Looking for a Career

At some point my wife and I want to own some land. We live in the city, but at some point I’m thinking of moving somewhere rural. Personally I grew up in the country until I became older. I love the country, but one concern of mine is the job market is very limited. It’s either trades or factory work for me.  I’ve done the trades in various fields and hate it with a passion.

I’m done working with assholes and drug addicts all day that don’t care about safety. That being said I need a career with flexibility. I considered a park ranger, but they don’t make jack squat. The only 2 option I’ve come up with is park maintenance or starting a business. I currently work in apartment maintenance, which I love, but that’s not really an option in rural areas (also from personal experience). My question for people who own land in the country, what do you do for work? And for someone who loves being outdoors and nature what options do I have?

Personally I run a little rural convenience store, my husband repairs and services classic landrovers (and does most of the shop admin.).

As well as normal support industries (teaching, nursing, driving) we have many jobs locally associated to the high number of second homes; so cleaners, garden maintenance, building work, as well as other tourist related jobs (hotels, restaurants and shops). There are a few who appear to make a living through odd jobs on the farms - helping out with gathering, lambing, shearing, and more who work remotely  - having a good internet connection is vital for this of course.

It's actually one of the questions we get asked a lot in the shop 'what do people do here?' I tell them we have a lot of midge farmers The answer is much as they do elsewhere. We just don't have a big employer handing out a career ladder, mostly people are self employed or work for the government. Actually most are retired...

Nancy Reading wrote:Personally I run a little rural convenience store, my husband repairs and services classic landrovers (and does most of the shop admin.).

As well as normal support industries (teaching, nursing, driving) we have many jobs locally associated to the high number of second homes; so cleaners, garden maintenance, building work, as well as other tourist related jobs (hotels, restaurants and shops). There are a few who appear to make a living through odd jobs on the farms - helping out with gathering, lambing, shearing, and more who work remotely  - having a good internet connection is vital for this of course.

It's actually one of the questions we get asked a lot in the shop 'what do people do here?' I tell them we have a lot of midge farmers The answer is much as they do elsewhere. We just don't have a big employer handing out a career ladder, mostly people are self employed or work for the government. Actually most are retired...

Thank you for the response, based on what you are saying I’m thinking running my own business.

Pretty much depends on how far out you go. I live on the edge of a small town, 40 minutes drive from my work in the 'big' city. I'm a nurse but any career would tolerate that drive.

Apartment maintenance suggest you have lots of various skills that would translate to rural jobs. Might depend on whether you have the licenses, plumbing, electrical, painting, siding, roofing, welding etc.

My suggestion would be to find a remote work job.

I have never had one so that is all I can say.

What do you do now to earn money?  Can that be some something you can continue and drive a longer distance?

When we moved to the country we kept our current jobs.

When I moved to the country, I took my job with me. But I was in a position to tell them I'm moving and they can find a replacement (good luck) or make it remote, so we made it remote. I totally grant that most people don't have that luxury. My wife was already working 100% from home and still has that job, though they're looking to eliminate it and she's scrambling to find another all remote position. I know all the neighbors that touch our property and two beyond that. They're either old and retired or one member of the family is self-employed and the other is a nurse in the hospital 20 minutes away or are homemakers.

The ratio of people here who self-employ is remarkably higher than anywhere else I've ever lived. I grew up in a world where you learn some skills and get a job. I don't have an entrepreneurial bone in my body and it seems now, for the first time, like kind of a deficit. It's an interesting difference.

This thread might interest you, I asked people on Permies a little while ago, What do you do for work?

While having the portability of having an online remote work job is desirable, I never had the skill set to land such a job. Luckily, I work in manufacturing that is very local to where I live. Industrial safety might not be a sexy career path, but it allows me to be comfortable in my lifestyle and provide some time flexibility to do things that I enjoy.

