Is there a job that entails work in the outdoors, risky, and pays around...?
Asked by Concerned
I've always wanted to work a hard job in the outdoors, backcountry, rugged areas, something like being a smoke jumper, but have always ended up being in other jobs like counseling and banking. My hobbies have always been back country hiking, mountaineering, bouldering, rock climbing, and I am an adrenaline junkie, so I'd love a hard job that would push my abilities in the outdoors. However, I need to make about $75k annually (my present pay as a banker) and I live in Northern CA with a wife and children. Any ideas on possibilities? I know it's a stretch, but I thought I'd throw it out there... Thanks for any help! (I was also thinking about underwater welding, I love SCUBA and thought that could be a challenging career! ;^)

Best Answer:
Working the crab boats in the far north west is hard, dangerous work that pays well. It's seasonal. Working North Sea oil rigs also hard work, good pay. Long periods of time working, long periods off work. Don't know what kind of oil work there is in N.CA. And... truth is, most hard work doesn't pay to match the physical effort. That's because it generally doesn't require an education, so the available workforce is much bigger. You are not likely to match your banker's salary in an outdoor job. One possibility for satisfying your yen to sweat in the outdoors is to do volunteer work like trail maintenance on the Pacific Crest Trail or something. That's the sort of thing you could do on weekends and still be home most nights of the week.