If you could change careers...

[slow99]

My current path is a change, just graduated last week but still haven't been able to nail down a new job. Have a couple of offers but not sure what direction I want to take.

Congrats!

[BMCSean]

Thanks gents!

[TeeShock]

I've dreamed of being a fabricator. I love working with metal but don't have a lot of tools.
or...
Saltwater fishing guide.

[BLAKE]

I totally hear you guys that are wanting to get away from it all.

That said, I like my version of concrete jungle. Fort Worth has been a wonderful place to build a career and I can think of few other places I'd want to go. I like air conditioning too much to farm or ranch (and I'm allergic to pretty much all farm animals) and I love talking to and meeting with people.

By now I've learned enough about myself to know that even though I find the idea of living in a remote mountain town very romantic, in practice I would go stir crazy.

[Baron Von Crowder]

I totally hear you guys that are wanting to get away from it all.

That said, I like my version of concrete jungle. Fort Worth has been a wonderful place to build a career and I can think of few other places I'd want to go. I like air conditioning too much to farm or ranch (and I'm allergic to pretty much all farm animals) and I love talking to and meeting with people.

By now I've learned enough about myself to know that even though I find the idea of living in a remote mountain town very romantic, in practice I would go stir crazy.

Im with you, I love being outdoors and in nature, but I like the ability to go have dinner somewhere and it not take an hour drive to get there.

[Sean88gt]

I would like to be a park ranger, preferably at a national park in the desert southwest US.

I think I'm really sick of the rat race and the concrete urban hell that you have to deal with to scratch out a little bit of money. Fuck that. I go on vacation 3-5 times per year to get away, and the people in those places seem so much happier, even though they have "less."

We're planning the escape route now...

I've got some connections in Denver and keep debating a position with a gov't agency that allows me to get back there. Won't make private sector money, but don't really care at this point.

I feel you, man! Been feeling that way for a long time, and very seriously since my mid-20s. Only difference for me is my heart is in the mountains instead of the desert. I've wanted to be a park ranger for many years, but financial needs kept me in the rat race.

I'm super fortunate now to have a job that's going to let me work remote, so I'm closing on a legit mountain home in July, in the only town in the most remote county in the continental US. And shit, I'll be making a heck of a lot more than I ever could as a park ranger.

Crazy how shit works out sometimes. A few years ago, I was close to saying "fuck it" and leaving my job at that time to move to the mountains and do grunt work just to make ends meet. I procrastinated, landed this new gig, and now it's falling in place better than I ever could have dreamed.

So, I guess, to answer the question - no, I wouldn't change it right now. Life is good.

Danny, I hope you get what you're after. This concrete jungle is a cage, but luckily, the door is always left unlocked.

Good on you Jared! I'm with you. More so as I hear classmates talk about chasing the dollar and resigning themselves to 100 hour work weeks.

That aint no lie. I've said it before, but DFW sucked the life out of me. I can't explain just how much happier i am living in a place with nature and solitude so close and readily accessible.

I'd love do something outdoors like a park ranger as well, but my degree path didn't line up. I've been pushing my dad to bail on vegas and move to central america with me for a while now, i'm just waiting for him to finally say "ok" so we can make it happen. I'd love to sustenance farm/survive on a small ranch somewhere in the middle of nowhere, or even do some short term peace corps work.

It's hard to explain or understand until you've done it, but you're spot on. Living in DFW is exhausting.

I'll be trying my hand at farming/ranching in the next 3 years. Not bailing on the full time gig, but if things go well I might.

That becomes addictive at first, then grows into a chore. Just stay at the front end of it.

My wife had an awesome idea. She said as soon as the kids were out of the house, we should both get a job on a cruise liner.

She wants to fuck younger guys, have her call me.

My current path is a change, just graduated last week but still haven't been able to nail down a new job. Have a couple of offers but not sure what direction I want to take.