I know you said you hated the trades, but there are many that are in demand in rural areas. In addition to the usual mechanics, electrical, HVAC, plumbers, etc., rural has a big need for hauling, excavating, tree/brush removal, fencing, and stuff like that. Doing trades work in rural areas, in my experience, is usually quite pleasant. If you start your own business, or join a small well-run one, your day-to-day should be quite pleasant I would think.

Ryan, I suggest its easier to study what skills you have now and how to sell them in the area you want to move to.
I am fortunate being a Civil Engineer who can work on the internet but also run a fly screen repair business, and a metal workshop.
You may not have flyscreens in your area, but glass repair, painting are all things that people dont want to do themselves.
I notice niche needs and think about turning it into a business.

find something that you hear other's complaining about doing, (hard labor) digging ditches, (Mind numbing) doing taxes, (icky stinky) unclogging drain pipes, (high risk) cleaning gutters, trimming trees. anyhow look for things others would gladly pay someone else to do... frankly i would pay someone to fillet fish for me, of butcher hogs/deer, yes currently i do process my own meat, but i would pay for this service if i could find someone with good skills & attention to detail. find out what chores the locals hate doing... there's you niche

A lot of folks commute quite far. A good friend of mine lives in rural Wisconsin and everyone commutes at least 1+ hours to work, they consider it the price they pay to live in such a nice place. For most of his working life, my father drove an hour plus each way, lived out in the sticks and worked in a suburban area. And for a long time somebody in most farming families had a 'town job' that paid bills when the farm didn't make a profit-- hardware store, grocery, school, etc. Even out in rural areas you usually have some place where people are going to buy supplies.

If you're not up to running your own business (which involves way more than just 'doing the thing', you're also marketing, booking new clients, doing accounting, buying supplies, chasing payments, etc) then you need to work for someone else. That said, my husband and I both have our own businesses doing specialized things. When it's good it's great, but it can be a bit hair-raising when things are tight (you can't depend on a paycheck). And when work is good things can get wild-- when we have busy seasons we both work late and weekends and etc. We're harder on ourselves than any bosses we've ever had.

Personally, if you have trade experience I would think that's the way to go. Fewer people know how to do this stuff, you can build up a portfolio doing whatever it is you do, from pouring concrete to landscaping to installing fences. Get some visibility on social media, put up flyers at the feed store/library/etc, and start getting some work. And if the idea of that sort of 'selling your product' gives you the heebie-jeebies, you might reconsider running your own thing and consider looking at the 'town job'.

Christopher Weeks wrote:...They're either old and retired or one member of the family is self-employed and the other is a nurse in the hospital 20 minutes away or are homemakers.  

Nursing is not the only hospital job... An acquaintance of mine who lives up in the Yukon, just trained in emergency first aid and ambulance driving just to help keep her neighbors alive I'm guessing.

If there's any sort of a hospital within a reasonable distance, consider all the peripheral jobs hospitals require like lab techs, computer techs, etc.

The number of "old and retired" is going up rapidly. It used to be, many people like that moved into boarding houses, but those are frequently not considered code now. It would be similar to running a bed and breakfast except the clientele would be permanent! This model still exists in parts of Britain and my aunt lived in one for several decades.

Jay Angler wrote:
The number of "old and retired" is going up rapidly. It used to be, many people like that moved into boarding houses, but those are frequently not considered code now. It would be similar to running a bed and breakfast except the clientele would be permanent! This model still exists in parts of Britain and my aunt lived in one for several decades.

Indeed!
Ryan, you mention doing apartment-related stuff. My mother until recently lived in a really rural area. Her neighbors had what they quaintly called a 'boarder'- they all had houses for large families and after the kids moved out this neighbor built an in-law apartment type thing which they rented out. This was an older woman who had sold her house (too much upkeep) but wanted to stay in the same town where she had lived for decades. I was surprised to learn there were a lot of renters in this rural town where I had gone to high school. Maybe it's not too far out of the realm of possibility to continue doing some sort of rental-management type work.

