Balancing careers and the outdoors.

[Mongoose]

Have you ever refused a job or a career that you knew would take away from your time outdoors? I know this topic can apply to things other than the outdoors, but that is what's important to me. In the past 3 years that I've run my business, it's been fun but I've barely gone out anywhere. I've done something like 4-5 hikes the past 3 years when I used to go out *at least* every other weekend. I've taken maybe 1-2 good photos since then too.

Now that my business is closing, it feels like a big weight has been lifted off me. Now I want to get back out hiking, do more photography and get involved in all the communities I used to know. Probably the best way to put it in perspective for me is if I were going to die tomorrow, I wouldn't wish I had fixed more computers or made more money I'd wish I had got out more and did more and had more experiences.

What do you think? Have you ever changed your job/career because it would affect your being outdoors?

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Among the first questions I ask when I interview are:

1. Do you have a shower?
2. Can I ride my bike at lunch?
3. Can I commute by bike? Can I bring it into my cube/office?
4. Do you offer flex time do I can work evenings from home and the like?

At the first no, I pack up and leave.

Tim

 

[dentonfabrics]

Have you ever refused a job or a career that you knew would take away from your time outdoors?

Positively. I quit my career in software sales 2 years ago to move up north to a lesser paying job, closer to the mountains. I sold my home in Winchester, MA, bought a place in NH and I've never been happier. It's 45 minutes from my house to the Kanc. Change can be a very good thing indeed. Best of luck to you Mongoose!

 

[dom15931]

Have you ever refused a job or a career that you knew would take away from your time outdoors? I know this topic can apply to things other than the outdoors, but that is what's important to me. In the past 3 years that I've run my business, it's been fun but I've barely gone out anywhere. I've done something like 4-5 hikes the past 3 years when I used to go out *at least* every other weekend. I've taken maybe 1-2 good photos since then too.

Now that my business is closing, it feels like a big weight has been lifted off me. Now I want to get back out hiking, do more photography and get involved in all the communities I used to know. Probably the best way to put it in perspective for me is if I were going to die tomorrow, I wouldn't wish I had fixed more computers or made more money I'd wish I had got out more and did more and had more experiences.

What do you think? Have you ever changed your job/career because it would affect your being outdoors?

I feel what you're saying. Yes, I'd never take a job for from the wilderness. I'm doing surveying and I get to do a lot of 'hiking' on the job because we GPS so pretty big properties. Hiking is more than a hobby its something to show for your life, much more than making money!

-Dom

 

[Paradox]

Have you ever changed your job/career because it would affect your being outdoors?

Yup! 17 years ago I was visiting a friend in Westport, NY (not far from where Peak Bgr will be holding the 5th Annual BBQ) and said to myself (and subsequently to my wife) I want to live in a place like this.

My friend and I had been hiking and backpacking many times in the Whites, the Daks, and out West. I was driving to work and back through an industrial section of Buffalo, NY everyday. Unless I took control it was never going to end. Hence, I chucked a tenured teaching position at Buffalo State to go back to dental school. This allowed me to choose where I would live. Never looked back.

 

[Maddy]

Hiking is more than a hobby its something to show for your life, much more than making money!

-Dom

Does that say it all!
YES! I have changed jobs several times because I could not work the hours I wanted.
I was a critical care nurse (took an early retirement post injury almost 2yrs ago). I worked evenings 4-12am so I had a good chunk of the day available. The dogs and I went hiking every day (rain, snow, sleet) usually for 2-4 hrs.
I took V-days in the winter and had a season ski pass.
It was great. I worked only 2-3 days week, ski in the am, hike Wachuset with the dogs at 12 noon, bring them home, shower and go to work.
One year I had a Killington pass and slept in my jeep at the gondola base 4nights/week. ( I don't think they let you do that anymore).The dog came with me.
I worked 12 hours every SAT (7a to 7p) so I could get home and rise early on Sundays. I negotiated every Sun/Mon/Tues off because people hated working weekends. No work until 4pm on WED unless I took benefit time.
There was no way I would have worked the day shift or a 5 day work week because it would have ruined not only my life but my dog's life as well. Over time, I cut down to 36hrs/week (3 eight hour shift, and the one 12hr).
They were always after us to do double shifts and work on our days off. I used to get suckered into it BUT one day I made a hard and firm decision. "JUST SAY NO!"
IT's truly amazing how easy it is to say NO and it didn't take long before they stopped asking.
They had plenty of "mall hounds" working there that needed the extra money. I never really suffered because of this decision. If I had it, I spent it.
When the hospitals instituted "mandatory OT" I ran off to my cardiologist and got a dispensation because "my heart just couldn't take it". I have a "rhythm problem" for which I take a med. I had no sympathy for the fact that they laid off nurses and refused to hire more and used us as their personal slaves. They had to be nice to me because of the "disability" act.
My only regret is that I never moved to VT. I had too many parent responsibilities and I was the only one who could look after them. It was easier to be in the vicinity than have to commute a great distance to deal with problems.
I was so blessed to be in a profession where I could organize my life around my work.
If there is any way possible...go for it. I can't imagine you would ever be sorry.
So on that happy note, I am off to VT with my Kodi.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I'll join the others in urging you to live where you can pursue those things which makes your heart sing. Sounds like you're at a crossroads in life, and can make some changes more easily.

