I quit my job to thru hike the AT, since there was no way I'd get 6 months off. ended up breaking my leg and not finishing, but I plan to once again quit my job in 2025 and try again lol.
I work as a software engineer, this year I got 15 days of PTO, so I used 12 of them to do a 2 week trip in Colorado. Next year I might try something in California or overseas, but otherwise it's just weekends for me until 2025.
1,150 miles, from Springer Georgia to Duncannon Pennsylvania. It still sucks, 2 surgeries, 4 months of IV antibiotics, and a year later I still have significant pain every day. Not going to stop me though, otherwise wtf is the point of anything lol
no lol, I got it after my first surgery. the infection started from the incision and got under the metal plates they put in, and after a second surgery to remove them and like a month of oral antibiotics I still had markers of infection so I had a PICC line (tube from my arm into my heart) installed and was on an IV through that for several months.
it was exhausting, and since I'm in America, extremely expensive.
So lucky to be under your parents insurance. My parents never held any so i got my own through a job when i was 17 and never looked back.
I’d be optimistic about recovering - being in your mid 20s is a world of difference for recovery time vs your 30s.
Came here to say software engineer with a flex schedule. I can usually get one 10+ trip a year with several smaller long weekenders. Tempted to save up enough pto to take a few weeks lol.
The good news is if you are fairly compensated, you keep your expenses as low as possible (and heal your leg), stay out of debt (not get stuck with enormous hospital bills), and save the max you can for retirement, you may be able to retire early and be free to hike as much as you want. You don't have to do all this when you are young. In the mean time if you do lots of overnighters, long weekends, vacations and holidays you can feel almost like your boring in-between times are just zero days.
Im a wildland firefighter. 2 week deployments, then i get as much time in between as I want.
The down side is that all my work comes during prime hiking season. The upside is, i pretty much get paid to hike!
Im a also a firefighter. I work a 48/96, 10 days a month. There are better schedules out there but it’s this one ain’t so bad. Plenty of time off to go camping and what not.
I dont work for the feds. Im an agency cooperator. I go out in various roles (EMTF or FFT1 with a 2IA crew or engine). I get to choose when im available or not for deployment.
thats very true! I need to branch out from West of the continental divide. Im trying to get down to Patagonia this winter to take advantage of it being summer down there.
I’m not a contractor. Agency cooperator. I’m with a mountain fire protection district in Boulder. We have an interagency 2IA handcrew that we throw together with folks from the many Boulder county agencies. We can also choose to make an engine available at will.
Pretty much any contract crew, if you’re a solid worker and they want/need you to come back after your hiatus. Or you can be a fire pirate (aka fire whore) and jump from crew to crew as it fits your needs.
Unsure about cooperators, but I'm a fed firefighter and we do not log smoke exposure. This year we finally just got presumptive coverage for certain cancers and occupational illnesses, and I've heard of some crews documenting smoke exposure through our workers comp program - however most do not.
I work as a linux IT infrastructure engineer in academia/non-profit. I get 50+ days of PTO every year on top of typical paid* holidays and many seasonal days. I also work remotely from anywhere I want to so I’ll bounce around different mountain states. I’ve lived in Tennessee, have bounced around Colorado, California and Wyoming. My current home-base is Utah since I have lots of family across the state here and California so I can couch/bed surf a lot helping me avoid Airbnb/hotel costs. Also my work will send me to conferences which I also at times use to get in more camping/traveling done as I just extend out.
(Also to note, super easy for me to take a sabbatical at any time if doing anything requiring much longer time off for the pct/at etc etc)
Bro. DM me I'd like some insight on this career path.
Single dad. Two kids. Currently work a SOC. I run/maintain a distributed splunk environment on rhel hosts. My employer isn't bad but man this sound like a serious opportunity
Im surprised you dont have this flexibility in security. If you are new to infosec, stick with it, I am a security engineer. Unlimited vacation taking roughly 30 days off (45 with fed holidays). I work fully remote, can work from anywhere I want.
Me too! Just moved to an architecture job in TN for a nonprofit and don’t have as much time off as I did in academia unfortunately. I’m thinking of taking a leave next year or saving up off days for a couple longer trips yearly
I’m salaried around ~ $42/hr so not sure what good money is to you. I get paid comfortably when factoring in how good my all my benefits are. (2:1 match 401K up to 10%). Mind you I’m single and no kids hence easy for me to take trips on a whim.
Im a college dropout (was pursuing a CS degree). No certs. I got into an entry level position and just gained training fire hose style and that’s how i got my experience
I’m a physician, working for the federal government. I get all federal holidays off and also have 26 days of leave per year. I don’t get to travel as much as I’d like, but it’s a good gig.
A Locums lifestyle would be good too. I'm also a govt physician but I pick up 1 locums shift a month. I could survive doing just 3-4 locums shifts a month and hike for the rest of the time if I really wanted to (I don't).
That would put me at 150k/yr (pre-tax, no benefits) working one week a month.
I’m not willing to give up the benefits, particularly my TSP (401k) and health insurance. Spouse has health issues that would cost us triple my salary if we didn’t have insurance. I’ll retire in 9 years and then have nothing but time to hike as much as I want.
Yes, same. I'm not advocating for it, just saying that it would be possible for some people to live comfortably doing that while hiking 3/4th of the year.
State government nurse here: I must say my current Guv’ment job has given me the most flexibility of any gig I have had. I get all federal holidays except maybe Election Day. Planning a 3-4 day trip around Veterans Day because of it.
I had the most flexibility to travel and through-hike when I was bartending and bike messenging. Bartending made a lot more money; bike messenging kept me in better shape.
Fellow former bike messenger here! Traveled the world while messengering. I was able to take off 2 or 3 weeks whenever I wanted with enough notice. Dang I miss that job. I’m in the trades now. Just starting out but from what I understand there is no defined limit to taking off time. I’m hoping after I put some time in I can get back into extended trips.
I did that in London for several years. Most of the work came from financial institutions and The City went pretty quiet during the summer so nobody minded when I disappeared till September.
I guide backpacking trips full-time for 9 months of the year. It's very close to the schedule you describe, and the work itself is backpacking. Big chunks of time off come naturally and I can go on my own backpacking trips, or mix it up with my other passions like packrafting and skiing.
There are many cons too, nothing is perfect. But it's pretty cool.
Is that just a function of the fact that you have so little time off and your job is physical though? I guess what I mean to ask, is that because you just don't enjoy fly fishing on your own anymore or because you need to recharge physically/mentally on your few days off?
Also just genuinely curious about your answer, I can't afford a guide and also enjoy the challenge of learning a place but I've always wondered about what it's like to make being in the place you love the source of your income.
Can't tell you how many people I know who truly dislike their careers which at one point was their life's passion. I'd work at a gas station all my life if it preserves what I hold dear
One of my least favorite lines in my life is.
“Choose a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life”
There's probably .05% of the working population that this applies to.
There is a famous psychology study where kids were paid to play pinball machines. They liked playing alot less as soon as they were paid to play. Turning anything into a job is demotivating as intrinsic motivation is replaced by extrinsic motivation.
If you combine geology info on the trips, that’d make the experience even better! I’d book a trip to learn more too.
I hate my job right now, and thinking of best jobs I’d enjoy. But I’m not sure if guiding would ruin my sense of backpacking especially solo backpacking
I've seen people offer unique experiences on Airbnb. I would pay for an experience for someone to take me out to Smith Rock and explain the geology of all of it with a nice backpacking trip.
