Working as a Guide

[3than]

Hey everyone, I am at the point in my life where I'm choosing my career path and I would like to get into guiding up north in the Yukon or NWT for a while. I would still like to go to school and I'm thinking about entering into a trade. My main concern about guiding is finding work for the other 9 months of the year. Are there any careers that anyone could think of that would allow me to guide for 2-3 months? Ideally, a trade but anything that you could think of I would consider. It seems like an impossible answer to me but I have heard of others doing something similar to what I'm asking in the past I just never got the info on how they actually did it.

[35 whelen]

I did whatever i could find in winter, At one point i was guiding 7-8 months a year ,working at fishing lodges in summer ,Going to be a tough gig for the next few years as no Americans are coming up

[3than]

Ya, that's what I figured I could do. But ideally, id like to work a trade at the same time as it will be a good career for the rest of my life. I just am unsure if i could do that or if its even possible. I've heard of people making deals with their employer to take a certain set of months off each year but i don't know if that would work.

[35 whelen]

Trades are always good I mostly did carpentry work it's handy to have at Fishing lodges or anywhere good luck

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[ksteed17]

As an employer in the trades (plumbing). If I had an employee that wanted to take 3+ months off a year I would say sure but there may or may not be a job for you when you get back. If there is and things go slow you will be the first to be let go. Employers can’t line up consistent work if their employees aren’t there consistently. Now maybe that works for you, you’ll guide and take what you can get when you come back. But I promise you as you get older you will have wished you’d found a job that was stable with a good income that allowed you to hunt and enjoy your hobbies instead of turning your hobbies into a part time job that never equated into steady work. Just my two cents.

[3than]

That makes sense. I'm definitely not looking at guiding my whole life. I just want to be able to guide for a few years but also have a steady job once that part of my life is over. It's just something I have always wanted to do but ideally, I can get some work in a trade and be able fit a solid career in after a handful of years guiding. Thanks for the response.

[Hunter65]

Maybe get your trade first, get established and get some experience in that. Then go guiding?

[The Fisherman Guy]

Guide fish June to September
Birds September to November
Deer November
December - April OFF
April - June Bears & Birds

Pretty good rotation if you want to live a nomadic lifestyle.

[Esox]

If you want to guide, go to the territories or northern BC. Its a tough way to guide and you will be a wrangler for the first couple years, but those guys get the biggest tips and work from Mid-july to end of september/mid october, then pick up a deer guidign gig for november (and first week of december in sask), take december - april off, guide bears for may and june, then right back to sheep/mountain animals.

[tbrown]

I have some friends that tried to do exactly what you are saying. Not many employers will agree to it. When I did my apprenticeship. In Alberta, you needed 1560hrs for each year of your apprenticeship, and those hours start back at zero after each period. So, if you have 1860hrs in the first year of your apprenticeship, those extra 300 hours do not carry over towards your second year. If you do not go to school within 18 months, the apprenticeship board can cancel your blue book.

So you are asking an employer to give you enough hours to meets your apprenticeship obligations, and you want five months a year off—three months for guiding, two months for school. You could challenge 3 out of 4 years, and you can drag your apprenticeship out a bit. But either way, it is hard to juggle and even harder to find an employer willing to work with you. You might be able to do it through one of the union halls. Or you can chase shut downs in the off-season.

With the downturn in oil and gas and the closing of the coal mines. There are a lot of unemployed tradesmen in the province; companies have driven wages down. The trades aren't the great career they used to be. You have to be willing to go where the work is. I have friends that have recently moved to fort saint johns, and they seem to be doing well. But, working as a first-year electrician for 18$ per hour.

It can be done, but it won't be easy! Good luck.


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[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by 3than

Hey everyone, I am at the point in my life where I'm choosing my career path and I would like to get into guiding up north in the Yukon or NWT for a while. I would still like to go to school and I'm thinking about entering into a trade. My main concern about guiding is finding work for the other 9 months of the year. Are there any careers that anyone could think of that would allow me to guide for 2-3 months? Ideally, a trade but anything that you could think of I would consider. It seems like an impossible answer to me but I have heard of others doing something similar to what I'm asking in the past I just never got the info on how they actually did it.

