Careers of Backcountrypost.com

Perry

Perry

Formerly Cuberant
.
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
Messages
2,076
I've always been facinated by the community that forms in many on-line forums like Backcountypost.com. People from all over the world, from all walks of life come together to share common passions. Those of us here on BCP all need to finance our backcountry adventures and for most of us that means a job of some kind. Since that means we probably spend many hours each workday earning those backcountry bucks I thought it would be fun to find out what we do for a living. Be as brief or detailed as you want to share. If you are retired tell us what you did before you were paroled to the good life.

I'll go first...
 
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I work from home in Utah as a senior database archtect for a revenue cycle management solutions (healthcare) company with locations in Louisville, KY, Atlanta, GA, and Chicago, IL. I've been there for 17 years being a bit of a jack-of-all-trades guy doing software development, database administration and system administration. I work mostly on Linux running a database callled UniVerse. In a previous career life I was a GM Master Certified Technician working at various Chevrolet and Oldsmobile dealers in California and Utah.
 
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Outdoor guide for many years. Also a writer for many years. Full-time writing at the moment but will be doing a little guiding here and there this coming season. I liked to earn my backcountry bucks by actually getting paid to work in the backcountry. ;) It's been a good life so far.

@LarryBoy, sounds fabulous. Hope it's a remarkable next couple years on the trail for you!
 
I like this thread.

I'd love to see every one's answers.

I manage a silk screen print shop at a sporting goods store in downtown Boise. As long as the work is getting done here, the schedule can be flexible. This allowed to me to take time off for trips fairly often, and even three months to go up to Alaska one time, and five weeks off an other time. Since I've taken over managing a year and a half ago though I've been less able to leave since responsibility now rests on me. Buying a house has also affected this as now I have a bill that I kind of have to pay. This semester I just started going back to school for software development to work toward making a career change.
 
I work for a publishing company making automated legal forms (pretty much any document/form/filing an attorney would fill out in day-to-day practice) for anyone from sole practitioners to large firms. This was my very first job (got hired at age 20--now I'm 41), and after a couple of years I got promoted to project manager.

I didn't like managing people, and I wasn't particularly happy living in Utah County, so I quit my job and moved back home to Price with no job prospects whatsoever. A couple of months later the company offered me my original job working from home, and I've been doing that ever since (18 years). The hours are flexible, my commute is about 20 feet, and I get a lot of PTO. It's kind of perfect for spending time in the outdoors, only I wish I lived a little farther south. :)
 
Now as for myself, have lived a more unique life I guess. Most of my life have worked the winters then hiked and enjoyed summers. Actually it has been working till spring then going back to work sometime in the fall. As for work, it has been mostly doing things that are in the retail business like being a cashier, putting out freight, helping customers, etc. This winter and the last two winters before, have worked at the local Dollar Tree store here where I live. And off and on since 1981, have lived here in the Jackson Hole, Wyo. area. And since 1978, have hiked all over the American West and have loved it!!!! The last 5 summers alone have gone up to Alaska. A few of my most favorite places in the lower 48 states have been in the Thorofare and the Absarokas here in NW Wyoming and the Escalante region in Southern Utah. Now am in my low 60s (61) but still have my health. I plan to continue to hike, backpack and travel as long as I am able. Sometime soon when I get on Social Security, plan to hike and travel 24/7 all year long, again as long as I am able. Maybe I have worked the winters, but seriously seriously I consider my main career to me my wilderness and mountain hiking, traveling, and wandering. And this year is my 40th anniversary, since starting in 1978, with my mountain wilderness wanderings. Now one doesn't need much money to live and wander in the deep wilderness, for if one is in the deep wilderness ... no stores so how can one spend money. And as a saying I saw years ago on a sign near Cody, Wyoming .... 'At The End Of The Road Where The Trails and Life begin'.
 