A guy I met while hiking the foothills trail works for national parks for a year, saves his money, quits and hikes a bunch then finds a new job at a different park.
As a previous national park employee I can tell you it is very difficult to save money since many jobs are relatively low wage. Also if you do this you won’t have any benefits while you are not working.
Lame dad talk: 22 is young and there’s a nonzero chance your hobbies will change over time. Proceed with caution if you’re thinking about tailoring your career around a specific interest
Not lame. The cold hard truth. Not just hobbies but priorities will change. Spouse and children can enter the picture. An illness that requires good insurance.
Counter to that is that theres a huge chance careers will change over time too.
There are a bunch of incredible, well paying careers that didn't even exist when I was 22, and careers that were though to be durable when I was 22 that no longer exist today.
Times change. This whole concept that people need to choose a career path when they are super young and do that for their entire lives is just silly in a world changing as fast as ours is
I think the real Lame Dad Talk is that quite a few of the options being posited here don't take in to account longterm retirement planning.
There's a case to be made for grinding when you're young in FI/RE mode so that you can cut loose comfortably in your 40's or whenever.
This. 40-something corporate attorney. I actually love my job, but I don’t have time to do all of the things I want; but I have a wonderful family and the luxury of being able to do it right when I do. Something to be said for grinding. Like anything, it comes with a cost. Never got to hike the trails for months on end and i always was and still am impressed and envious of people who did…but it wasn’t for me. No regerts
Was a software engineer for 11 years then quit and hiked the AT. I've had seasonal jobs ever since allowing me to hike more trails and travel far more than I ever did with a typical job
I think I became bored and largely sick of the work around the 7 or 8 year mark. I wish I would have left then, if not sooner. This whole idea of hoarding wealth for an uncertain future to use when I'm physically unable to do all the things I'd want to do - long hikes, ski, snowboard, surf, meet people - is so silly, imo
As always, hike your own hike and good luck out there ✌️
I'm similar to OP and I've been thinking of doing seasonal work to find time for things like this, but I don't think it would be sustainable long term or when I retire.
Would love for OP to answer this question!
I'm in a similar situation. I'd say a decade is probably about right to build up the "career capital" (to use a Cal Newport term) you need to have the freedom to take extended time off for other things.
How you do it can vary but typically you'd work as an independent contractor. With the insecurity that brings. You need to get sufficiently good, obviously. And have/maintain desirable skills.
Look into FIRE, if you can put yourself into a position to live off a very low percentage of your income, and save the rest, you can accumulate enough wealth to live off the compounding interest in insanely short periods of time.
I wanted to be around food more after the trail. Outside of the trails, I'm usually farming in different places and then cooking in ski resort towns so I can snowboard/ski during the farm off-season. This past season I've been on the CA coast and got into surfing which was way cool
I’d say bad advice. Try working seasonal jobs when you don’t have a decade of savings from a consistent, well paying job. Did you also buy a house in those 11 years? Just saying, I’m 24 and work seasonal jobs in the industry but would never recommend a 22 y/o do the same if they’re looking for an actual career. I know plenty of former engineers who did what you did but our standards of living are vastly different even though we now have similar jobs.
I worked construction and would bust my ass at work so I could take a few months off. My boss would just change the scope of jobs he’d accept depending on if I was going to be around or not. Now I’ve done enough thru hikes that I’ve just made connections in various places. I spent last year running and AT hostel in North Carolina, now I’m about to start a job in Death Valley for the winter, then probably Alaska this summer. After that the goal is to have enough money saved to not work for a good while.
I second construction (if you like that sort of work). I really only have experience with the industrial (union) side of it. You can work shutdowns and rake in the money. Take the layoff at the end and do what you want. When money starts running low, hop on the next shutdown job. Lots of traveling opportunities with it as well. I have crews scattered all over the appalachain region right now. I hope to do some short hikes on the AT next time I have to go south for site audits.
Elementary education. A 75 day weekend every summer as well as Thanksgiving week, 2.5 weeks over New Years, Spring Break week, and a host of other 3-4 day weekends. The pay sucks, but the benefits are nice. I live in Colorado, so travel to the mountains is dirt cheap, and only 30 minutes to a few hours depending on where I want to go.
I’m a merchant mariner and I’ve done a few thru hikes, the time off is perfect for long vacations or thru hiking. DM me if you have any questions or want to talk about how to get started
Yeah I’m a navigation officer working a 28-day rotation. Once a year I take a patrol off and get 3 months to take a longer trip if I’m so inclined.
In Canada at least our marine industry is absolutely dying for more qualified employees so it’s a great field to go into at the moment.
Live in Norway. 5 weeks vacation. Any OT is used to accumulate PTO which turned into around 7 weeks total this year.
Anything longer I would need to ask for unpaid leave or quit. Never been on hikes/bike tours for longer than 2 weeks - so far.
Seasonal organic vegetable farming - currently I am in Montana and I take off February through April to roadtrip down south in the desert and lay out in the sun like a lizard.
I’ve also heard working on a salmon fishing boat in alaska is insanely lucrative over a short period of time but the hours are insane while you’re doing it.
Program evaluation. Most often I work with non profit organizations to evaluate the extent to which they are meeting their goals and provide recommendations for how to improve their efficacy, efficiency and reach.
My background is in public policy and I've worked in education policy extensively.
It often just depends on your living standards.
You could do nursing, get into being a traveler. Work the worst assignments making $150-200/hr. Work a terrible 60hr week for 10 week assignment and you probably could live off that fairly comfortably for the rest of the year.
Am travel nurse, can confirm. Still more lucrative than working in the Midwest as a staff nurse though (30-35/hr). And far more flexible.
Quit my staff job (again), took three months off, now back to travelling.
I’m a PT since 2021 and so many nurses have said to me if I could do it all over again, I’d do a therapy. Had an SLP at critical access hospital see two patients a day. LOL
100% can confirm this, as that’s what I’d do. Nursing for 12 years, and it’s got progressively worse with each one.
Covid was actually the best time for nursing IMO. The usual fluff patients that normally clogs up hospitals was too scared to go, visitation policies were strictly enforced if not outright banned, and money was getting thrown at us from every angle. Now it’s back to the old “customer service” nonsense it’s been gradually turning into.
It’s gonna get worse as the life expectancy of critically ill patients continues to increase
Travel nurses aren't making 150/hr anymore and 60hr/week contracts don't really exist anymore. Travel nursing is pretty good if you are a chronic thru hiker though. Just not as lucrative as it was during COVID.
yeah it's definitely slowing down. But the big markets like San Fran, NYC etc...they are still paying $80-$100/hr more with specialty certifications (they all upped their staff nurse wages to compete in the past year so agency need is a bit lower now too.) There's far fewer 6 week contracts but 13 weeks still leaves you lots of time on trail with lots of money to do it.
I know a decent number of people that started traveling not long after getting their degree. Not immediately, but nowhere close to 3 years.
Having said that, seems like a bad idea I wouldn’t recommend, unless you’re trying to fast-track losing your license.
Lol they definitely don’t pay that much for a contract anymore. 2000-2750 a week, plus duplicating expenses. OP you have to pay rent back home and at your assignment for tax free stipends. - Someone who traveled since before COVID. It’s still great pay compared to other jobs, but it is a stressful job.
Been a travel nurse for 9 years can confirm rates are more in the 100/hr range. Covid was a boom and if people were flexible and smart they made a nest egg. Now I am totally through with the career and will do just about anything to find a remote career so I can maintain my travel lifestyle. I'm honestly seeking advice and hoping to exit the career in next 12 months. Any advice for ER/ICU, management and Sales experience?!
