Hey I'm 26 years old and ive done everything from working in the oil fields to being behind a desk as an assistant broker. I need to make a career move though. I love hunting/fishing/outdoors. I grew up with a grandfather who instilled good hunters values and a respect and love the game. My question is how do I get started educating myself and putting myself in the position to make a living out of this passion. Assuming i have money to help fund my start (i dont have much), and time to spare (i got that), what should my first move be???? Any advice would be helpful....

In all honesty, find another career.

First off, nothing kills your love for hunting and fishing like guiding/outfitting will. Don't make your hobby your work

Secondly, it's a hard business. Lots of hard work and not a lot if money

Third, you will need good contacts(ranch owners, clients, etc.) to kick start your business. This in itself can be difficult.

I agree with this. If you are working in the hunting/fishing industry you will be working, not hunting/fishing. You will have no time for your own personal hunting/fishing. It is also a lot more work than one imagines. Long hours. Up way before the others and go to bed way after the others. Then you still have work to do during/around all the hunting/fishing. Working holidays. Your time off is in the off seasons if there is any. Your pay will be below minimum after you figure the amount of hours you put in. You will live for tips, if you get them. Most likely you will have to provide your own benefits (health in$urance).
If you could find a career that affords to take time off to do what you love then that is what I would do or work for a company that takes customers hunting. Best yet is get on with a company that makes it an effort to let employees take the fishing/hunting time they want when the jobs are done.

Thank you for the replies. I have a friend who guides. He is savvy in finding good contacts and what not. I have friends and family with hunting land as well. I think there is a way i can do it. Thanks for the link texflip and i appreciate you response txtrophy85 (that is kind of what i expected to hear). Im going to look into that sulross though...

ANy more help is appreciated!

Honestly if I was you I would stick with a good career and find something to do on the side but like STX said you wont have time to do much of that stuff for you and the days are super long guiding hunts. Put it like this your hunters will need to be in the stand before day light so you will have to be up say 4AM and make sure theyre up and ready to roll, you hunt till 9-10 AM and entertain them all day then hunt that evening. After the evening hunt they will need to be entertained aswell and more than likely want you to have afew drinks or beers with them and may be up talking BS till 12PM. By the time you get in bed its 1AM and you get 3 hours of sleep and do it all over again. So thats 21 hours of work honestly cause your not hunting so its still fun for the first while but then gets to be the normal routine. Say you do this for 3 days and have put in 63 hours with these clients, what do you think the tip will be if the animal 2500$ ??? just say its 500$ which is high but could happen, well you have made a whopping 7.93$ a HR. Yeah find a job and get some overtime is my 2 cents but to each there own. I have personally done the guide thing and had over 100K in buisness a year on average but it take the fun out of it for me and takes away from alot of my time for me in the woods and water. Just something to think about but if you get a 50$ tip that wont cover your gas that weekend hardly so you just gave up a weekend for nothing more than watching someone else shoot stuff. Its a very hard buisness to be sucessfull in but alot of people make it work. Hell we now own a place and I do some small hunts still but Id rather book hunts and not guide 99% of the time so I can have my time for me and the family. Im 28 and have tried it and was very sucessfull but I have alot of contacts and companys that spend alot of cash with me each year and is the only thing that kept me intrested in this part of it. Good luck on your decision and hope it works out for you bud.

Go back to school then get a career with TPWD.
Decent pay & benefits, depending on what you choose to do more of a regular schedule than guiding.

--->TPWD current job opportunities

How bout getting a job managing a hunting ranch.

Or move to the Gulf Coast, get a refinery job making $100k+ a year and have plenty of free time to hunt/guide when you want.

That's worse than being a guide

Like running a dairy. Did this since 1989.

Agreed....I was in my 20's and started working for a construction company and ended up guiding "clients" of the construction company on the owners Ranch.

Nothing will make you dread hunting like the people who turn your hobby you love into work....and since you love to do it theres no reason to pay you alot of money for it right????

The only people I see making good money off of hunting these days are the ones on TV selling the endless amount of useless B.S. to "Hunters".

thanks for the replies. off topic.... i cant find a good job with decent pay anywhere... im a hard worker and willing to get dirty. i just don't want to wait tables or work at a grocery store.... where are these jobs yall speak of?? haha

EagleFord Shale in South Texas.

Any where in the oil fields.

Get you a career with good benefits and pay. Work your butt off for 20 years or more and retire somewhere to buy your own place. Then if you want to guide hunts and take people hunting, go for it.

With all the advice im leaning towards not jumping into guiding i guess......

How does someone find a job in oil/gas without knowing somebody or having an in? I got a job for a year but i knew a guy. Im failing at the job search all together. Im looking for something in north texas

If money is what you're after you have to be willing to go where the money is.
Do you have a CDL?

I got a DWI 3 years ago and that is hurting my job hunt.... I don't think i can even get a CDL

This is a great idea, trust me I know and yes that DWI isnt gona help you but if you can get back in the oil field or off shore do it and you can make some serious cash. Good luck

This is a good idea, i work at a power plant and we do pretty well, get to make hunting money working overtime in the offseason, and working the dupont 12 hour schedule gives you plenty time to hunt!