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Do things like manufacturing outdoor gear or working as a guide make a decent living income in the US? Do I need to improve my welding? Start a mowing company? Who has moved to real world jobs?
Patagonia, REI, the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, etc. all still need some digital expertise, whether for their storefront or internal operations. They will quite often recruit for dev or tech positions. Most of those aren't remote, but if you're near one of those areas (REI corporate is mostly near Seattle, Patagonia in Ventura), it might be worth considering? They mostly do not manufacture in the US either, but outsource that to various lower-cost countries. I think Outdoor Research is one of the limited exceptions who do some manufacturing domestically.
I don't think outdoor guides make much money. Many of my friends were kayaking/climbing/backpacking guides and it's kinda a thing you do in your 20s while you can live frugally and without major expenses or kids. They'd usually live in tents, company barracks, or their vans. It's also largely a seasonal job and you'd have to find your own way in the off seasons. A similar but slightly more stable job is working an interpretive ranger position for the Parks Service or a state park, but a lot of those are entry-level or seasonal too. People who want to stick around long term in those fields usually have to move into management/admin of some sort.
If you want to be outside a lot, the trades (construction) or project management (renewables development and planning, like for commercial wind or solar) or transportation (for states & municipalities) would all typically be more stable than outdoor recreation.
If you're willing to get more specialized education, you can also go the environmental consultancy route (with a bio/wildlife/GIS/etc. educational background), the kind of firm that other agencies and companies will outsource work to to evaluate environmental impacts, conduct endangered species analyses, or help with city planning and the like.
- handyman (you need to be near an affluent area) (the person I know doing this was a graphic designer for 30 years. He’s making more and much happier now)
- welding exhausts / racing exhausts. Needs a decent size shop.
- machinist.
- fly fishing guide / instructor. (Need to be located near appropriate waters very hit or miss).
- shoe making (maybe? Look up custom shoe making … there seems to be some great success stories recently )
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Before changing your life, go ask people in Real World Jobs how much they’d like to sit at a computer for 35 hours a week and make $200k or more.
I tell them I make roughly $100/hour, which is an exaggeration but not really. They think I rob banks or something. To them, if you were that successful, you wouldn't be playing games... which might be true, but if you can sit at a computer 35 hours a week and work from home 3 days/week, you have time for stuff too.
1. Airlines were almost fully automated. Nobody is losing their jobs or getting a pay cut to any new tech.
2. She had a lot of books that she never had the time to read, and rarely even had the time to sit down quietly.
3. There's some value in becoming a safety and health officer to people in an enclosed space 15000 feet in the sky. Yet it's not stressful unlike driving an ambulance or dealing with tech debt.
Before changing your life, go ask people in Real World Jobs how much they’d like to sit at a computer for 35 hours a week and make $200k or more.
these are limited ideas from people I see doing them- and who at least appear to be making a decent living. - handyman (you need to be near an affluent area) (the person I know doing this was a graphic designer for 30 years. He’s making more and much happier now) - welding exhausts / racing exhausts. Needs a decent size shop. - machinist. - fly fishing guide / instructor. (Need to be located near appropriate waters v…
I helped a friend who was forced out of corporate america at 60 pivot to handyman work (build his brand, digital and irl marketing in his market), he’s charging $100/hr for basic work and getting ready to raise rates because he’s too busy at that price.
Happier and having more fun than working as an engineer at an auto supplier who designed parts for a major legacy automaker.