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I teach at the University of Kentucky which is nice because I'm not likely to be fired anytime soon and I have lots of flexibility compared to other jobs I've had, but a lot less flexibility than other jobs. For example, I really want to see the larches in the Canadian Rockies, but that is September and I have to teach. Or my kids have spring break and I have to teach so we can't go somewhere cool and then when I have spring break, they have school so we can't go somewhere cool. But, I'm just complaining over small things. I've got lots of flexibility and frequently get to do dayhikes in the middle of the week when everyone else is working. It is definitely better than the restaurant business, did that for almost 15 years in what feels like a past life :)
 
wsp_scott said:
I teach at the University of Kentucky which is nice because I'm not likely to be fired anytime soon and I have lots of flexibility compared to other jobs I've had, but a lot less flexibility than other jobs. For example, I really want to see the larches in the Canadian Rockies, but that is September and I have to teach. Or my kids have spring break and I have to teach so we can't go somewhere cool and then when I have spring break, they have school so we can't go somewhere cool. But, I'm just complaining over small things. I've got lots of flexibility and frequently get to do dayhikes in the middle of the week when everyone else is working. It is definitely better than the restaurant business, did that for almost 15 years in what feels like a past life :)
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Dang jobs! :p


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I spend the majority of my life as a QC supervisor at the 4th largest winery in America. I don't like wine.
I am really lucky to have this job, but it is very different than...who I am. But it pays for my hobbies and I have amazing bosses and an amazing team.
I am always wondering what I want to do for the rest of my life, but until I figure it out, this job is easy and secure.
 
Miya said:
I spend the majority of my life as a QC supervisor at the 4th largest winery in America. I don't like wine.
I am really lucky to have this job, but it is very different than...who I am. But it pays for my hobbies and I have amazing bosses and an amazing team.
I am always wondering what I want to do for the rest of my life, but until I figure it out, this job is easy and secure.
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Hehe! I think there are a lot of us trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Miya said:
I spend the majority of my life as a QC supervisor at the 4th largest winery in America. I don't like wine.
I am really lucky to have this job, but it is very different than...who I am. But it pays for my hobbies and I have amazing bosses and an amazing team.
I am always wondering what I want to do for the rest of my life, but until I figure it out, this job is easy and secure.
Click to expand...
Hike, duh! :)
 
Yep, cool thread.

For my day job I am the Director of Marketing for a pretty big physical therapy company in Utah, Idaho and Montana called Mountain Land Physical Therapy. I do websites, graphic design, photography, videography, copywriting, social media, company events and anything else that fits into the brand of the company.

I also run Backcountry Post which can be quite the job at times, especially the side projects that have come out of it. 4 out of the last 5 years I worked as a sort of guidebook author; hiking, photographing and writing up trail guides for Intermountain Healthcare for their Healthy Hikes program. That was a fun gig but it looks like they're taking at least a year off from adding new content. Over the 4 years I did 250 trail guides for them so they have a nice library. I also work on quite a few other projects through my side business (Sandstone Logic), including some other company's websites, photography gigs (real estate and headshots) and some other outdoors-related projects. Between the two jobs I'm usually busier than I'd like so I'm kind of looking forward to this year being pretty light so I can spend more time outdoors. But every time I say that...
 
Well, I don't have a career just yet. I'm in my second year of law school at the University of Utah, so all indicators point to me being a lawyer in 15 or 16 months. I've been studying business-related law, and a bit of environmental/natural resources/energy law, so hopefully my work will be something in one of those areas.

It's nice to have summers off and be able to go on lots of trips then, but something I've wanted to do more of is mountain backpacking in the fall and desert backpacking in the winter and earlier spring, which isn't very easy as a student. Really looking forward to that becoming a reality.
 
LarryBoy said:
Hike, duh! :)
Click to expand...

Hiking won't pay for my camera gear, or my addiction to dresses and high heels...Or...at least I haven't figured out how it can yet.

I keep considering what you are doing though. Take time away and worry about the career when I am done hiking haha. I am pretty sure life and responsibility will be waiting for me when I get back. :p
 
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