Career related to bushcraft

[Bacoben]

Hi, this is only my second post.

I feel like im at a stage in my life where I am at a crossroads, career wise. I would like to work towards a job in which I can travel and practice bushcraft skills. Or at least I would like to
see what is available in that career area. But I have no idea where to start.

Is there any year long courses I might be able to take that would help me gain insight?

Any help would be appreciated, feel lost at sea.

I am only 19, but already I feel like I need to make a decision.

 

[Bacoben]

The thing is, I see, read and sometimes meet these people who have done all of these amazing this with their lives...whilst earning a decent living.

I was to fill my life with amazing experiences but It seems like its all behind a closed door

 

[udamiano]

Hi and welcome.

Unfortunately there is no simple answer to your question, a good few of the members you will meet on here have spent their entire lives learning the skills and gaining the knowledge that we call bushcraft, and usually by going out and practicing those same said skills, or learning them from other of equal origin. There is no defacto bushcraft qualification out there, and the qualification that do exist are taught by a few schools only, don't get me wrong these are really good courses and well worth looking into.

I think you have made a good start though, you will meet many people on this forum who have a wealth of experience and knowledge, and are quite happy to share this for the asking, there are also local meets of member, where skills are demonstrated and experiences recounted, usually over a glass or two of something that will likely strip paint LOL

start by having a good look around the forums, and don't be afraid to ask questions, and don't alway take any criticism badly, everyone here has their own opinions about almost everything you can imagine, so you are likely to get several different answers to the same question, and my advise is to go out and try them and use whats best for you.

Remember money is not everything, the experiences you have, may lead you to finical gain later on, but the path you take getting them I have found has been equally rewarding

Have fun

Day

 

[william#]

udam (above post) has pretty much said it all.

your 19 so unless you have lived in the wild all your life you will have to really get those skills down which will take years.

here is a link to a course
http://www.plumpton.ac.uk/pages/documents/PlumptonBushcraft.pdf


strings to your bow
i have known so many people who have tried to make this there living and some very able people
the reality is the jobs are few making money hmmm well i wouldnt put a deposit down on that posche for a while.
outdoor education route is a great place to start and you are 19 so you have it all going for you in terms of health
getting your kayak/canoe instructors climbing bela starting working on your mountain leeders asap

also you could probably find apprentice ship type work in outdoor centres you will be paid like a slave but it is a great lifestyle
just avoid getting too social keep focused on your long term goals
keep yourself fit and well !
outdoor teaching is demanding on every level but the base level is being physicly fit enough to rise to it

you can be an amazing paddler/climber be able to survive for months with just your knife but if you want to teach you have to be that a teacher
teaching is a skill unto itself and though some people take to things more naturaly than others. teaching is a skill that is learnt and refined over years.

also consider this
do you really want to teach this stuff
you may really enjoy being out in the wilds do you really want to be focused on teaching others ?
instead of just doing it ?

at 19 also you could consider the military option (i would pick raf regiment if i was pushed to advise).
it may not be your thing but consider that you will certainly be kept fit in this job you will also have a lot of oppotunity to learn and practice
fieeld craft.
saying that in the current world climate you are certain to see active service in theatres of conflict so you need to consider this carefully
though it will "season you"

another angle is tree surgury again at 19 you acn get an appenticeship and do a college course at the same time mix that up with voluntree work
with local scout groups or other such organisations in 4 or 5 years you will have a stong grounding in all things outdoors and the woodland enviroment.

if thats not the way for you (and im assuming you are in the uk) maybe move yourself to a national park area and look for apprenticships through outdoor centres

if this is the path you take it will be hard work and at times very frustrating
write down your long term goals and keep refering back to them esspecially when you have another week
where all your mates are out on the lash and you cant afford to join them
and you need to be switched on for that group you are taking out tommorow

good luck !

 

[2sheds]

i would say the 2 basic decisions are:

are you sure you want to make you hobby into a job? (i enjoyed climbing, caving etc Outdoor Pursuits instruction could have been a suitable career path but i chose tree surgery, similar but fundamentally different)
AND
do you want a life that is rich OR a rich lifestyle? (i don t think it is possible to have both. i choose to live in SW.Wales, me and my wife could be financially far better off if we chose to live and work elsewhere but life for us here is too good to put a £££value on)

P

 

[mrcharly]

I have two friends who are good green-woodworkers, one has lived a 'bushcrafting' life for years, in Africa, now in the UK.

Both of them are sick of teaching 'green woodworking'. Teaching means they don't have time to do their own work. They are both talented people and spend all their time helping people do crappy beginner's stuff.

I, OTOH, am fairly rubbish at the only thing I've taught. But I love teaching it, I get a real kick of out seeing people learn and succeed.

So I suggest you think long and hard about whether you want to teach or do, because it's very hard to do both. Also (don't take this the wrong way), very few 19-yr-olds can teach well. Not because they lack skills, but because they don't have the life experience needed to work with the huge variety of people they will need to teach. That's one of the reasons why VSO prefers to take older volunteers.

There are professions that on the face of it aren't about 'bushcrafting' but I bet they get to do more bushcraft than teachers of bushcraft.

Forestry, gamekeeping, high-level crofting, farmwork in countries like Australia (I learned to use an Adze to shape green timber from an outback Jackeroo).

 

[Bacoben]

Not sure if anyone is interested but Im thinking of doing a course in environmental and countryside conservation, it seems right up my street.

 

[Shewie]

That's the route I'd take Ben, even countryside management will get you out playing in the woods

Have a look at the jobs on offer here ...

http://www.countryside-jobs.com/

You can get an idea of what's out there and what to expect in the bank each month. I really wanted to be a ranger with my own little patch and a Land Rover to drive round in all day, the reality is they don't want somebody with 15 years IT experience so for me it's sacking the job and starting college, I'm enjoying life too much at the moment so I haven't made that move yet.

 

[rik_uk3]

At your age I'd first get a qualification that will get you a paid job because the liklihood of you making a living from bushcraft is very very slim. I'm not being negative I'm being a realist here and won't fill you with false hope. Go to uni and get a degree in something useful and not something like media studies or sports science or go off and learn a good trade, plumbing, electricial etc. By the time you are 23 or 24 you will have a base to move from or back to if and when you needed and still be young enough to do it. Plus, while training you can get away on weekend meets and pick up practical skills so if nothing else you will find a paid job and have skills for a hobby you enjoy.

I'm not peeing on your parade but there are an awful lot of folk with degree's and diploma's in outdoor based subjects who are on the dole, lots want to work 'outdoors' but the jobs available are tiny in comparison to the amount of applicants.

Think long and hard and good luck with your endeavours.