There's another job often paid for by insurance or even the government, that is simply getting people who can't drive, for whatever reason, to and from their doctors appointments. I had to use such a service, when after a work accident, I couldn't drive, and lived way out in the country (no taxi service, no such thing as ride share companies then at all, and still none in most rural areas), so workers' comp paid a service to come pick me up, wait for me, and take me back home. They make decent money, too.

Thom Bri wrote:Pretty much depends on how far out you go. I live on the edge of a small town, 40 minutes drive from my work in the 'big' city. I'm a nurse but any career would tolerate that drive.

Apartment maintenance suggest you have lots of various skills that would translate to rural jobs. Might depend on whether you have the licenses, plumbing, electrical, painting, siding, roofing, welding etc.

Thanks for the response, but I’m not cut out for the trades. It’s a whole different breed, a lot of negativity, depressed, and angry individuals makes for a miserable work place. but most concerning is finding a company that uses legit safety procedures.

Tereza Okava wrote:

Jay Angler wrote:
The number of "old and retired" is going up rapidly. It used to be, many people like that moved into boarding houses, but those are frequently not considered code now. It would be similar to running a bed and breakfast except the clientele would be permanent! This model still exists in parts of Britain and my aunt lived in one for several decades.

Indeed!
Ryan, you mention doing apartment-related stuff. My mother until recently lived in a really rural area. Her neighbors had what they quaintly called a 'boarder'- they all had houses for large families and after the kids moved out this neighbor built an in-law apartment type thing which they rented out. This was an older woman who had sold her house (too much upkeep) but wanted to stay in the same town where she had lived for decades. I was surprised to learn there were a lot of renters in this rural town where I had gone to high school. Maybe it's not too far out of the realm of possibility to continue doing some sort of rental-management type work.

I’ll have to look into that, I’ve thought about a handyman business for small rental properties, but it’s hard to find the owners. Tried county tax records and they don’t have it on record

Ryan,

I too grew up in the country and for a time I also worked in apartment management and really enjoyed it.  There was something honest about the physical hands-on work that was satisfying.

When I did work in apartment management I lived in the countryside and drove about 25 minutes.  For me, this was no big deal and actually I kinda liked it as it was a way for me to focus my thoughts for the day.

Would you be open to doing something like that?



Eric

Ok, I just read through more thoroughly and I see that I repeated what others already said.

But with that in mind, could have a main job (maybe apt. Maintenance) and then side hustles that bring you additional cash bonuses if not the main income?

I have a neighbor who makes a decent side income on raising bees and harvesting honey.  That’s just an example.



Eric

Ned Harr wrote:I know you said you hated the trades, but there are many that are in demand in rural areas. In addition to the usual mechanics, electrical, HVAC, plumbers, etc., rural has a big need for hauling, excavating, tree/brush removal, fencing, and stuff like that. Doing trades work in rural areas, in my experience, is usually quite pleasant. If you start your own business, or join a small well-run one, your day-to-day should be quite pleasant I would think.

I tried working industrial maintenance at a small family owned factory once. It was dangerous, the guys were just unpleasant to work for, and the guy training me was purposely not training me. Then I tried construction, same situation, the guys were unsafe and were assholes. They actually tried to train me, but it was terrible training. Basically wouldn’t explain or show anything, so I’d have to ask toms of questions and short answers.

Eric Hanson wrote:Ok, I just read through more thoroughly and I see that I repeated what others already said.

But with that in mind, could have a main job (maybe apt. Maintenance) and then side hustles that bring you additional cash bonuses if not the main income?

I have a neighbor who makes a decent side income on raising bees and harvesting honey.  That’s just an example.



Eric

Totally open to apartment maintenance, only problem is that it pays really low in rural areas like $16-$18/hr. I need something that pays more at first until I can get some side hustle going.

