Careers in Wildlife and Shooting Sports
Adults spend the largest part of lives working. Those who enjoy their work are happier, more productive and have lower stress levels than those who are working at jobs or careers they dislike. Young people enrolled in this project area have already show an interest in the field, even though it may be more appropriate as a hobby than as a career. This lesson is designed to assist the participants with career and avocational choices.
Career selection is a complex process, but several elements can be identified easily. Personal likes and dislikes, as well as personal abilities are an important factor in career choice. Exposure to a variety of positions and employment situations, as well as deeper exploration of the nature of those positions, is also important. This lesson promotes the idea that career selection is a matter of personal choice and personal decision-making. While the focus of the lesson is on shooting and conservation careers, the model is applicable to other types of career exploration as well.
Identifying Skills, Likes and Dislikes
The identification of a short list of things the participants like to do or that are important to them addresses the notion that “that man is happiest whose work most closely approximates his leisure.” The enjoyment of working is important to both health and success. The ratings of the activities begin to clarify the type of values placed upon them by the individual. They will be meshed later with other characteristics to aid the person in thinking about the value of that career choice for them. Skills that they have or are likely to be able to develop also apply here. The nature of the person, whether they prefer to be alone, independent or in a group with other people, as well as their willingness to learn are important parts of the decisioning process.
For many people, turning avocational interests into a vocation is not advisable. Some of the positive aspects are outlined above, but negatives also exist. The avocation may provide very few potential opportunities for career development. Their preferences may change over time. Finally, when a hobby becomes a vocation, it takes on a different nature with added pressure and often with less enjoyment. Market pressures also may keep the number of viable career openings very low in these careers.
Shopping for Employment
Very few young people, or even adults, are aware of the vast array of possible careers related to shooting sports and wildlife conservation. The magazine search exercise will reveal a few, often more than the participants expected, but it will not cover the entire field of possibilities. The young people should be encouraged to become well-informed “consumers” of possible careers, exploring them and their requirements before electing a field to pursue. An abbreviated list of possible career areas is listed here for your reference.
Self-employment Careers
outfitter guide gun club owner/gun club manager/gun club caretaker
game breeder taxidermist ranch or farm manager
hunting lodge operator shooting preserve operator trapper
dog breeder/dog trainer decoy carver engraver
outdoor artist gunsmith retail sales (sporting goods store)
freelance writer freelance photographer game processor
shooting instructor/coach stock maker
Industry
firearms manufacturer manufacturer’s representative wholesale sales
chemical engineer designer/draftsman development, manufacture & sales of knives
mechanical engineer secretary clothing and footwear
metallurgist shipping game calls
accountant gunsmith first aid & survival equipment
advertising professional shooter camping equipment
retail sales office management optical equipment
Physical Education/Therapy
coach athletic trainer sports medicine physician
sports psychologist sports administrator physical therapist
Sports Media
sporting press photographer cinematographer
editor sports radio/television producer
publisher scriptwriter public relations
sound production sports personality
Wildlife-related Careers
wildlife biologist wildlife management consultant wildlife pathology
wildlife technician conservation education wildlife veterinarian
wildlife administration public health pathologist wildlife science/research
forensic pathologist naturalist zookeeper or curator
animal damage control extension wildlife biologist information/education specialist
biology teacher extension agent geneticist
physiologist ecologist animal behaviorist
wildlife economist wildlife sociologist
Law Enforcement and Military
conservation law enforcement security system provider military careers (shooting security guard teams) armorer
Citizen Organizations
(local, state, national or international fund raisers AND much, much more
wildlife, conservation, hunting, fiscal officers
shooting organizations like: National lobbyists
Rifle Association, National Skeet educators
Shooting Association, National program developers
Sporting Clays Association, biologists
Amateur Trapshooting Association, youth program staff
U. S. Shooting Team, National competitions coordinator
Wildlife Federation, Game coach or instructor trainer
Conservation International, Safari staff biologists
Club, Boone and Crockett Club, writer
Pope and Young Club, Ducks advertising coordinator
Unlimited, Quail Unlimited, editor
National Wild Turkey Federation, auditor
Ruffed Grouse Society, Rocky investment advisor
Mountain Elk Foundation, Bighorn
Sheep Society, Pheasants Forever,
Izaak Walton League, and more)
A careful review of this list will reveal many other careers or jobs that are related to the ones listed here. The shooting and conservation industries are large, with a vast number of potential opportunities for young people.
Careers tend to focus on people, information, tools and the production of material goods, wildlife and habitat, or a strong combination of many of these skills. Many times the true nature of the career is quite different from the image of that career. It is vitally important that a youngster considering a given career understands the nature of the tasks and relationships involved. Interviewing a person in a career, having a guest speaker or visiting a person on the job can be extremely revealing to the participant and leader alike.
Find Out More…
While the direct, personal approach to discovering the realities of a position is among the best available, many other sources can be used to find out more about a possible career. Some careers are well documented in written materials. Others have their background requirements so well prepared that the nature of the position can be determined from the requirements. For example, love of hunting or fishing has little to do with becoming a wildlife biologist; but ability to handle mathematics and science as well as human relations is critical. If the love of the sport is also present, that makes it even better.
Direct observations through field trips, site visits or career day’s activities can be extremely valuable. Consultation with presenters at wildlife camps or similar programs can also be very helpful.
Guest speakers can give insight into their careers. In addition, the use of a simple interview to determine some of the characteristics of certain careers can be effective. Youngsters can be dispersed to conduct either formal or informal (hanging out) interviews with local people. Once they return, they can share their findings. Mentorships, working for and with a professional in the field, can give the deepest insights into career options; but they are often limited and available only to older youth. Often these programs are for volunteers only, so the youngster may need to forego financial gain together experience.
As the information is gathered, the youngster should develop a listing of things that are critical to them, important but negotiable, nice but not necessary, and definitely unacceptable. As they evaluate the possible career choices they are exploring that list will change somewhat as it helps them to focus on some types of careers while rejecting other types. They must weigh their strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes and the type of working situation they prefer. Possible locations should be considered, since many careers require living in specified places, like New York City, the state capital, at a major university, or at the home office of a manufacturing plant. Job availability and the level of competition for positions should be considered as well. State or federal positions may be very scarce with modest pay and heavy competition. If a position of that type is desired, the person may need to develop a specialty or some experiential edge that makes them stand out from the crowd of applicants.
Salary and benefit packages as well as future growth potential are important to most people. In general, private sector positions of equal responsibility pay much better than do public sector positions. While the salary and benefits are being weighed, the level of preparation required to fulfill the position requirements should be explored, along with the level of responsibility the position involves. The need to travel, work unusual or extended hours, or cope with other extraordinary conditions should also be part of the decision making process.
What’s Right for Me?
In the end, the young person must choose from among the options available. No other person can make that choice, although many people will have an impact on it. Parents, schoolteachers, youth leaders, peers, and professional mentors you have known will all have some influence upon the choice. Finally, however, the choice must be personal. Most people change their minds several times over the course of their lives. Their careers may change very little or drastically, but career choice is an evolving process. Every decision and every experience works together to refine and alter the choices being made. Many times young people are pushed to make an ultimate career choice in junior high school or the early high school years. Most college students change majors several times, and many professionals have made radical changes in their careers after long and successful efforts in other fields.
The best advice we can give to young people is to explore a wide array of career options, prepare for the fields that interest them the most, and try to keep their options as broad as possible until their ultimate career is found