I had the privilege of living/working in a rural area of central VT for most of my 'working' life. I knew that my income would be very much higher if I lived in southern NE. Occasionally I'd have to drive into Boston for an early meeting, and it's a great drive in the early AM down I89. By the time I'd get to Boston I was always convinced that I was being paid handsomely, thank you very much.

I realize that many readers here simply don't have the choice to live where they want to, but if there's any way you can make it happen you'll never regret it.

 

[MichaelJ]

I haven't had to do so, being very lucky to have an excellent job right now, but I would if the situation were changed.

My job is very flexible about vacation time, work schedule on any given day, even working remotely from VT. I work long, hard hours, but it's worth it when play time arrives.

Since hiking and the outdoor life can take a lot of time, especially driving, any job arrangement really can be the difference between recreation causing stress, or alleviating it. I would absolutely make career choices based on that.

 

[sweeper]

ABSOLUTLY- I quit my low paying, dead-end job for a higher paying career so I could go more often.

 

[Mongoose]

It's good to know I'm not the only person with the same feeling. It seems like most people in my age group are more concerned with getting a high paying, long hour career so they can get that new house/car/plasma TV.

Hiking, climbing and being outside does feel like more than a hobby, although I can't explain how? What I do know is I need more of it.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Hiking, climbing and being outside does feel like more than a hobby, although I can't explain how? What I do know is I need more of it.

For sure this is one place where you do not need to explain it. We all get it, even if your family, friends, employer, employees, etc., do not!

Tim

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Hiking isn't the only thing I do, and I never really considered basing my job on that, but I have turned down promotions because I would have to wear shoes, and I've turned down MUCH higher paid jobs, because they would be t0o far to commute by bicycle. I've been commuting by bicycle for 29 years now, and I ain't gonna change.

Much better to be poor and happy.

 

[sli74]

It's good to know I'm not the only person with the same feeling. It seems like most people in my age group are more concerned with getting a high paying, long hour career so they can get that new house/car/plasma TV.

You MOST definitely are NOT the only one . . . I am on the edge of a huge career change myself for many of the same reasons. All my life, I have strived for a higher education and based my life and its decisions on getting a better job and furthering my career and keeping my family and community happy. It has been significantly UNfulfilling and I am finally reaching the end of that rope and realizing that it is a noose tied around my neck.

The decision to cut loose that noose and making less money and possibly letting down many loved ones and living a life with different priorities is NOT an easy one. I fully understand what you are saying and though it is a hard decision, I am sure you will find the balance in life that is right for you. I wish you the best, Mongoose and I hope we'll get to hike together again real soon, it has been YEARS !!!

sli74

 

[yardsale]

I haven't refused jobs, but have made decisions which have resulted in a job setting compatable with outdoor pursuits. I am an occupational therapist, and for the first 5 years of my career I worked in settings which have enabled me to work as an OT in home health here in rural Maine. I regularly arrange my clinical schedule such that I can break for 3-4 hours in the afternoon for a bc ski in winter or hike/bike other times. The therapy gig is often outdoors as well. Over the years I have worked with patients to return to play golf, fly-fish, get back into their boat, garden, etc. Helping others to return to outdoor pursuits they thought they could never do again is a rush in itself.

 

[Tuco]

Interesting thread for me to read right now. I got a promotion last year with lots of added responsibility and more money. Wasn’t looking for it, but the financial security it could bring my family as a one income home was too much to pass up.

I am now three weeks away from a 3 week backpack I have been planning for over a year and the added responsibility has put my trip in serious doubt. This week is decision time. Even if I go I know I’ll be worrying about how the work is going and what they are thinking of me running around in the wilderness while this big new client is coming on. Do I wish I didn’t get that promotion? Sometimes, maybe frequently. But on the other hand the benefits to my family are far too great to have made any other decision.

It’s not always so simple; these kind of choices when there are people who rely on you. In that way family comes first for me. If I can’t do more hiking and camping and backpacking, I’ll just have to appreciate more when I get to go….. But if you can do it- go for it!