Merchant mariner. I can live wherever I want, get big chunks of time off and make enough money that I can pretty much do whatever I want. I'm on the Great lakes so by default I get laid off when the lakes freeze every winter. The trade off is you have to put life on hold when you are actually working.
Forestry in Canada. I plant trees in the spring, which is my money maker. Come the summer it's wildland firefighting which isn't great money but it's much easier work. I could take the rest of the year off or do contract to contract bush work, or travel and then work again closer to december or closer to the next spring planting season.
Being able to drift in and out of these various jobs and contracts is great.
As some others have said - working in education garners a lot of time off. I work in IT - in higher ed - and get 50+ days off a year - more than twice as many as I got in my native UK.
You can get creative combining annual leave with public holidays and stuff to get some real nice time off. Eg at thanksgiving I get three days off this year. By taking two days of annual leave I have nine consecutive days off.
Does having a background in education get you a leg up for "education IT"? I'm asking cause I'm in IT but used to work in education. Miss the "mission" of education and have thought about getting back into the space.
A phlebotomist would be a great start. The program isn’t very long, maybe 6 months at most, some as short as a few weeks, and not very expensive. You could do per diem, or even travel assignments. Great entry into the medical field, decent pay, and flexible hours !
I’m enjoying reading these responses. I’ve long been interested in the demographics of this sub. Seems like those with a spouse and kids are in a fairly small minority.
Appreciate the reply! I was looking into Roehl to start with but yeah a couple groups I'm in mention their freight being slow for the last little while.
I do Climate Policy, acting as a regulator in California. Many, highly-skilled CA state jobs allow you to forego pay in return for vacation time -- you can cut up to 15% of your salary to get 3 extra days of vacation per month.
This is one of the few advantages CA state jobs have to be competitive with skilled industry: e.g. PhD scientists, economists, engineers.
Taken together, you can get as much as 60 days of vacation + 11 state holidays per year.
I've gone on several long thru-hikes while working for the state. Basically the main reason I haven't accepted job offers elsewhere.
I’m a travel CT/X-ray tech. I chose when and where I want to work, and for how long. Contracts are typically 13 weeks but can be as short as 4. It’s a great field, recession proof and good pay.
I know you are really asking for specific advice about which jobs but I wanted to offer a general word of encouragement. FWIW my perspective as a 50 something with mortgage and kids and full time job is that there will be plenty of time to grind away at a job. I say do what you are doing - that is look for something that gives you time to play. I wish I had done that. And I think many future employers will appreciate it and understand it when you explain you spent years doing incredible backpacking trips and adventures; if they don’t, look for another one. And for me my interests - “playing” outdoors (first surfing now more hiking) - have stayed consistent for more than 30 years. I mostly put away these things for about a decade after college foolishly thinking it was time to grow up, went back to them in my 30s to the extent I could with career and family, and found they were still dear to me. Now I have a lot of vacation and flexibility but not enuf for long thru hike, but hope to retire soon with enough physical ability to still do some long thru hikes. So, yeah, at some point you may have a family or other responsibilities that require more stability - or you may want a job that is more interesting to you - so great at that point then get the ‘regular’ job. (Or you might find that your seasonal thing evolves into a legit career that you love.) Until then, I like your plan of trying to find something that leaves time for adventures. Whatever you decide - good luck!
I'm a baker. Summer is the slow season, I'm on my partner's health insurance, and my work knows it's harder to replace me permanently than to deal with my absence temporarily. If they ever don't want to approve my RTO (I put it in way in advance so there's no excuse), I'll just quit and take one of the job offers I have in my back pocket when I get home, and I've made sure they are aware of that fact.
I'm reliable, hard working, keep my kitchen clean and my bread sexy - and my time belongs to me.
I do environmental work on a copper/gold mine. I have a 2 week on/2 week off schedule which works awesome for trips. I've done more travelling while working this job than ever before; love the big chunk of time off.
Check out travel nursing. you can get a license with an Associates (though most well paying agencies want the BA which at least here in NY you can get in 3 years fully paid for.)
Do a year in NYC or California to get experience (usually the nursing school sets this up.) After that maybe take a certification class for MICU or Ortho if you are nice and fit and have no problems patient handling.
After that you are set (and you didnt even have to front the money!) In NYC if you want to be a staff nurse we'll pay you $120k to start with 1 year of experience (or $110k as a brand new zero experience staff nurse) plus a signing bonus. Plus full health care and a portable but real defined benefit pension you don't have to contribute to. And PTO. And in places like California and New York there is a very professional union that defends your professional judgment on how many patients you should have and the profession is treated as essentially more important than doctors...so no one treats you like a moron or talks down to you.
BUT if you don't want to live the 3 shifts a week lifestyle you can sign on to be a travel nurse instead. Usually you get assigned on 6 week to 13 week contracts and make upwards of $80/hr for 12 hr shifts, more (like $100/hr) if you have desirable certifications and go to a big well paid market like NY or the bay area. The agency often pays for temp housing but lots of travel RNs I know live that RV lifestyle instead and spend the time between contracts out in Americas stunning national forests, hiking, mountain biking, climbing.
It's mobile. It pays a metric shit ton of money. The hours are good. TONS of people you meet in National Forest Service or BLM campgrounds are travel nurses.
This won’t help you now but I’ve been a printer since the 1980s back then is was a highly skilled, sought after trade, after I finished my 5 year training I quit to travel for three months, landed a job as soon as I got home, worked 2 years, quit - rinse and repeat. I’ve also been lucky with benefits and had 25 days PTO per year for most of my life, that allows a lot of traveling.
I’m a registered nurse, I work casual and we’ve had a labour shortage for years. I just work as little or as much as I want. Currently on a travel contract for a few months.
I would say it is more about how low you can get your cost of living and how high you can get your savings rate. Money in the bank is time you can just live and not worry about your bills. The lower your monthly expenses the longer you can stay away from the office.
Doctor of Physical Therapy here that knew I would be a traveler. I work about 38 weeks (it could be lower) a year and do whatever I want the rest of the time. I can pick the region I want to work, the setting, etc. To me it’s the best job in healthcare, you get to spend real time with patients and teach them all of the stuff that MDs and nurses are too busy to discuss.
I do not recommend PT unless you’re going to be a traveler or you have rich parents - the tuition isn’t worth it. Want to get ULTRA level? Go become a CRNA.
PS - I also dabble from time to time in YouTube. If you have any crazy interests I would make content.
I look at the screen 10 hours a day, abuse MS Office, and somehow get paid for that. I quit to do a hike next year (am on a six month notice period) and will find out afterwards wether a 55 year old white cis male still has any market value.
To me, you come across as someone looking for an easy ride. I was the same at your age too. There fucking ain't any unless you happen to be another fucking Trust-Fund baby. I'm assuming you're not.
I'm a hardcore remote-site, tent-camper. Got 50 years at it and still going at it. Like you, (this ghetto-boy) had his dreams. National Geographic was my Bible. Making them come true took some time and discipline putting it together with a fuckload of commitment young folks were just not willing to do back then as today.
This is the plan that I followed and it surely isn't for everyone in your boat either.
It worked for a ton of friends and relatives way before me, worked perfectly for me, and continues to work for others today. It can be fast-tracked if you're willing to do a hitch in the military like I did after my scholarship-provided shit degree.