J. Syme wrote:find something that you hear other's complaining about doing, (hard labor) digging ditches, (Mind numbing) doing taxes, (icky stinky) unclogging drain pipes, (high risk) cleaning gutters, trimming trees. anyhow look for things others would gladly pay someone else to do... frankly i would pay someone to fillet fish for me, of butcher hogs/deer, yes currently i do process my own meat, but i would pay for this service if i could find someone with good skills & attention to detail. find out what chores the locals hate doing... there's you niche

Actually quite interested in a butchering service, but I imagine that would require a licensed facility. From what I’ve  heard it requires a lot of infrastructure and it’s hard to get approved. Maybe I’m wrong

Ryan, regarding butchering…..

I live in serious deer country and during deer season the area floods with people headed in to get their deer.

I know of a couple of school janitors who take a break from being a janitor during deer season to dress deer.  It’s a crazy couple of weeks, but it’s also serious money.  One guy made over $100k during deer season.  He went back to being a janitor mostly for something to do but also for the benefits of working at a school district.


I don’t know about licensure, but he didn’t have a ton of infrastructure.

Maybe worth a thought.



Eric

Ryan Burkitt wrote: I’ve thought about a handyman business for small rental properties, but it’s hard to find the owners. Tried county tax records and they don’t have it on record

Maybe think about where tenants find out about renting: bulletin boards, local FB groups, etc. If there's a county library, ask them what they think people look at to find an apartment.

Hey Ryan,

There are plenty of potentially valuable wild/rare plants and animals that are just waiting for someone to develop the parameters for farming them and supplying a lucrative niche market.
The same goes for off the wall services that others haven't thought of or figured out how to do.

While working on your project/career/business/farm (whatever it may be) you'll need an income, possibly from a job you don't like and with people as you've described in your previous posts.
Suck it up and get busy. With study, hard work, dedication, and single mindedness towards a goal, you and your wife can overcome failure, disappointment, and setbacks to achieve a great outcome.
Try to stay positive and keep your future in mind.

Anne Miller wrote:My suggestion would be to find a remote work job.

I have never had one so that is all I can say.

What do you do now to earn money?  Can that be some something you can continue and drive a longer distance?

When we moved to the country we kept our current jobs.

Something I’ve considered, but I don’t have the education or background to get a good paying remote job

Christopher Weeks wrote:When I moved to the country, I took my job with me. But I was in a position to tell them I'm moving and they can find a replacement (good luck) or make it remote, so we made it remote. I totally grant that most people don't have that luxury. My wife was already working 100% from home and still has that job, though they're looking to eliminate it and she's scrambling to find another all remote position. I know all the neighbors that touch our property and two beyond that. They're either old and retired or one member of the family is self-employed and the other is a nurse in the hospital 20 minutes away or are homemakers.

The ratio of people here who self-employ is remarkably higher than anywhere else I've ever lived. I grew up in a world where you learn some skills and get a job. I don't have an entrepreneurial bone in my body and it seems now, for the first time, like kind of a deficit. It's an interesting difference.

I think where I’m going is moving to a a place with some tourism and a lot of cabins around. Then becoming for handyman for resorts, cabins, and air bnbs. Of course hopefully the locals haven’t caught on to it.

Timothy Norton wrote:This thread might interest you, I asked people on Permies a little while ago, What do you do for work?

While having the portability of having an online remote work job is desirable, I never had the skill set to land such a job. Luckily, I work in manufacturing that is very local to where I live. Industrial safety might not be a sexy career path, but it allows me to be comfortable in my lifestyle and provide some time flexibility to do things that I enjoy.

How does one get into industrial safety?

Eric Hanson wrote:Ryan, regarding butchering…..

I live in serious deer country and during deer season the area floods with people headed in to get their deer.

I know of a couple of school janitors who take a break from being a janitor during deer season to dress deer.  It’s a crazy couple of weeks, but it’s also serious money.  One guy made over $100k during deer season.  He went back to being a janitor mostly for something to do but also for the benefits of working at a school district.


