Help choosing an outdoor career

[cafecomleite]

Hi all,

They say you find your way when you're the most lost. Well, I've been quite lost for a while, now. I've been struggling since I turned 18 (four years ago). After high school, I enrolled in computer science at the university. I had a short internship at a dot-com company. Didn't like it all. By the time I dropped out, I felt like total crap. I was emotionally drained and physically deteriorating. I was literally going insane at my unhappiness.

 

Since then, I've been landscaping. I am in way better shape, and feel great about myself, but still lost. This isn't the right path.

 

I want a well-paying career that does not require me to work under flourescent lights, and that doesn't make it hard to have a family. I don't want to work with noxious chemicals (ie mechanic.) I'd prefer to be moving around, but not breaking my back. I'm interested in possibly having my own business. I'll consider going to school, but I would prefer starting right away.

 

My interests are health, fitness, nature, philosophy, psychology, technology, and anything Brazillian. And when I was a kid, I loved having my own greenhouse/garden.

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

-thanks in advance,

cafecomleite

[redhearts]

Landscape designer? You design the layouts of back yards, what goes in them etc. Of course with the approval of the house owners, but you have other people do the labor.

[rusty_boi]

Police officer , fire fighter, personal trainer, nutritonist, pysiotherapist

[glegend]

Why not just be a landscape contrator? Start your own landscape business and work for a few years doing labor, while you slowly hire a few guys. Once you have a good crew then you wont have to lift your finger and do much.

 

Will it be hard a first? Yes, it will. Will it be worth it? Hell yeah.

[COtuner]

Top landscape architects have a degree (I think U of Florida is a good one for that) and they make quite a bit of money working corporate landscaping, as well as with builders laying out new subdivisions and city parks divisions. I've known a couple people in this field - one of my coworkers' wives does this as a matter of fact, for one of the largest cities in CO.

 

Other options: forestry, National Park Service, beach erosion engineer, flight instructor / pilot, zookeeper, wildlife management, dude ranch staff

[cafecomleite]

Thanks for the posts

 

(haha I know I'm being picky)

-Police officer would be an awesome job... if I weren't so against government.

-Landscape contractor is another good idea. TONS of work out there, but the industry is so cut-throat. Though that's true for most industries..

-Landscape architect... sounds neat. I have to research on that.