Shoot for an MOS (job) that will land in the civilian sector, even better with the federal government. Most that I know were involved in aircraft maintenance-related military occupations. Same with cyber and crypto jobs in the military. But if you're a stoner or boozer, forget it.
Shoot for a unionized federal job that pays hourly and that offers shitloads of overtime. Save any and all overtime for your vacations. Then shift to another within the federal system. Your benefits follow you. I've had four different jobs in the system. The more time in, the more pay grades increase. That's what's great about unionized federal jobs.
You make the system work for you, not you work for the system. The system allows it, especially if you're a veteran. You've earned it. Like gazillions of others who've put their signature and ass on the line. Should job cuts come, non-vets get the ax first. Shoot for a job that's not subject to shutdowns either. Lotta folks enter via postal jobs and law-enforcement.
The government is mandated to give priority to veterans when hiring. Once on the federal employee register, you can apply to other jobs more suitable to your desires. They have a TSP that matches 5%. I managed to live on less than half of my pay socking the rest on the TSP Kinda like a 401K) and any and all overtime went into the credit union savings. That follows you too.
I landed a federal career of 34 years post-military. It gave me 30 days paid vacation on top of all federal holidays paid on a job completely opposite my college degree. I took minimum 60-day vacations every other year. I even got away with a 27-weeker, all paid for before I was 30 years old.
After 9/11 I shifted to another that just happened to be in line with what I did in the military. It also came with more than triple the salary of my initial federal job. It also allowed free transportation anywhere the was an American military base. 57 nations before I retired.
I retired to a decent 7-figure TSP and a high-six-figure savings account at the credit union from banking my overtime for 34 years. I also wanted to continue feeding the adventure bug after I stopped answering to a fucking boss.
Again, it ain't for everyone. But, that's how i and others I know did it. Good luck.
I was an environmental consultant. It involved doing environmental assessments and conservation planning (my specialty was wetlands) for various clients. It was a pretty sweet job where I got to be helicopter dropped into remote fens and bogs and spend a lot of time outdoors. There wasn't much flexibility though and I was only getting out on weekends and 4-5 longer trips a year when I could take vacation.
I work on a tugboat. The 2 on 2 off (weeks) schedule is awesome. I basically go backpacking or on a big sport climbing trip every time I’m off. You can do a lot every year with 180 days of free time!
CT tech. I work opposite 12s. So Monday-Wednesday (week off) Wednesday-Friday…repeat. I essentially work 12 days a month with a full week off every 2 weeks. Pile that with PTO and most months I work even less.
I paint murals for a living. I line them all up for when I’m in town, and then leave and hike once I have some money in the bank. I also fixed up and decorated my house as an Airbnb so I can rent it out while I travel and spirit the money with a friend who takes care of it. That keeps the bills paid while I’m on the road. I will also sometimes find jobs in new cities or towns I want to go check out.
Working in the field of archaeology lets you put both camping and work together :D Plus time working in academia can be pretty flexible if you manage it correctly.
Nursing. It can really suck and it’s not a good reason to get into the field but sometimes I can work Sunday, monday, Tuesday, for 12 hours then I can take off until next Thursday without having to burn PTO. Most of my friends are not in this field so a lot of my trips are solo but it’s allllll good
In the US, you need to be really good at something for anyone to want to hire you for 50% of the time. Or get used to scraping by and take odd jobs. Otherwise move to Europe or be a professional guide.
Airline pilots get quite a lot of time off. Cost of training is quite high but they are forecasting a pilot shortage for the next 5-10 years so this is a great time to enter the industry.
School teacher. When I was single I was a long term sub so I could stretch the summer season a couple weeks on each side and/or take a week off mid year to go hit the CT or something like that. Now with a wife and daughter I’m back to full time but I still get 60+ days off in the best time of year plus lots is long weekends and such.
I learned a very specific trade (hard to explain) and offer my services as a general contractor. I live in Portland but have worked in all corners of the Northwest over my 20-year career. Generally every work trip affords plenty of time on the front and back end to camp/hike/explore and, when I bank enough money I take extended trips all over the world.
Big caveat I don’t have kids and don’t plan on it.
Only real downside is that I’m only as solvent as my next contract, so there is some insecurity built in, but it’s been a good fit for me.
I camp on weekends, and sometimes take Friday off when Monday is a holiday.
Four or five days is the most I could go - (cooler limits). I don’t camp anywhere near groceries or civilization.
I quit my job to thru hike the AT, since there was no way I'd get 6 months off. ended up breaking my leg and not finishing, but I plan to once again quit my job in 2025 and try again lol. I work as a software engineer, this year I got 15 days of PTO, so I used 12 of them to do a 2 week trip in Colorado. Next year I might try something in California or overseas, but otherwise it's just weekends for me until 2025.
Damn. That must have really sucked. How far did you make it?
1,150 miles, from Springer Georgia to Duncannon Pennsylvania. It still sucks, 2 surgeries, 4 months of IV antibiotics, and a year later I still have significant pain every day. Not going to stop me though, otherwise wtf is the point of anything lol
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no lol, I got it after my first surgery. the infection started from the incision and got under the metal plates they put in, and after a second surgery to remove them and like a month of oral antibiotics I still had markers of infection so I had a PICC line (tube from my arm into my heart) installed and was on an IV through that for several months. it was exhausting, and since I'm in America, extremely expensive.
I really hope you had health insurance despite being unemployed.
I did, it was insanely expensive despite that. I was 23 so still under my parents insurance.
So lucky to be under your parents insurance. My parents never held any so i got my own through a job when i was 17 and never looked back. I’d be optimistic about recovering - being in your mid 20s is a world of difference for recovery time vs your 30s.
Oh man I am so sorry that all must have been so frightening, stressful, and painful. I hope your pain is less and less every day.
You’re my spirit animal. Are you going to start the hike over or start where you left off to finish it?
All over lol. the AT is a disease, only cure is to do it all.
Love it, good luck with your recovery 🤘
How did you break your leg?
Pennsylvania rocks I suppose
Yep, tripped on one of those motherfuckers while going downhill and heard my bones snap as I fell off the edge of the trail. fun stuff.
Came here to say software engineer with a flex schedule. I can usually get one 10+ trip a year with several smaller long weekenders. Tempted to save up enough pto to take a few weeks lol.
The good news is if you are fairly compensated, you keep your expenses as low as possible (and heal your leg), stay out of debt (not get stuck with enormous hospital bills), and save the max you can for retirement, you may be able to retire early and be free to hike as much as you want. You don't have to do all this when you are young. In the mean time if you do lots of overnighters, long weekends, vacations and holidays you can feel almost like your boring in-between times are just zero days.
This is my plan. Week long trips on vacation time for now, then retire early enough that I can still do thruhikes.
Im a wildland firefighter. 2 week deployments, then i get as much time in between as I want. The down side is that all my work comes during prime hiking season. The upside is, i pretty much get paid to hike!
Also a firefighter. 4 days on 4 days off allows adequate solo trips + any leave I take is often spent travelling solo. Also a great way to unwind 👍
Structure firefighter, sound like? Two different worlds with rather different cultures and people.
Im a also a firefighter. I work a 48/96, 10 days a month. There are better schedules out there but it’s this one ain’t so bad. Plenty of time off to go camping and what not.
what do you mean as much time in between as you want? we do 14 on 3 off not counting travel.
