Job Shadow

[TheDuckAssassin]

Hi I'm 16 years old and for high school I have to do a job shadow.. Does anyone have any jobs in the waterfowl industry that would let me shadow them? Thanks

[Goldfish]

Where do you live? I don't know if call makers would be the thing to do, but there are a few scattered around the state. Otherwise I would imagine conservation officers or else county soil and water workers might be the only people really employed related to waterfowl stuff

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[TheDuckAssassin]

I live in lino lakes .. Do you know any call makers other than c and a around here?

[Goldfish]

Molt gear is down in Rochester I thought. Death Row Calls, Anne River Calls, C&S like you mentioned, Young Custom Calls, Big Sean Championship Calls, Flyway Customs... I'm sure there is more. Google would be your lead on that.

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[Quack]

You might want to shadow a job that will actually have income potential in the future.

Ask everyone in the "waterfowl industry" how long they had to work a day job (or many jobs) while trying to "live the dream" . . . most probably still are, or have a wife with a good job, or barely making it.

Then take into consideration a job that actually pays retirement, benefits, and high enough wages for disposable income / time off. If you want to hunt a lot, get a job with high pay and less than full time requirements / flexible scheduling / non-bankers schedule.

Also look to jobs that are in demand in rural areas.

If I were starting over... rural attorney, HVAC, plumber, accountant, mortician, anything medical.

[maplelakeduckslayer]

I always thought being in ag sales(seed, etc) would be a nice job. Drive around the countryside, talk with farmers, etc. Get leads on hunting and scout all day while working...what could be better.

[lanyard]

For me if I were starting over:
NRCS or USFWS, NOT in enforcement
Banker
Medical~ if you got the brains you can get paid well for rural stations, check out Wapiti: http://www.erstaff.com
Airforce~ Low activation risk and they have stations in crazy places like ND, Colo, Alaska, etc.
Plumber/Electrician~ they haven't figured out how to outsource these jobs.... yet.

If you're jonesing for the outdoor industry in MN I'd say you're stuck unless you did 1) Retail or 2) Start your own gig. Start both of these young. Go to college. Become a buyer for retail.

Other suggestions:
1) Non-profits~ Pheasants Forever, DU, etc. See if there is a DU biologist near you
2) DNR Communications
3) Farm~ Seriously.
4) Videography

[TheDuckAssassin]

Alright I figured that those jobs wouldn't make as much as I would want.. Thanks guys I appreciate it!

[maplelakeduckslayer]

I was accepted and a 45 min drive away from going to the U of M college of natural resources before I realized actually making money was important to me. A lot of natural resources college grads out there doing fish surveys for $8 an hour if that sounds interesting.

[Drunk_Dynasty]

oh its a little better than $8 doing fish surveys. All the internships I applied for (and not selected for) payed atleast $11/hr doing stuff like that.

But yeah I've accepted that I'm never gonna have any money, probably ending being a glorified weed whipper somewhere and have an education that was mostly pointless.