Marry a nurse who has FT work in an alberta hospital, or a school teacher with a 5 year degree, this one worked well for me...

[Esox]

I know everyone is saying it wont work out for you doing it the way you plan etc. Follow your dreams, if you want to guide then go for it. I guided at fishing lodges in the summer while in unviversity and it was the best time of my life. There are lots of days I wish I could go back and do it every summer but my career and family life will not allow it. I also know lots of guys who do make their living just guiding as has been layed out above. Most had to pick up other work in the winter for the first few years such as working at a feedlot or pipelining etc. Most of the guys that I know making a living guiding are doing the sheep thing and also a lot of them end up owning a small outfitting business themselves whether its a few deer tags or what is more likely, a few bear tags somewhere for the spring. Just remember that guiding is a great job, but lots of people romance the idea and it is very hard work and long days. Sometimes you get clients that you dont mesh with to and that can make it more of a grind as well but in the end you get some awesome adventures and meet some very cool people and even some people who you build a relationship with and end up helping you somehow in the future whether its being a partner in an outfitting business or just other career/business opportunities.

[Dean2]

There are decent paying jobs that are very friendly to the guiding lifestyle. Driving truck, snowplow, Tow Trucks or Cargo buses in the winter is one option. Working winters at Ski lodges al over the world is another. Working in Australia over the winter is a pretty decent option and depending on your age fairly easy to get a work visa. Working at some of the more senior jobs on crusie ships, guiding fishing in Mexico or Florida are options, Guiding in Africa for the Dec to July months is another. The ability to makes careers mesh is only restricted by how creative you want to be. You aren't going to get rich guiding, the only way to make serious money is to be the outfitter, but if you love the idea of being a guide there are ways to make it work.

[Hoopi]

Originally Posted by Dean2

There are decent paying jobs that are very friendly to the guiding lifestyle. Driving truck, snowplow, Tow Trucks or Cargo buses in the winter is one option. Working winters at Ski lodges al over the world is another. Working in Australia over the winter is a pretty decent option and depending on your age fairly easy to get a work visa. Working at some of the more senior jobs on crusie ships, guiding fishing in Mexico or Florida are options, Guiding in Africa for the Dec to July months is another. The ability to makes careers mesh is only restricted by how creative you want to be. You aren't going to get rich guiding, the only way to make serious money is to be the outfitter, but if you love the idea of being a guide there are ways to make it work.

Back in the day, I combined a guiding career with STEP/PEP employment arrangements with the provincial government where I worked as a Fish and Wildlife Technician. Pay for both guiding and these programs were poor, but it was the best time of my life. I guided in Alberta (Black Bear/Grizzly in the spring) and Colorado (Mule Deer). I worked in Edmonton, St Paul for the GoA and Fisheries & Oceans and private contracts...20 different jobs in 4 years. Eventually, I left this career approach and went back to school...accounting no less. Looking back now (some 30 years) I would not change a thing.
Go for it!
Hoopi

[waldedw]

Go for it bud, back in the late 70's I was working in the oil patch and during the spring road ban season I went and worked for a guide for 3 or 4 weeks every spring for bears, it was a nice change of pace, I met some wonderful people, also a few Jack A.... but the bottom line is it was fun, also made me realize I didn't want to do that for a living, and I learned a lot about bear hunting which was a bonus.

[leeelmer]

The guides I know, are truck drivers in the off season.
Mostly vac, and fluid trucks, as most of that work is in the winter months, and because it is honestly the worst possible trucking job, there are always always jobs out there to be found.
They pay good, but suck to do the job.
I know of a few winch truck drivers that are guides as well, but they are harder to get jobs, and they just quite when it comes to guiding season, and almost always find a different company to hire on with the next year, as most winch truck jobs, are mad when you just up and quit in may or june or july, to go guiding.

[3than]

Thanks for all the replies! I kinda figured the trade thing while guiding was a long shot but it would be nice to have a solid career going while doing some guiding but that may be out of reach. I've definitely got some things to think about.