 

[Maddy]

It has been significantly UNfulfilling and I am finally reaching the end of that rope and realizing that it is a noose tied around my neck.

sli74

This is exactly how I felt at one point in my nursing career. That is when I learned to "just say NO"!
I always thought that the patients couldn't get along without me and administration had a way of laying real guilt trips on us. For the longest time, when I was at their "beck and woof", the supervisors would tell me that I was the best nurse in the entire unit. That was nice to hear but this pseudo-compliment ended soon after I started saying "NO thank you. I cannot work another 8 hrs." Somehow, with their help, I had come to believe that I was indispensable, but no one is. I finally realized this and not a moment too soon.
If any of us were to die or become instantly disabled others would step in and do the job. Even when mandatory OT was outlawed they offered nurses double time to stay and got plenty of volunteers. I had lots of friends who loved and even craved that feeling of being "needed".
The noose just kept getting tighter and tighter. You can have the blood sucked right out of you and you get so tired that you cannot even lift your pack, much less hike with it. Eventually you become irritable and short tempered even though I swore I was above all that.
I was so much happier when I put myself in a situation where I had to make do with less and rethink my priorities. Recently, I had a friend who did the same thing. She was bombarded by staff telling her that she would never succeed at this way of life because she was accustomed to making the big bucks and working lots of OT.
Her reply ..."WATCH ME"!
She is now a professor of nursing and has a work schedule to die for.
This is one of my favorite quotes:
"Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming."
- Matthew Arnold

 

[smitty77]

It’s not always so simple; these kind of choices when there are people who rely on you. In that way family comes first for me. If I can’t do more hiking and camping and backpacking, I’ll just have to appreciate more when I get to go….. But if you can do it- go for it!

I feel your pain Tuco. I drive 1.5 hours each way to work and work dreadfully long hours in the summer paving roads so that my family can have a nice home in a decent community and the kids can have a mom at home with them every hour of the day. I'd love to move north, but I wouldn't make what I'm making now and cuts would have to be made.

On the flip side I had a job offer this spring in Gainesville, FL. I declined it mainly because I wasn't sure if it was a good fit and I have the best boss in the world at my present employer. I didn't want to uproot the family only to find I couldn't stand my new job or boss. The other factor in my decision was a little selfish on my part: I couldn't live with the lack of mountains or even hills for that matter down there.

 

[Paradox]

But on the other hand the benefits to my family are far too great to have made any other decision.

This is good too. The mountains will be there for a very long time.

 

[DrewKnight]

Joining the chorus -- Yes!

A year ago I had the opportunity to take over a different work group for the large financial services company that pays my bills. The move was a scary one, from a downtown Boston office and a "comfortable" suburban life on the South Shore to a whole new scene in an office park in Southern NH, and an uncertain relocation of my family. There was some potential career downside risk, too.

In the end, my wife and I decided to burn the boats on the beach and have never looked back. We sold our house in Mass and relocated to the southern White Mountains (I do have a long -- but stress-free -- commute), installed our kids in the tiny-but-excellent local school, and have set about remaking our lives much more on our own terms.

We doubled our days on the snow last winter (I eeked out 42 days, my wife skied or boarded 63 days, our kids somewhere in the middle), and we hike or mountain bike every weekend. We spend a whole lot less time in front of the TV, and a whole lot more time engaged in life. The kids' gym classes hike, mountain bike, ski and swim in the town athletic center (sure beats dodgeball in a smelly gym). We are unambiguously happy with our decision, and so far, the career thing, even far out in the provinces as I am, has worked out satisfactorily as well.

No good things in life are free. I spend 90 minutes each way in the car, four or five days a week (I commute with a friend from town three days, which spreads the cost and environmental damage) -- but it's worth noting that I could see my Boston office from my Hingham home, but my average Boston commute was about one hour, with a standard deviation of 25 minutes -- so the real trade-off isn't as awful as it appears. My new commute is stress-free, and when we get off the highway and drive up into the forest, I truly feel like I am leaving the baser parts of the world well behind.

 

[Rick]

Yes, I took the money over the lifestyle and no I gotta put up with all these Damn Golfers.

I left Rochester 7 years ago for a much much higher paying job here in Southeast PA/Central NJ. As a result I shifted focus from the NE mtns to the AT which is 20-25 minutes away, as well as several other ares in SEPA and NJ.

3 years ago, I did accept a lower paying job with another Pharma and spent a year in MA back in 04-05 (hoping to live the life), but ended up coming back to my old pharma company in NJ for even more money. My rationale was that I know I can retire relatively young (within 10 years) and have a pension and (knock on wood) a wonderful retirement where I can do whatever I want.

My lifestyle hasn't changed though - The folks I work with are into $5K vacations and expensive cars/clothes/lifestyles. I am the opposite. I carry a tent on vacation and I still wear hiking clothes most of the time and I drive a pick-up truck (well I do have a commuter car).