Jobs in the Hunting and Outdoor Industry | Turning your Passion into your Career
To anyone in the industry, it is the number one question of the industry… “How did you get to where you are now?” and it’s not easily answered. Big and small names alike, personalities, or first year employees, basically anyone with careers built on or around hunting have all been asked this question. Every single person, outdoorsman or woman that works this career gives off a glow, they are living the dream. The public, their fans, their friends, and especially their family all feel the energy someone gives off if they do and live off of what they love, their passion is their work…so the question is asked “how did you get here?”
For a few, getting a job in the hunting, bow hunting, and outdoor industry is a simple explanation, possibly “just a job”, but for most the outdoor and hunting industry is living there life to the fullest and they could not be happier. The stories come from just a sentence “I got the interview” to someone’s entire life story. One thing we all know is that the industry is small, everyone knows everyone, but at the same time it is huge and multiple jobs are out there for the taking! Here is some helpful tips, and examples of how to get a job in the hunting and outdoor industry.
The Surface Jobs
We all want this job! These are the faces of the outdoor industry, the Michael Waddell, T-bone, and Nick Mundt, the hunting show personalities and professional “full time hunters”. These are the true passionate dream jobs that anyone would take. Other hunting industry jobs that are considered the surface jobs include business, and outdoor product owners and CEOs…these are the real big timers. While owners and CEOs, such as G5 Outdoors’s own Grace family leaders of innovation and technology in the archery world, do not appear on the camera as much, they make up the producers and big time companies and businesses of the industry. These types of surface jobs, from the faces of industry TV to the big time business and company owners, are far and few between and require a decorated resume with plentiful references and big time connections.
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Behind the Scenes
While the personality, hunting show, “full time hunter”, and business owners are the faces of the industry, the true workhorses are behind the scenes and go far beyond the camera. These are the hunting industry jobs that you often do not see or even think about. To brand and product manufacturing, to marketing, content production, and filming and much more. The jobs behind the scenes give satisfaction in the passion, but are also where some serious money and salaries come into play. Every company, business, brand, and TV show will have these occupations and they are the jobs to aim for…at least first off. They are real world career positions where business, marketing, engineering, biology, wildlife, writing, editing, filming degrees can come into play. If you are going to school are thinking about moving forward with you education put serious thought into how you can apply your degree in the industry. Hunting, bow hunting, and outdoor industry companies and business often have rapid internal movement, so once you get your foot in the door with a company you can move in the ranks surprisingly fast.
Connections
This industry is small…very small, everyone knows, has worked with, has worked for, is connected to, or is directly competing against each other. Building connections and placing your face to your name and your quality of work is helpful. If you see an opportunity take it, excel at it, and it will be noticed.
Different Hats Help
Once you are in the industry you will find out fast that your job title often entails many and very different aspects than you previously thought. Got a marketing degree? You might end up filming! Have a biology degree? You might be marketing and editing eventually. The same is for any degree and any position. The true takeaway here is do not be narrow minded to what you want to end up doing or what your degree tells you to do. Explore and try new jobs and paths, every bit of experience in many different areas, positions and aspects enables you to be more attractive to potential employers.
Hard Work
This industry requires absolute head down hard work, nothing simple or easy about it. It is highly competitive and addicting, especially when successful. It is not an easy road, many in this path will tell you it is a rocky and often times defeating road to take. Because it is your passion it’s often hard not to accept setbacks or ordinary success. Striving through school and entry level positions at first is tough, but once you are in the industry you will begin to realize one thing above all else. The dream job is stressful, rewarding, and unbelievable all in the same day. A good work ethic and unrelenting passion is needed to become big time.
The beauty of the hunting, bow hunting, and outdoor industry is not only working in your passion and the outdoors as your career but developing it into a career. If you talk to anyone in the industry their passion has grown triple fold after growing their career. Often it comes down to working hard for what you love, wearing many hats, making connections, and staying true to your passion and what you love to do!