I got real estate license as it seems to combine my love for exploring new areas, meeting people, and freedom to set your own schedule. But I could not go full-time into it as I have kids and didn't want to be away showing homes on weekends or in the evenings.
Other times I tried to do part-time portrait photoshoots as you get to be outside. But again as a father, I didn't think it was worth it. But you can make decent income with just outdoors family portraits.
I feel a little sad about not pursuing these a bit more. But I am taking my kids outside as much as possible, getting them into photo- & video-graphy, and just having fun. This seems to make me not only happy but also more motivated at the work. Perhaps, you can pursue some outdoors hobbies before making any big moves.
Blue collar work wears out the body. Are you going to be welding at 50? Working as a guide at 60? Tile workers in my family all stopped in their 40s because they could no longer do it.
I could quit my programming job and live on a lot less, as I have savings and already own most of the stuff I need, but health insurance is a problem. (And I like having money).
Then figure out which job would make you the happiest on a day to day basis.
Then write a plan that would allow you to make that income doing the job that you actually want to do.
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.
- 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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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.