Good on you. The going-back-to-school-while-older trek is brutal. I admittedly fucked up by not doing this when I was younger and had less going on, but I'm half way done and have to keep going.

[FastFox]

New Career

I'm surprised no one said Porn Star.

[Big A]

Im with you, I love being outdoors and in nature, but I like the ability to go have dinner somewhere and it not take an hour drive to get there.

No denying that CA is expensive, but it's so worth it to be an hour and a half drive from San Francisco, 2 hours from Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevadas, and 3 hours from Yosemite or the northern coast. Meanwhile, here in Sacramento we have all that suburbia has to offer. I swear that Roseville is a mirror image of the Frisco expansion.

[Sean88gt]

I'm surprised no one said Porn Star.

We're all getting to that age...

[GeorgeG.]

I'm not sure where I would've end up in the end but if I could go back to my early 20's, I would've joined the military and then get a degree.

[BMCSean]

Good on you. The going-back-to-school-while-older trek is brutal. I admittedly fucked up by not doing this when I was younger and had less going on, but I'm half way done and have to keep going.

Yeah, I just turned 30 in March, have a house, and a 3yr old. The two things that made it not so bad for me was the GI bill, which let me work a part time job only when I wanted to and graduate with zero student debt, and my wife. She is a hard worker and makes decent money so when I needed to not work a part time job and just focus on school we were able to do it with my housing allowance and her salary. It was a journey that I should have taken earlier but I'm glad to have done it. My current goal is to make it so that she can work less and spend more time with our daughter, and our son that is due in September.

[slow99]

and graduate with zero student debt

Even better.

[BLAKE]

That's awesome, Sean. A lot to be proud of there.

[jluv]

By now I've learned enough about myself to know that even though I find the idea of living in a remote mountain town very romantic, in practice I would go stir crazy.

I feel totally opposite. There will be a million more activities that I enjoy to keep me busy. Camping, hiking, four-wheeling, climbing, snowmobiling, birdwatching, fly fishing, whitewater rafting, etc etc. And the bonus is that a lot of those are free! I despise commuting around the metroplex, so these days, I don't do much more than work and watch TV. I camp as much as I can during the cooler months, but nothing here compares to the camping up there, and I just flat out will not do it here once the temp gets above 80 degrees.

Im with you, I love being outdoors and in nature, but I like the ability to go have dinner somewhere and it not take an hour drive to get there.

I know I'll miss some of the restaurants I go to now, especially Mexican food. But, I like to cook, will have more time to do it, and I'll get healthier by default. There are zero fast food chains within an hour of my new place, and the only "restaurant" that's halfway decent is a pizza place. I'll be coming back to TX for weeks at a time every few months, so I'll get my fill while I'm here.

No denying that CA is expensive, but it's so worth it to be an hour and a half drive from San Francisco, 2 hours from Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevadas, and 3 hours from Yosemite or the northern coast. Meanwhile, here in Sacramento we have all that suburbia has to offer. I swear that Roseville is a mirror image of the Frisco expansion.

Sounds ideal for a lot of folks, but I don't feel like it would be a big enough disconnect for me. This is why I've avoided moving to Denver all these years. There are opportunities there to do what I do now, but it would almost be even more torturous for me to be so close to nature and only get to really enjoy it on weekends. Or, to know that my real life is still citified, and the nature is only a temporary escape. I'd rather it be the other way around. I want full immersion. I can go back and visit the city any time.

[jluv]

Yeah, I just turned 30 in March, have a house, and a 3yr old. The two things that made it not so bad for me was the GI bill, which let me work a part time job only when I wanted to and graduate with zero student debt, and my wife. She is a hard worker and makes decent money so when I needed to not work a part time job and just focus on school we were able to do it with my housing allowance and her salary. It was a journey that I should have taken earlier but I'm glad to have done it. My current goal is to make it so that she can work less and spend more time with our daughter, and our son that is due in September.

Dude, you have a lot going on and accomplished for your age. Congrats! For some reason I assumed you were an old fart like some of the rest of us.