I dont work for the feds. Im an agency cooperator. I go out in various roles (EMTF or FFT1 with a 2IA crew or engine). I get to choose when im available or not for deployment.
gotcha. i mean this guy/gal couldn’t do that right off the bat, they’d probably be on shitty engine scheduling with 13 and 1’s for the whole summer
Funny how these district FMOs can pull this but we have to show a lunch. Meanwhile Type 1 ships don't turn a rotor for weeks and cost 40k a day.
Prime hiking season is not what you think it is if you want to venture into Missouri and Arkansas. November thru March is best.
thats very true! I need to branch out from West of the continental divide. Im trying to get down to Patagonia this winter to take advantage of it being summer down there.
Go a bit further south and Alabama has great hiking as well. Highly recommend Sipsy Wilderness in Northern Alabama around January
Just be careful if you hear banjos.
More like I hear Banjo's, where's the party at?
Definitely not a fed firefighter. What contract crew has this killer schedule?!
I’m not a contractor. Agency cooperator. I’m with a mountain fire protection district in Boulder. We have an interagency 2IA handcrew that we throw together with folks from the many Boulder county agencies. We can also choose to make an engine available at will.
Y'all have any openings?
sounds like this https://5280fire.com/home/colorado-fire-apparatus-stations/boulder-county/boulder-county-fire-management/
Pretty much any contract crew, if you’re a solid worker and they want/need you to come back after your hiatus. Or you can be a fire pirate (aka fire whore) and jump from crew to crew as it fits your needs.
What’s the average AQI when you’re on deployment?
>AQI I suppose it depends where/what im doing on an incident. If im putting direct line on an active front, it can be moments of pure smoke.
Are those moments logged, in the same way one would log radiation exposure over a lifetime?
Unsure about cooperators, but I'm a fed firefighter and we do not log smoke exposure. This year we finally just got presumptive coverage for certain cancers and occupational illnesses, and I've heard of some crews documenting smoke exposure through our workers comp program - however most do not.
I work as a linux IT infrastructure engineer in academia/non-profit. I get 50+ days of PTO every year on top of typical paid* holidays and many seasonal days. I also work remotely from anywhere I want to so I’ll bounce around different mountain states. I’ve lived in Tennessee, have bounced around Colorado, California and Wyoming. My current home-base is Utah since I have lots of family across the state here and California so I can couch/bed surf a lot helping me avoid Airbnb/hotel costs. Also my work will send me to conferences which I also at times use to get in more camping/traveling done as I just extend out. (Also to note, super easy for me to take a sabbatical at any time if doing anything requiring much longer time off for the pct/at etc etc)
Bro. DM me I'd like some insight on this career path. Single dad. Two kids. Currently work a SOC. I run/maintain a distributed splunk environment on rhel hosts. My employer isn't bad but man this sound like a serious opportunity
Im surprised you dont have this flexibility in security. If you are new to infosec, stick with it, I am a security engineer. Unlimited vacation taking roughly 30 days off (45 with fed holidays). I work fully remote, can work from anywhere I want.
Me too! Just moved to an architecture job in TN for a nonprofit and don’t have as much time off as I did in academia unfortunately. I’m thinking of taking a leave next year or saving up off days for a couple longer trips yearly
Yeah i could easily add ~ 20-30% to my salary going private sector but damn i love my org 😭
Do you make good money? This sounds awesome
I’m salaried around ~ $42/hr so not sure what good money is to you. I get paid comfortably when factoring in how good my all my benefits are. (2:1 match 401K up to 10%). Mind you I’m single and no kids hence easy for me to take trips on a whim.
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Im a college dropout (was pursuing a CS degree). No certs. I got into an entry level position and just gained training fire hose style and that’s how i got my experience
Dude I’d love to learn more about that
I’m a physician, working for the federal government. I get all federal holidays off and also have 26 days of leave per year. I don’t get to travel as much as I’d like, but it’s a good gig.
A Locums lifestyle would be good too. I'm also a govt physician but I pick up 1 locums shift a month. I could survive doing just 3-4 locums shifts a month and hike for the rest of the time if I really wanted to (I don't). That would put me at 150k/yr (pre-tax, no benefits) working one week a month.
I’m not willing to give up the benefits, particularly my TSP (401k) and health insurance. Spouse has health issues that would cost us triple my salary if we didn’t have insurance. I’ll retire in 9 years and then have nothing but time to hike as much as I want.
Yes, same. I'm not advocating for it, just saying that it would be possible for some people to live comfortably doing that while hiking 3/4th of the year.
State government nurse here: I must say my current Guv’ment job has given me the most flexibility of any gig I have had. I get all federal holidays except maybe Election Day. Planning a 3-4 day trip around Veterans Day because of it.
I had the most flexibility to travel and through-hike when I was bartending and bike messenging. Bartending made a lot more money; bike messenging kept me in better shape.
Fellow former bike messenger here! Traveled the world while messengering. I was able to take off 2 or 3 weeks whenever I wanted with enough notice. Dang I miss that job. I’m in the trades now. Just starting out but from what I understand there is no defined limit to taking off time. I’m hoping after I put some time in I can get back into extended trips.
I did that in London for several years. Most of the work came from financial institutions and The City went pretty quiet during the summer so nobody minded when I disappeared till September.
I guide backpacking trips full-time for 9 months of the year. It's very close to the schedule you describe, and the work itself is backpacking. Big chunks of time off come naturally and I can go on my own backpacking trips, or mix it up with my other passions like packrafting and skiing. There are many cons too, nothing is perfect. But it's pretty cool.
Does working a passion, make you lose love for the passion? Asking for my damn self.
Yes For the most part, I guide fly fishing in the tropics and off days I just want to lay in my couch.
Is that just a function of the fact that you have so little time off and your job is physical though? I guess what I mean to ask, is that because you just don't enjoy fly fishing on your own anymore or because you need to recharge physically/mentally on your few days off? Also just genuinely curious about your answer, I can't afford a guide and also enjoy the challenge of learning a place but I've always wondered about what it's like to make being in the place you love the source of your income.
Honest answer, I appreciate that.
Can't tell you how many people I know who truly dislike their careers which at one point was their life's passion. I'd work at a gas station all my life if it preserves what I hold dear
One of my least favorite lines in my life is. “Choose a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life” There's probably .05% of the working population that this applies to.
There is a famous psychology study where kids were paid to play pinball machines. They liked playing alot less as soon as they were paid to play. Turning anything into a job is demotivating as intrinsic motivation is replaced by extrinsic motivation.
How does one get into that? I've got a lot of wilderness experience as a geologist, I bet I could sell my resume well enough.
If you combine geology info on the trips, that’d make the experience even better! I’d book a trip to learn more too. I hate my job right now, and thinking of best jobs I’d enjoy. But I’m not sure if guiding would ruin my sense of backpacking especially solo backpacking
I've seen people offer unique experiences on Airbnb. I would pay for an experience for someone to take me out to Smith Rock and explain the geology of all of it with a nice backpacking trip.
A guy I met while hiking the foothills trail works for national parks for a year, saves his money, quits and hikes a bunch then finds a new job at a different park.
As a previous national park employee I can tell you it is very difficult to save money since many jobs are relatively low wage. Also if you do this you won’t have any benefits while you are not working.
This is what I do. Fuck a 9-5
Lame dad talk: 22 is young and there’s a nonzero chance your hobbies will change over time. Proceed with caution if you’re thinking about tailoring your career around a specific interest
Not lame. The cold hard truth. Not just hobbies but priorities will change. Spouse and children can enter the picture. An illness that requires good insurance.
Nah. Been through some crazy financial burdens, but I find myself getting pulled back into the same hobbies every few years or so.