I don’t know about licensure, but he didn’t have a ton of infrastructure.

Maybe worth a thought.



Eric

That sounds awesome! I would love to do that! Especially if I had a full time job with it.

Steve Mendez wrote:Hey Ryan,

There are plenty of potentially valuable wild/rare plants and animals that are just waiting for someone to develop the parameters for farming them and supplying a lucrative niche market.
The same goes for off the wall services that others haven't thought of or figured out how to do.

While working on your project/career/business/farm (whatever it may be) you'll need an income, possibly from a job you don't like and with people as you've described in your previous posts.
Suck it up and get busy. With study, hard work, dedication, and single mindedness towards a goal, you and your wife can overcome failure, disappointment, and setbacks to achieve a great outcome.
Try to stay positive and keep your future in mind.

Thank you that helped a lot. Definitely gave me some insight on out of the box ideas.

Ryan Burkitt wrote: How does one get into industrial safety?

I worked entry level in the local manufacturing plant my family worked in over generations and kind of found myself transitioning over into the safety department with time. It is a unique part of the process where you can really be impactful both to the guys doing the work and the overall process. I'm lucky enough to work with people who care about the safety of themselves and others so the job is rewarding. If you are from the United States, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has certification known as OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 which are good first steps for someone interested in getting into safety.

Ryan Burkitt wrote:Something I’ve considered, but I don’t have the education or background to get a good paying remote job

What qualifications does a person need to get a remote job?

Reliable internet?

Computer?

Typing skills, motivation and being able to manage time?

Can you do data entry, customer support, or basic transcription?

Anne Miller wrote:

Ryan Burkitt wrote:Something I’ve considered, but I don’t have the education or background to get a good paying remote job

What qualifications does a person need to get a remote job?
Reliable internet?
Computer?
Typing skills, motivation and being able to manage time?
Can you do data entry, customer support, or basic transcription?

You've got a good point, Anne. I think many people think remote job means either coding or some sort of managerial thing but there are a LOT of customer service jobs that are online. You need a good internet connection, and then it's like any other job- show up on time, do what you're supposed to do, etc. From what I've read you mostly don't even have to type very well, most things involve option screens you click through.
If you make a profile in LinkedIn you can usually see what's hiring where you are, and you can set it for remote or in-person.

The time management/efficiency thing is much more relevant if you're a freelancer or small business owner, where you don't have to punch in or punch out and nobody is holding you accountable.

if i was in your shoes id parlay that maintenance into rural maintenance. a good handyman is always in demand and can lead to interesting work and bigger jobs. if you get confused just write in big letters WHERE CAN I ADD VALUE? on your fridge and that is the key to any career success. we are in a changing world so with ai and the current kakostocracy imploding on itself anything aligned with new earth systems will have a future.

Pete Grego wrote:if i was in your shoes id parlay that maintenance into rural maintenance. a good handyman is always in demand and can lead to interesting work and bigger jobs. if you get confused just write in big letters WHERE CAN I ADD VALUE? on your fridge and that is the key to any career success. we are in a changing world so with ai and the current kakostocracy imploding on itself anything aligned with new earth systems will have a future.

I love the handyman idea.

A guy put a sign on a fence in my neighborhood and he stays busy all the time.

I am log into his phone so he know when I call that its me.  He has worked on my road, my roof and now he is working on my gate.

Tereza Okava wrote:

Anne Miller wrote:
Typing skills, motivation and being able to manage time?

The time management/efficiency thing is much more relevant if you're a freelancer or small business owner, where you don't have to punch in or punch out and nobody is holding you accountable.

Good point though what I meant is a person with typing skills and who is motivated and can manage their time.

A good time manager is someone who makes goals for how they will use their time.

They know which jobs or chores are most important and get those jobs done first.

To me being able to manage your time can apply to almost any setting.  A house wife cleaning her home, a waitress, even me sitting at my desk all day writing answers to questions on the permies forum.

