Nikolas, heed this advice from Nimzy, and you'll do well...

Jack

I'd suggest you steer clear of wildlife biology or anything like that. I went to Forestry School and there are a wide range of outdoor jobs that will qualify you for....from desk work to field work everyday to a mix of the two as is the case with my job. Everybody in my class that wanted one had a job before they even graduated, and a well paying job to boot. Foresters are in high demand now especially in the south and so you shouldn't have trouble finding s job. However...at Auburn the wildlife school is in the same building with the forestry school so I knew some of those folks and know a little about the job market. And it ain't good. Those guys struggle to find jobs and most of the available jobs are worked by for the government of a non profit or an internship and they don't pay well. Not many foresters, but a lot of wildlife folks because everybody that grew up hunting wants to be a wildlife biologist or a game warden or whatever. So Supply and demand takes effect.

If you actually want to get a well paying outdoor job, get a forestry degree and go to work in industry and the sky is the limit. From what I can see, if you want to struggle to find a job and not make much when you do, wildlife biology is just the thing for you...certainly some wildlife biologists do well, but it's a lot more difficult...

Thank you all for your inputs, it definitely helps to hear everything from people who have been in similar situations and taken different paths. This thread gives me a lot to think about and helped me realize that's theres more to jobs than just the work you were trained for, like how many of you brought up the politics and how you may have to put the environment 2nd to politics. Once again thank you all for your insight and experiences.

Nik

I am in the process of going to school for Forest Management and wild land fire right now. As a non traditional student as I am older than most who are going to school right now, I worked at a factory for almost 14 years before health problems finally forced me to make a decision about my future. There is a statistic out there that I once saw that said the average person changes their job seven times in their lifetime. You will face an uphill battle in the wildlife field as it is a very competitive field as has been said before. But I believe that if you do what makes you happy you don't work a day in your life. Like others said see if you can shadow a biologist or technician for some time, maybe an internship if your school requires it would be a great chance for you to learn. I guess I mean to say with my rambling is do what makes you happy, because in the end that is all that matters. Money can be earned and lost and if you get with the right financial advisor they can help you with that.