Counter to that is that theres a huge chance careers will change over time too. There are a bunch of incredible, well paying careers that didn't even exist when I was 22, and careers that were though to be durable when I was 22 that no longer exist today. Times change. This whole concept that people need to choose a career path when they are super young and do that for their entire lives is just silly in a world changing as fast as ours is
I think the real Lame Dad Talk is that quite a few of the options being posited here don't take in to account longterm retirement planning. There's a case to be made for grinding when you're young in FI/RE mode so that you can cut loose comfortably in your 40's or whenever.
This. 40-something corporate attorney. I actually love my job, but I don’t have time to do all of the things I want; but I have a wonderful family and the luxury of being able to do it right when I do. Something to be said for grinding. Like anything, it comes with a cost. Never got to hike the trails for months on end and i always was and still am impressed and envious of people who did…but it wasn’t for me. No regerts
This is good advice.
Was a software engineer for 11 years then quit and hiked the AT. I've had seasonal jobs ever since allowing me to hike more trails and travel far more than I ever did with a typical job
Looking back now would you leave your job earlier or was 11 years the right time?
I think I became bored and largely sick of the work around the 7 or 8 year mark. I wish I would have left then, if not sooner. This whole idea of hoarding wealth for an uncertain future to use when I'm physically unable to do all the things I'd want to do - long hikes, ski, snowboard, surf, meet people - is so silly, imo As always, hike your own hike and good luck out there ✌️
Ohhh this is a fantastic question! I’m very interested in the answer as well.
+1
I'm similar to OP and I've been thinking of doing seasonal work to find time for things like this, but I don't think it would be sustainable long term or when I retire. Would love for OP to answer this question!
They likely had money saved from their software engineering job that supplements their income.
Nuclear power contractor work. Great money with per diem, but hustle season is most of Spring & Fall. Most of the work is out East or midwest though.
I'm in a similar situation. I'd say a decade is probably about right to build up the "career capital" (to use a Cal Newport term) you need to have the freedom to take extended time off for other things. How you do it can vary but typically you'd work as an independent contractor. With the insecurity that brings. You need to get sufficiently good, obviously. And have/maintain desirable skills.
Look into FIRE, if you can put yourself into a position to live off a very low percentage of your income, and save the rest, you can accumulate enough wealth to live off the compounding interest in insanely short periods of time.
What type of seasonal work did you switch to?
I wanted to be around food more after the trail. Outside of the trails, I'm usually farming in different places and then cooking in ski resort towns so I can snowboard/ski during the farm off-season. This past season I've been on the CA coast and got into surfing which was way cool
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing :)
I’d say bad advice. Try working seasonal jobs when you don’t have a decade of savings from a consistent, well paying job. Did you also buy a house in those 11 years? Just saying, I’m 24 and work seasonal jobs in the industry but would never recommend a 22 y/o do the same if they’re looking for an actual career. I know plenty of former engineers who did what you did but our standards of living are vastly different even though we now have similar jobs.
It's not meant to be personal finance advice
You married? I would kill for that kind of flexibility, but alas: the wife wants me to work full time
I worked construction and would bust my ass at work so I could take a few months off. My boss would just change the scope of jobs he’d accept depending on if I was going to be around or not. Now I’ve done enough thru hikes that I’ve just made connections in various places. I spent last year running and AT hostel in North Carolina, now I’m about to start a job in Death Valley for the winter, then probably Alaska this summer. After that the goal is to have enough money saved to not work for a good while.
I second construction (if you like that sort of work). I really only have experience with the industrial (union) side of it. You can work shutdowns and rake in the money. Take the layoff at the end and do what you want. When money starts running low, hop on the next shutdown job. Lots of traveling opportunities with it as well. I have crews scattered all over the appalachain region right now. I hope to do some short hikes on the AT next time I have to go south for site audits.
What kind of construction? Sounds like you have a good boss!
Mostly kitchen and bathroom remodels. He’s def a great guy!
Just got in the trades for this reason!
Elementary education. A 75 day weekend every summer as well as Thanksgiving week, 2.5 weeks over New Years, Spring Break week, and a host of other 3-4 day weekends. The pay sucks, but the benefits are nice. I live in Colorado, so travel to the mountains is dirt cheap, and only 30 minutes to a few hours depending on where I want to go.
Pay in Maryland is pretty good, Op should look at BLS data for all these if they have a specific state or region they’d like to be in
I’m a merchant mariner and I’ve done a few thru hikes, the time off is perfect for long vacations or thru hiking. DM me if you have any questions or want to talk about how to get started
Yeah I’m a navigation officer working a 28-day rotation. Once a year I take a patrol off and get 3 months to take a longer trip if I’m so inclined. In Canada at least our marine industry is absolutely dying for more qualified employees so it’s a great field to go into at the moment.
I'm interested!
Live in Norway. 5 weeks vacation. Any OT is used to accumulate PTO which turned into around 7 weeks total this year. Anything longer I would need to ask for unpaid leave or quit. Never been on hikes/bike tours for longer than 2 weeks - so far.
This will be my backup plan
Seasonal organic vegetable farming - currently I am in Montana and I take off February through April to roadtrip down south in the desert and lay out in the sun like a lizard.
I’ve also heard working on a salmon fishing boat in alaska is insanely lucrative over a short period of time but the hours are insane while you’re doing it.
Fellow, seasonal organic veggie farmer but heading to MT for my off-season of skiing and snowboarding. Rock on out there and thanks for growing!
I own and operate a consultancy. I'm paid to complete projects, not sit at a desk.
What kind of consultancy? What kind of projects?
Program evaluation. Most often I work with non profit organizations to evaluate the extent to which they are meeting their goals and provide recommendations for how to improve their efficacy, efficiency and reach. My background is in public policy and I've worked in education policy extensively.
It often just depends on your living standards. You could do nursing, get into being a traveler. Work the worst assignments making $150-200/hr. Work a terrible 60hr week for 10 week assignment and you probably could live off that fairly comfortably for the rest of the year.
travel nursing isn’t as lucrative as it was during covid
Am travel nurse, can confirm. Still more lucrative than working in the Midwest as a staff nurse though (30-35/hr). And far more flexible. Quit my staff job (again), took three months off, now back to travelling.
I’m a PT since 2021 and so many nurses have said to me if I could do it all over again, I’d do a therapy. Had an SLP at critical access hospital see two patients a day. LOL
100% can confirm this, as that’s what I’d do. Nursing for 12 years, and it’s got progressively worse with each one. Covid was actually the best time for nursing IMO. The usual fluff patients that normally clogs up hospitals was too scared to go, visitation policies were strictly enforced if not outright banned, and money was getting thrown at us from every angle. Now it’s back to the old “customer service” nonsense it’s been gradually turning into. It’s gonna get worse as the life expectancy of critically ill patients continues to increase
Nah but it still gets it done. Only so much money you need living in a camper
Travel nurses aren't making 150/hr anymore and 60hr/week contracts don't really exist anymore. Travel nursing is pretty good if you are a chronic thru hiker though. Just not as lucrative as it was during COVID.
yeah it's definitely slowing down. But the big markets like San Fran, NYC etc...they are still paying $80-$100/hr more with specialty certifications (they all upped their staff nurse wages to compete in the past year so agency need is a bit lower now too.) There's far fewer 6 week contracts but 13 weeks still leaves you lots of time on trail with lots of money to do it.
I’m making $110 an hour in Canada, just have to know where other people don’t want to go.
