Talk to me about your outdoor based job

[Rattanrivers]

Considering giving up my desk-based career before it kills me.

Am fairly experienced and well-regarded at work but my job gives me no joy and the long hours, sedentary lifestyle, stress etc are slowly grinding me down. I'm not a super high-earner so the average income isn't really enough to incentivise me to stay. I have no desire to move to another company.

I'm still young(ish) and fit and would love to retain in something like ecology, conservation, wildlife or countryside management.

Basically I would love to hear from those of you who work at least partially outdoors, whether in one of the above fields or something completely different!

What do you do?

Do you love your job? What do you dislike about it?

Really looking forward to the responses.

When I left school before I did a degree, I worked as a kennel maid. Really physical, tiring, hosing kennels outside and walking dogs, lifting big feed sacks and running food bowls up and down. Terrible money. Early starts. Hands down the most enjoyable job I’ve ever had. 😂

I do have a friend who did Ecology at University and who is now a Ranger. He loves his job, spends most of his day outside and can take his dog to work with him. I don’t think he gets a huge wage but it’s enough that he and his partner have a mortgage and a comfortable lifestyle.

i was manager of a garden centre for a couple of years...really loved it too! would happily go back to that in a heartbeat

loved the customers and learning about all the plants, and then buying them for my own garden.

nothing about it I disliked really

Not me but my son, he is a falconer. He studied Animal Management at college but it has little bearing on his career choice as it is a very niche market. He is very good at what he does, loves his work, works outside all year round, has no time off at Christmas and was frequently heard say "Mum? Can I bring a bird home tonight?" when he lived at home. He earns enough to live independently and has been offered a place on a project re-introducing illegal trapped lanner falcons back into the wild once the travel ban is lifted. His work is dirty, often cold and sometimes lonely but he loves it. He does displays at County and country shows, runs a falconry centre, does pest control and takes people out for days with a falcon.

Wow @bloodywhitecat what a fantastic job your son has! He sounds very skilled with a lot of job satisfaction.

OP, there are jobs that are maybe less sedentary than your current one but not necessarily that ‘outdoorsy’? I guess public services like police or paramedics? I’m a journalist and I would say I spend 50 per cent of my time behind a desk and 50 per cent out and about.

Thank you, not bad for the kid who was repeatedly told he was lazy at school (he wasn't, he had undiagnosed ASD and dysgraphia).

Before covid I was an archaeologist (now back in my student job in a supermarket) and did some fieldwork, did more in my student days. I loved volunteering on sites of my choice but don't feel as fondly about commercial archaeology fieldwork as you go where the job is and dig what you're told to. There's less time to really enjoy it but would truly recommend taking part in a community or university lead project. The people you meet on those kinds of projects are so varied and often have amazing stories about why they're there. You'll be absolutely knackered for the first 2 weeks (and starving) but you'll get into the swing of things and a nice routine and have some great night's sleep thanks to the fresh air and exercise. You develop a great bond with the teams you work with but archaeology overall is one of the lowest paid graduate jobs out there (can expect around £17000/18000 to start with and not a lot of opportunity for progression once you hit around £22000/24000 which considering niche skillset and level of training expected isn't great. I'm not certain I'll ever get back into it as job security is terrible (lots of temporary contracts for field staff) and working conditions (a welfare hut might just be the back of a van). If I don't go back into it I'd probably look at getting involved in a community project just to keep my hand in and skills up to date.

The Dig has just aired on Netflix, while there's some issues with one character in particular it actually portrays parts of archaeology very faithfully (it's also a very cool excavation), definitely worth a watch.

Not me, but I have many friends in horticulture, ranging from head gardeners at stately homes, designers and maintenance gardeners. They're all very content.

@MoonlightInVermont

Not me, but I have many friends in horticulture, ranging from head gardeners at stately homes, designers and maintenance gardeners. They're all very content.

Same here and I’d agree with @MoonlightInVermont, they all love their jobs but generally don’t earn a lot.

I used to work at a university doing veterinary epidemiology research - the work was mostly with farm animals, or wild animals whose diseases had implications for farming (e.g. badgers). It was a mix of outside work (collecting samples and/or recording observations for data), lab work (processing samples) and office work (data analysis and writing up results). Not all projects involved lab work, sometimes it was just on-site work and office work.

I have a friend who is a rights of way officer for her local county, dealing with reports of blocked footpaths, broken bridges, etc etc and organising for them to be fixed. Spends lots of time out on sites and some time doing related admin and organising for things to be fixed

I'm a dog walker!

I love the independence and (to an extent) being able to pick my working hours and days. Getting outside everyday is great for my mental health and I've met some lovely people. It's also great to be able to take my dog to work with me so he gets his walks while I get paid Being outdoors with animals is great fun and I've explored so many new places. We go to the beach, the woods, nature reserves, big open fields and trails...no two days are the same.

The negatives are being outdoors in all weathers - walking 4-5 hours in driving rain, wind, hail and/or snow is pretty grim, even if you're wearing all the right clothes. The mud and dirty clothes also mean the washing machine is rarely off in the winter months! Also the lack of a regular income can be hard - especially at the moment. I have diversified though and sell natural doggy treats alongside walking which boosts my income a fair bit.

Something like a ranger / conservation would be a fab job!

My daughter and I are always outside - I have a livery yard with 15 horses so mucking out, riding , harrowing fields etc
Also have a 2 year old son so he spends a lot of time outside which I think is brilliant for him - hopefully he will always like being outside
Being inside drives me mad !

I'm a ranger in a local authority run country park. Been in this job for 35 years looking to retire next year when I hit 60.
I have a degree in geography and education but there's now far more countryside management courses that are better suited. Work is very varied, a mixture of day to day mundane (bins litter collection, toilets checking buildings washing and fuelling vehicles), management (fencing vegetation removal pathwork etc) and education (guided walks events schools writing management plans etc). Working for a local authority gives more variety than say working for the wildlife trusts and charities.
I work with like minded colleagues, pay is enough, not much of career ladder but I've loved it. Could never work indoors.
Hope this helps.

Be prepared to invest is decent wet weather/cold weather gear because outdoor jobs don't stop for the weather and you will spend hours with freezing hands and feet. Chillblains are no fun at all. These kind of jobs tend to pay badly at entry level, a degree would be good if you can do it via OU alongside your current job. OU do some fabulous courses. Of course customs officers are in great demand atm, training is paid for by the govt and there must be outside aspects

Are you able to do some volunteering for the Wildlife Trusts or similar charitable organisation near you? If you did some of that, it might give you an idea of which direction you might like to move into.

Have a look at
countryside-jobs.com
It's a list of available jobs and will give you a good idea of what's out there, pay qualifications etc.

I would also say many people have said to me that they'd love to do my job, but would not be able to take the pay cut. Especially if they've worked for a few years in offices, teaching etc.
However money is not everything and I'm glad to have chosen this work. My children have spent many hours in the park with me. Highlights have been caring for baby badgers, watching a sea eagle over the park, ringing with the BTO. Lowlights were dealing with the aftermath of badger diggers and vandalism.

Imogen - Yes, it's probably fair to say (generalising wildly) that they're not hugely well paid but most have great job satisfaction, even on cold wet days!

Oh and a serious negative for working in a country park is dog dirt, a nasty occupational hazard, it's everwhere.

I was a postie for a few years. I absolutely loved it. I loved the autonomy and being outside riding a bike. The weather didn't bother me at all. Sadly they don't have bike rounds anymore.

I'm a Senior Engineering Geologist, get to play with excavators and drilling rigs on railways, in fields or in people's gardens! Very interesting and every day is different!