If you're robust, physically, you could consider becoming an arborist with an emphasis on firewood, which you would sell. Licensing/permitting can be a sticking point in some places, if'n you don't have the acreage to support it yourself, which, you probably won't. This could be a full career, but it could also be a piece of what my late pal Scott Adams dubbed a 'talent stack,' which are your skill sets that, when operating in alignment, increase your ability to both add and extract value.

A sawmill only makes sense as well, right?

Stacking a small nursery onto the arborist/firewood frame makes a lot of sense. Often, when people want a tree cut down, they also want a smaller tree or shrub planted in its stead. It will also provide the infrastructure necessary for you to advance your own landscape goals. If you talk to the locals and get a sense of what they're already growing, you'll gain an understanding of what to start with, both in the nursery and in your own systems, which you can build on as time and understanding advance. You can also offer annual vegetable garden starts, and there's good l, consistent money in that. Plus, depending on how invested/enthusiastic your wife is, getting her involved/managing in the nursery business is a great option.

Stacking a U-Pick Orchard on top of this stack takes advantage of both previous skills. Your nursery becomes both source of orchard stock and outlet for orchard propagated material. The wood from many fruit trees can be sold at a premium to smokehouse barbecue joints and home enthusiasts.

If you're gonna have a U-Pick and a nursery, and especially if you're producing annual vegetable starts, you could stack on a market garden as well, because you're already doing most of the prep work. It could be a small garden that you use simply to offer another token addon to the existing business, or you could run several acres intensively and make a decent income.

By the by, wild foraging/wild crafting of fungi is a slam dunk stack for anybody spending a lot of time working with raw lumber, especially in the woods. Depending on your locale and focus, this could be a minimal addition all the way up to a big-time money maker.

I could go on, but realistically and practically, in order to make it work in the country living a life out from underneath the corporate structure or urban condition, you're going to have to be smart and put together a blended revenue portfolio that leverages existing local demand with niche market expansions which build on existing patterns.

I am a crop insurance adjuster. Not incredibly glamorous, not loads of fun. But I am never expected to go into an office and honestly nobody cares what days/hours I work as long as I’m staying on top of my work and keeping the farmers happy. It has been a great job that is very flexible around ranching and kids. Do almost nothing from January to June, work a lot from July to December. I get a reasonable salary, company pickup which I can use for personal use, company cell phone, laptop, printer. If you have a high school diploma or more, they’ll do all the training from there, but having some ag experience helps you get hired. I figure it’s about 50% time driving around and doing work outdoors (no heavy lifting sort of stuff), and 50% time on the computer filling out paperwork. I don’t love paperwork but some days it’s a nice excuse to be indoors out of the bad weather and still get paid!

Perhaps someone has already mentioned this sort of thing, but I personally know a young person who lives in the country and works as an electrical engineer, and another who works as a mechanical engineer. If I recall correctly, their commutes are around 45 minutes (one way), and that is considered fairly normal. If you can handle the longer commute, a lot of options open up, and you can pick and choose your company as an extra bonus. I would consider about an hour commute as a reasonable one, but trying for closer to 30 minutes as a rule. Good luck! I hope you find something very lucrative and within reach!

Ryan

There is probably a vet clinic or humane society or animal control facility somewhere around you?

That’s enjoyable work and it’s great learning experience. It really adds to making an excellent experience in owning animals too, as part of a permaculture design.

I’ve solved those same questions you had by deciding to do in-depth learning in subjects I enjoy and which are marketable too:
I’ve always done three things: worked as a veterinarian, trained dogs, and sold my creative work.

I'm applying for remote jobs thru RatRaceRebellion.com. There is a search bar at the bottom, so scroll down. All jobs are pre-screened to make sure they are legit.  They have a free video series about how to find a remote job, how to apply at Amazon, Netflix, etc. Check it out.