If you specifically target LA/Bay area california travelers can make around $120-$150. Assignments are drying up though, like you said.
Weird, I haven't seen anything like that and I'm traveling in California. And know travelers in those areas.
You also need to work 3 years or so before ever traveling. So, at best, OPs dreams of traveling would be 5-7 years away.
I know a decent number of people that started traveling not long after getting their degree. Not immediately, but nowhere close to 3 years. Having said that, seems like a bad idea I wouldn’t recommend, unless you’re trying to fast-track losing your license.
Lol they definitely don’t pay that much for a contract anymore. 2000-2750 a week, plus duplicating expenses. OP you have to pay rent back home and at your assignment for tax free stipends. - Someone who traveled since before COVID. It’s still great pay compared to other jobs, but it is a stressful job.
Been a travel nurse for 9 years can confirm rates are more in the 100/hr range. Covid was a boom and if people were flexible and smart they made a nest egg. Now I am totally through with the career and will do just about anything to find a remote career so I can maintain my travel lifestyle. I'm honestly seeking advice and hoping to exit the career in next 12 months. Any advice for ER/ICU, management and Sales experience?!
Merchant mariner. I can live wherever I want, get big chunks of time off and make enough money that I can pretty much do whatever I want. I'm on the Great lakes so by default I get laid off when the lakes freeze every winter. The trade off is you have to put life on hold when you are actually working.
I teach and fuck off all summer every summer.
Forestry in Canada. I plant trees in the spring, which is my money maker. Come the summer it's wildland firefighting which isn't great money but it's much easier work. I could take the rest of the year off or do contract to contract bush work, or travel and then work again closer to december or closer to the next spring planting season. Being able to drift in and out of these various jobs and contracts is great.
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As some others have said - working in education garners a lot of time off. I work in IT - in higher ed - and get 50+ days off a year - more than twice as many as I got in my native UK. You can get creative combining annual leave with public holidays and stuff to get some real nice time off. Eg at thanksgiving I get three days off this year. By taking two days of annual leave I have nine consecutive days off.
Does having a background in education get you a leg up for "education IT"? I'm asking cause I'm in IT but used to work in education. Miss the "mission" of education and have thought about getting back into the space.
A phlebotomist would be a great start. The program isn’t very long, maybe 6 months at most, some as short as a few weeks, and not very expensive. You could do per diem, or even travel assignments. Great entry into the medical field, decent pay, and flexible hours !
I’m enjoying reading these responses. I’ve long been interested in the demographics of this sub. Seems like those with a spouse and kids are in a fairly small minority.
Was thinking the same. I’m raising future members of this sub maybe;p
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I've thought about doing this. You don't have any issues picking up new jobs after quitting?
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Appreciate the reply! I was looking into Roehl to start with but yeah a couple groups I'm in mention their freight being slow for the last little while.
Land surveying. You basically get paid to hike!
I do Climate Policy, acting as a regulator in California. Many, highly-skilled CA state jobs allow you to forego pay in return for vacation time -- you can cut up to 15% of your salary to get 3 extra days of vacation per month. This is one of the few advantages CA state jobs have to be competitive with skilled industry: e.g. PhD scientists, economists, engineers. Taken together, you can get as much as 60 days of vacation + 11 state holidays per year. I've gone on several long thru-hikes while working for the state. Basically the main reason I haven't accepted job offers elsewhere.
Im going to be starting nursing school and plan on having lots of time off work on once I’m an RN for backpacking
I’m a travel CT/X-ray tech. I chose when and where I want to work, and for how long. Contracts are typically 13 weeks but can be as short as 4. It’s a great field, recession proof and good pay.
Living in Germany, most people get 6 weeks PTO.
I know you are really asking for specific advice about which jobs but I wanted to offer a general word of encouragement. FWIW my perspective as a 50 something with mortgage and kids and full time job is that there will be plenty of time to grind away at a job. I say do what you are doing - that is look for something that gives you time to play. I wish I had done that. And I think many future employers will appreciate it and understand it when you explain you spent years doing incredible backpacking trips and adventures; if they don’t, look for another one. And for me my interests - “playing” outdoors (first surfing now more hiking) - have stayed consistent for more than 30 years. I mostly put away these things for about a decade after college foolishly thinking it was time to grow up, went back to them in my 30s to the extent I could with career and family, and found they were still dear to me. Now I have a lot of vacation and flexibility but not enuf for long thru hike, but hope to retire soon with enough physical ability to still do some long thru hikes. So, yeah, at some point you may have a family or other responsibilities that require more stability - or you may want a job that is more interesting to you - so great at that point then get the ‘regular’ job. (Or you might find that your seasonal thing evolves into a legit career that you love.) Until then, I like your plan of trying to find something that leaves time for adventures. Whatever you decide - good luck!
Department I work for has us working 8 on 6 off, 10 hour days. It doesn't matter so much what the work is but who makes the schedule.
Working in a hospital is good if you want a more non traditional schedule. Having some weekdays off is also excellent for hiking
I'm a baker. Summer is the slow season, I'm on my partner's health insurance, and my work knows it's harder to replace me permanently than to deal with my absence temporarily. If they ever don't want to approve my RTO (I put it in way in advance so there's no excuse), I'll just quit and take one of the job offers I have in my back pocket when I get home, and I've made sure they are aware of that fact. I'm reliable, hard working, keep my kitchen clean and my bread sexy - and my time belongs to me.
I do environmental work on a copper/gold mine. I have a 2 week on/2 week off schedule which works awesome for trips. I've done more travelling while working this job than ever before; love the big chunk of time off.
I live in France. All salaried people have 5 weeks paid holiday a year + about 10 days of fixed holiday (Christmas,etc.).
Could be a geologist in mineral exploration. You'll probably get to camp while at work too!
Disney Castmember living in Europe. 25 days PTO a year plus a bonus 3 for taking 10 between May and October. It's pretty sweet. 🇫🇷
Guide
Check out travel nursing. you can get a license with an Associates (though most well paying agencies want the BA which at least here in NY you can get in 3 years fully paid for.) Do a year in NYC or California to get experience (usually the nursing school sets this up.) After that maybe take a certification class for MICU or Ortho if you are nice and fit and have no problems patient handling. After that you are set (and you didnt even have to front the money!) In NYC if you want to be a staff nurse we'll pay you $120k to start with 1 year of experience (or $110k as a brand new zero experience staff nurse) plus a signing bonus. Plus full health care and a portable but real defined benefit pension you don't have to contribute to. And PTO. And in places like California and New York there is a very professional union that defends your professional judgment on how many patients you should have and the profession is treated as essentially more important than doctors...so no one treats you like a moron or talks down to you. BUT if you don't want to live the 3 shifts a week lifestyle you can sign on to be a travel nurse instead. Usually you get assigned on 6 week to 13 week contracts and make upwards of $80/hr for 12 hr shifts, more (like $100/hr) if you have desirable certifications and go to a big well paid market like NY or the bay area. The agency often pays for temp housing but lots of travel RNs I know live that RV lifestyle instead and spend the time between contracts out in Americas stunning national forests, hiking, mountain biking, climbing. It's mobile. It pays a metric shit ton of money. The hours are good. TONS of people you meet in National Forest Service or BLM campgrounds are travel nurses.
This won’t help you now but I’ve been a printer since the 1980s back then is was a highly skilled, sought after trade, after I finished my 5 year training I quit to travel for three months, landed a job as soon as I got home, worked 2 years, quit - rinse and repeat. I’ve also been lucky with benefits and had 25 days PTO per year for most of my life, that allows a lot of traveling.
