Careers for Outdoor Types
Matching Personal Passions to Promising Careers -- for Outdoor Types
"The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it." - John Ruskin
Some people just feel more comfortable outdoors than indoors, and they frequently find rewarding careers among the following:
Athletics / Competition
- Professional or team athlete
- Sports trainer / sports science / sports coach
- Lifeguard / swim coach / team swimmer / synchronized swimmer
- Cheerleader (team or competitive)
- Athletic equipment sales
- Sports reporter
- Sports photographer
- Athletic scout
- Marching band director / musician
- Competition judge
- Arena / stadium manager or maintenance worker
- Animal trainer
- Jockey / polo player
- Competition animal veterinarian
- Zipline / ski lift operator
- Racer (car / bike / motorcycle / monster truck / boat, etc.)
- Pit crew mechanic for racing vehicles
Tough Terrain
- Camp counselor / ski instructor
- Mountain / ocean rescue
- Red Cross volunteer
- Park ranger / coast guard member
- Trail guide / adventure guide / park guide
- Ecotourism guide
- White water rafting guide
- Landscape / nature / wildlife photographer
- Scuba diver / underwater photographer
- Scuba instructor
- Tracker / hunter / fisherman
- Animal rescuer / wildlife veterinarian
- Environmental researcher / botanist / chemist
- Marine biologist / wildlife biologist
- Paleontologist / archaeologist
- Geologist
- Entymologist / ornithologist / ichthyologist
- Forensic scientist
- Helicopter pilot
- Firefighter
- Forester / conservation scientist
- Logger
- Landscape / nature / wildlife artist
- Wilderness therapy counselor for at-risk youth
- Survival instructor
- Environmental center educator
- Program director for educational or adventure programs
- Geographer / cartographer
Transportation / Construction
- Infrastructure crew member (roads, water systems, cable systems, power systems, etc.)
- Bike messenger
- Seaplane operator / small aircraft pilot
- Boat pilot
- Salvage
- Trolley driver
- Highway toll clerk
- Cruise ship activities coordinator
- Mechanic for farm equipment, boats, planes, etc.
- Marina employee
- Building construction worker
- Roofer
- Building restorer
- Building painter
- Solar panel installer
- Architect
- Engineer
- Surveyor
Other Outdoor Jobs
- Horticulturalist / landscape designer
- Gardener / lawn care / tree surgeon
- Farmer / farm manager
- Crop scientist
- Rancher / ranch hand
- Beekeeper
- Farmers' market / flea market vendor
- Street / park vendor
- Amusement park / theme park / circus manager or staffer
- Street performer / outdoor stage performer
- Waste management worker / junkyard manager
- Oil rig worker
- Delivery person
- Police officer / emergency worker
- Model
- Caterer
- Event planner
- Event photographer
Resources for Exploring Outdoor Careers