Great Outdoor Careers
If you love the outdoors, there's absolutely no reason you should be stuck behind a desk for 40-50 hours per week. There are many ways to earn a good living working outside the office.
By and large, outdoor jobs offer some of the most amazing benefits of any category; beautiful settings, physical activity, fresh air - and you get to work in a field that is often your passion on top of your occupation. Of course, the salaries, educational requirements and places where you'll work will depend on the type of career you choose.
Here are CareerExplorer's Outdoor Career Picks ~
This article will be covering the following careers:
| Career | Avg Salary | Satisfaction | Your Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surveyor | $49k | 2.9/5 | |
| Landscaper | $5k | 3.0/5 | |
| Archaeologist | $42k | 3.7/5 | |
| Geographer | $110k | 3.4/5 | |
| Forester | $32k | 3.5/5 | |
| Volcanologist | ?? | ?? | |
| Photojournalist | $51k | 4.0/5 | |
| Marine Biologist | $47k | 4.1/5 | |
| Tour Guide | $26k | 3.6/5 |
Are these careers suited to you? Our comprehensive career test measures your personality traits and interests and matches you to over 800 careers.
1. Surveyor
Land surveyors enjoy working outside and don't mind working in all types of weather. They sometimes climb terrain with heavy packs of instruments and are on their feet for extended periods of time.
Surveyor
A surveyor measures and maps the Earth's surface, providing essential data for various industries such as construction, real estate, and land development.
2. Landscaper
Landscapers love to work outside completing projects ranging from building retaining walls to starting flower gardens from scratch. They specialize in creating unique outdoor living spaces for their customers.
Landscaper
A landscaper specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of outdoor spaces, such as gardens, lawns, parks, and other landscaped areas.
3. Archaeologist
An archaeologist's work is based in a variety of locations, including indoors in laboratories, museums and offices, and outdoors at excavations or site inspections, which can be conducted in all kinds of weather.
Archaeologist
Archaeologists specialize in studying human history and prehistory through the analysis and interpretation of material remains left behind by past societies.
4. Geographer
Geographers often travel to the region they are studying, which sometimes includes foreign countries and remote locations, to gather information and data on climate and weather, water, soils, and landforms.
Geographer
A geographer studies the Earth's physical and human characteristics and the relationships between them.
5. Forester
Foresters spend most of their time in remote outdoor places. This leads them to challenging locations and sometimes having to deal with working conditions that include just about anything mother nature can dole out.
Forester
A forester possesses a deep understanding of forests and their ecosystems.
6. Volcanologist
Work can take volcanologists hiking through mountains in all kinds of weather, going to the mouth of volcanoes and watching them erupt, and collecting samples of debris and rocks to examine in the lab.
Volcanologist
A volcanologist is a geologist who specializes in the study of volcanoes and volcanic activity.
7. Photojournalist
Some photojournalists travel extensively, and yet others stay closer to home, working for local newspapers. Conditions may not always be optimal, as weather could be a factor, and some situations may be dangerous.
Photojournalist
A photojournalist is a visual storyteller who uses photography to document and report on news events, current affairs, and human interest stories.
8. Marine Biologist
It would not be unusual to find a marine biologist working in a tide pool, a swamp, a mangrove forest, a coral reef, or any place on earth that supports marine life. Travel to interesting places is one of the perks for this career.
Marine Biologist
A marine biologist specializes in the study of marine organisms, ecosystems, and environments.
9. Tour Guide
Tour guides take people on sightseeing trips and tours of particular countries, cities, historical sites, and tourist attractions. Nature tour guides work outside and are subject to the effects of climate and weather conditions.
Tour Guide
A tour guide provides assistance, information, and guidance to individuals or groups of tourists during their travels.