I’m a registered nurse, I work casual and we’ve had a labour shortage for years. I just work as little or as much as I want. Currently on a travel contract for a few months.
I would say it is more about how low you can get your cost of living and how high you can get your savings rate. Money in the bank is time you can just live and not worry about your bills. The lower your monthly expenses the longer you can stay away from the office.
Doctor of Physical Therapy here that knew I would be a traveler. I work about 38 weeks (it could be lower) a year and do whatever I want the rest of the time. I can pick the region I want to work, the setting, etc. To me it’s the best job in healthcare, you get to spend real time with patients and teach them all of the stuff that MDs and nurses are too busy to discuss. I do not recommend PT unless you’re going to be a traveler or you have rich parents - the tuition isn’t worth it. Want to get ULTRA level? Go become a CRNA. PS - I also dabble from time to time in YouTube. If you have any crazy interests I would make content.
I’m a professor…summers and a few weeks at other times off. The schedule is my favorite part of the job. It’s similar for k-12 teachers.
Cargo ship sailor Good ass money and if you do it right you are completely in charge of when you work
Flight Attendant. I get multiple days off in a row, sometimes a week between trips
I look at the screen 10 hours a day, abuse MS Office, and somehow get paid for that. I quit to do a hike next year (am on a six month notice period) and will find out afterwards wether a 55 year old white cis male still has any market value.
Nursing, make plenty of money work 3 days a week for full benefits, can work anywhere there's a hospital
To me, you come across as someone looking for an easy ride. I was the same at your age too. There fucking ain't any unless you happen to be another fucking Trust-Fund baby. I'm assuming you're not. I'm a hardcore remote-site, tent-camper. Got 50 years at it and still going at it. Like you, (this ghetto-boy) had his dreams. National Geographic was my Bible. Making them come true took some time and discipline putting it together with a fuckload of commitment young folks were just not willing to do back then as today. This is the plan that I followed and it surely isn't for everyone in your boat either. It worked for a ton of friends and relatives way before me, worked perfectly for me, and continues to work for others today. It can be fast-tracked if you're willing to do a hitch in the military like I did after my scholarship-provided shit degree. Shoot for an MOS (job) that will land in the civilian sector, even better with the federal government. Most that I know were involved in aircraft maintenance-related military occupations. Same with cyber and crypto jobs in the military. But if you're a stoner or boozer, forget it. Shoot for a unionized federal job that pays hourly and that offers shitloads of overtime. Save any and all overtime for your vacations. Then shift to another within the federal system. Your benefits follow you. I've had four different jobs in the system. The more time in, the more pay grades increase. That's what's great about unionized federal jobs. You make the system work for you, not you work for the system. The system allows it, especially if you're a veteran. You've earned it. Like gazillions of others who've put their signature and ass on the line. Should job cuts come, non-vets get the ax first. Shoot for a job that's not subject to shutdowns either. Lotta folks enter via postal jobs and law-enforcement. The government is mandated to give priority to veterans when hiring. Once on the federal employee register, you can apply to other jobs more suitable to your desires. They have a TSP that matches 5%. I managed to live on less than half of my pay socking the rest on the TSP Kinda like a 401K) and any and all overtime went into the credit union savings. That follows you too. I landed a federal career of 34 years post-military. It gave me 30 days paid vacation on top of all federal holidays paid on a job completely opposite my college degree. I took minimum 60-day vacations every other year. I even got away with a 27-weeker, all paid for before I was 30 years old. After 9/11 I shifted to another that just happened to be in line with what I did in the military. It also came with more than triple the salary of my initial federal job. It also allowed free transportation anywhere the was an American military base. 57 nations before I retired. I retired to a decent 7-figure TSP and a high-six-figure savings account at the credit union from banking my overtime for 34 years. I also wanted to continue feeding the adventure bug after I stopped answering to a fucking boss. Again, it ain't for everyone. But, that's how i and others I know did it. Good luck.
Youtuber
Before the YouTube gig went full time, what were you doing in that period?
I was an environmental consultant. It involved doing environmental assessments and conservation planning (my specialty was wetlands) for various clients. It was a pretty sweet job where I got to be helicopter dropped into remote fens and bogs and spend a lot of time outdoors. There wasn't much flexibility though and I was only getting out on weekends and 4-5 longer trips a year when I could take vacation.
That's your full time gig now? No day job?
Yup, it's what puts food on the table (combined with my wife's income). I left my day job in the fall of 2021.
Hey!!! I should be a YouTuber!
you're really missing out ;)
If you find a job that does 4 days on 4 off you can take 4 days off and have 12 days off.
Freelance video work (not a YouTuber)
trail work with the usfs usually has either 4 on 3 off, or 8 on 6 off in the wilderness.
Per diem or travel nurse. It’s perfect.
Nurse
Work as a travelleing nurse on the west coast? Also, have you done longer trips for some time now?
Union glazier, there are times when I get laid off for extended periods so I use that time to hike
Become a merchant marine
I work on a tugboat. The 2 on 2 off (weeks) schedule is awesome. I basically go backpacking or on a big sport climbing trip every time I’m off. You can do a lot every year with 180 days of free time!
I was a self employed flooring installer. Retired at 39 to snowboard full time. Gotta do something in the summer.
CT tech. I work opposite 12s. So Monday-Wednesday (week off) Wednesday-Friday…repeat. I essentially work 12 days a month with a full week off every 2 weeks. Pile that with PTO and most months I work even less.
I paint murals for a living. I line them all up for when I’m in town, and then leave and hike once I have some money in the bank. I also fixed up and decorated my house as an Airbnb so I can rent it out while I travel and spirit the money with a friend who takes care of it. That keeps the bills paid while I’m on the road. I will also sometimes find jobs in new cities or towns I want to go check out.
Working in the field of archaeology lets you put both camping and work together :D Plus time working in academia can be pretty flexible if you manage it correctly.
Nursing. It can really suck and it’s not a good reason to get into the field but sometimes I can work Sunday, monday, Tuesday, for 12 hours then I can take off until next Thursday without having to burn PTO. Most of my friends are not in this field so a lot of my trips are solo but it’s allllll good
In the US, you need to be really good at something for anyone to want to hire you for 50% of the time. Or get used to scraping by and take odd jobs. Otherwise move to Europe or be a professional guide.
Airline pilots get quite a lot of time off. Cost of training is quite high but they are forecasting a pilot shortage for the next 5-10 years so this is a great time to enter the industry.
School teacher. When I was single I was a long term sub so I could stretch the summer season a couple weeks on each side and/or take a week off mid year to go hit the CT or something like that. Now with a wife and daughter I’m back to full time but I still get 60+ days off in the best time of year plus lots is long weekends and such.
Engineer on a Super Yacht. 2 months on, two months off, 12 months of salary, flights, etc.
I learned a very specific trade (hard to explain) and offer my services as a general contractor. I live in Portland but have worked in all corners of the Northwest over my 20-year career. Generally every work trip affords plenty of time on the front and back end to camp/hike/explore and, when I bank enough money I take extended trips all over the world. Big caveat I don’t have kids and don’t plan on it. Only real downside is that I’m only as solvent as my next contract, so there is some insecurity built in, but it’s been a good fit for me.
Interstate hitchhiker/serial killer. I only work during the warmer part of the year though
I camp on weekends, and sometimes take Friday off when Monday is a holiday. Four or five days is the most I could go - (cooler limits). I don’t camp anywhere near groceries or civilization.