board that you could look into. Also try wfscjobs.tamu.edu. There are all kinds of ranch jobs there and most are for current college students. Use "Texas" as your search criteria.

        Best of luck!

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          #5
          Career Path Struggles

          My son's your age and grew up in the suburbs wanting to be a country boy. Now he's living on a bison ranch in Montana building custom homes and hunting elk, mule deer, antelope and ducks. Bear and a wolf are in this year's plan. Follow your dreams.

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            #6
            I'll be the stick in the mud just for conversation sake
            You want to be a ranch manager knowing that it is not a career that pays very well but has lots of personal satisfaction. Very good. Your wife has a great job but is it the type of job that is transferable, meaning, if you find your dream job someplace where she will have to quite hers for the move will she be able to find that same job somewhere else?
            Does she have a job she really loves and would hate to quit? Do ranch management jobs provide a good enough living that you will be able to afford to be able to explore the country for your child's benefit? My kids mean more to me than anything and my wife and i are starting to plan our vacations around Tx and American history so our kids can experience it instead of just reading about it.
            Sure, working a ranch has a romance about it but is it going to be the right choice in the long run for the family? Make 100% sure your wife is going to be happy with all it entails

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              #7
              Listen to Fly, wife has to like it as well.

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                #8
                Get your degree so if ranching doesn't work out, you have a piece of paper that says you stuck it out for 4 years. You have a great attitude and I wish you luck!!!

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                  #9
                  I am not familiar with your degree plan but mine and most I am familiar with have intern programs. It is a great way to get some experience and get your foot in the door.

                  Good luck

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                    #10
                    Id guess that most of your schooling is free... so take free when you can get it for sure. Get the degree... get a degree... I wouldnt think it would be that hard to find someone that will let you work for them for free = internship and experience... little bit a week when you have time...

                    On the other hand your wife has to understand this is what you want to do and you have to make sure you can do it where your wife can keep her job still. If you try hard enough and really want it it will happen. You have to network and meet people... go places do things that people in this career field do..

                    I sure know building fence and cutting/baleing hay is not as fun as it sounds... it depends on what kimd of ranching you want to do... on the other hand game management working a ranch for wildlife for me I could do everyday till I died... you need to really figure out what it is you want to do with it...

                    In many cases no the degree isnt going to make a flip. But it is a rainy day fund... you can fall back on your degree to find a job doing something else...

                    What I would do... work on getting my degree, work and make money to help support the family along the way... a job is a job.. no one likes their job... we all would rather be hunting. But make some money somehow to help out the household all the meanwhile be searching for the job you want and wiggle your way into things to learn.

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                      #11
                      Basically persue your dream.. but take care of home first.

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                        #12
                        You should check out the Dude ranch guides. They offer summer work/seasonal work in beautiful places such as montana, alaska, wyoming, colorado, and texas. There is a good chance you will get hired, make a little money, but make some memories for you and your family that will stick. I loved it.
                        They also hire fishing guides, but you would need experience getting on the fish for that area.

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                          #13
                          I had friends that were brothers, one went to school to make saddles and the other went to school to be a gunsmith. Born 150 years too late.

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                            #14
                            Get experience in other skills that will make you more marketable.
                            Welding, electrical, gunsmithing just to name a few.
                            If you can do it, you become an asset.

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                              #15
                              I agree with what everyone is saying. The good thing is my wife is a Registered Nurse and can go anywhere and find a job anywhere, they are always looking for nurses. The bad thing i guess is she just got a promotion to Charge Nurse and loves her job and where she works, but i cannot go anywhere anytime soon. I am still in pursuit of the degree and going to school full time here in Ft Worth.

                              The hard thing is finding that person or place that will give me that experience I need. An internship would be awesome, its just finding someone that will let me on. Like i said before, i work at the sale barn, I just don't think that is enough "experience" to put me where i need to be one day, when someone asks me what my experience is i will say......helping preg check and age cattle, fertile testing bulls, cutting horns off longhorns, and pushing cows around pens and down chutes......I know its experience but to be on a beef cattle operation, I am sure they are gonna want to see direct experience. I have helped a buddy a handful of times on the beef cattle operation he works on, but can't seem to get him to let me come out on a regular basis, and i was doing it for free! That is exactly what I am looking for, and figure thats what ranchers want, FREE HELP haha.... just hard to find.

                              I will stick it out, and i will continue to bust my butt. I think like stated above, when i get into school and into the program, networking will be key. I am just going off the experiences I have had with people not wanting to hire someone that doesn't have the experience, but i wonder to myself, how gain the experience if i can't get the opportunity, do i have to grow up on a ranch working cattle? Maybe......
                              Last edited by jbonney1986; 02-12-2014, 08:06 AM.

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