Having the time to backpack

[Nick Gatel]

Isaac,

I work for a global company that provides business outsourcing services to the automotive industry (consulting, human resources, engineering, etc.). We have offices in 26 countries.

I manage a group of consultants in the U.S., write software applications for clients and our field people, develop instructional desgign materials (training manuals, etc.), and help develop our dealership solutions. I am involved as a subject matter expert on most of the proposals we submit in North America. Best job I ever had.

My corporate office is in Warren, MI but I mainly work out of my home office. This gives me a lot of autonomy. I just need to get my work done. So if I work tons of hours for 3 or 4 days, then I can get time off to do what I want. Basically no one is watching my time card, they are watching the quality and quantity of my work. They care about results, not hours.

I have done a lot of training in dealerships, which is teaching. There is nothing better than helping people reach their potential. Too bad teaching doesn't pay well in the beginning, but as you noted the benefits are good. Summers off, and a good retirement. I know several retired teachers in California who have pensions in the $100K – $130K per year range.

I started out as an auto mechanic (technician) almost 40 years ago.

[Ike Mouser]

so your climb must have been through the educational system, i imagine you could have self-learned some of the computer aspects, but you must have gone back to school at some point to go from auto-mechanic to where you are now.

[Nick Gatel]

Well actually the opposite…

Dropped out of college to go backpacking. After hiking around the Sierras for a couple years, decided to become a mechanic, as they made more money than entry level professionals. Took me a year to become a master technician. By then I was 23 years old and made a lot more money that all my friends who graduated from college.

Invested my money and kept fixing cars. Bought a motel in Palm Springs when I was 26, and kept working on cars.

Went back and finished my degee at 42. During the years I moved up to Service Manager, and also started and ran some of my own businesses. Got a job with my present company 12 years ago as a consultant. The Service Manager experience was my leg up, and the degree helped. Became a manager 6 months later. Never took a computer course. Just taught myself.

[James Patsalides]

What a great thread…

Sooo, I decided last year that I needed a change after 16 years in the corporate world, eaking out my hiking time between work & travel. I am married with one little toddler (see my avatar), a mortgage, etc. After a ton of obsessing last fall, I decided to make the change to become a teacher. One of the primary reasons was a dream of more trail time – aided and abetted by attending the BPL wilderness skills course last July in Montana. ;-)

So, my wife and I did a deal where if I saved $100K, I could quit the high paying gig and she would support my return to school. The $100K would cover the cost of returning to school AND would be a high enough hurdle to make sure that I really wanted to do it. So I did it, and in January, with $100K in my bank account, I quit the big job (senior marketing manager at an insurance company) and went back to school.

The problem is, the transition is HARD! I'm doing MORE work now than I was before, including teaching SAT prep at the weekends to get as much teaching experience as I can, going to school four nights a week to get my MA in Teaching (at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut), and doing a part time consulting job during the week to pay the major household bills.

Because of all this, my hiking has been restricted to day hikes – my first overnight will be next month, and I was only able to schedule it because it will give me college credit (LNT backcountry master educator). In addition, my gear-buying habits have had to change… in the short term, at least, I do not have a gear budget for this year. I won't be the BPL Nano tarp this year…

I am able to sustain myself because I am looking forward to finishing with school, getting a good full time teaching position, and teaching high school kids about ultralight! Thankfully, since I am going to be a high school math teacher, full time jobs are fairly plentiful (at least they are in Connecticut public schools)… in addition, my wife is supportive, my toddler loves that I go to school (just like her) and keeps asking me if we do circle time and show-and-tell at my school.

So, here's my advice: if it is in your heart to change, do it… BUT, go into it with your eyes OPEN. It is HARD. So, you better make sure you can sustain your new career choice after the challenges of the transition! You will need a fully supportive family (maybe do a deal like the one my wife & I did – set a goal for yourself BEFORE you start the transition). You need to be able to devote time and energy to get yourself to your destination. You need to focus on the long game, because the transition might hurt your short game!

Good luck to you… and feel free to drop me a PM if you'd like to chat more! Take care.

Peace, James.

[Nick Gatel]

James,

Good plan. That is the point, you need a plan. One good thing about going back to school after many years of life experiences, is that school is much easier. At least it was in my case.

And it was hard for me too. Going back full time to college with two toddlers, a full time job, and a business on the side. But I had a plan and wanted to accomplish it as soon as possible.

I remember one September we were camping in the San Jacintos for a couple of weeks, and 4 nights a week I had to drive to Palm Desert to attend classes. We had a great vacation, and I kept on track on the education front.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I guess I feel that success isn't all it's cracked up to be. I've worked in a high-quality corporate environment but I just didn't feel like I had the drive to be like the ones working their way up to the top. That kind of success didn't appeal to me.

I feel more like John above. He said that quitting to thru-hike had opportunity and professional costs but in the end it worked out. That's the same for me. I left my good corporate job and came back unwilling to go back to that. Instead I eke out an existence at half the wage but I have a little more freedom, a little less pressure. I get to see the sun during the day. I'm happier. I think happiness is important.

And like John, I feel like hiking offers me an area of achievement and success that I probably won't ever attain at the same high levels in a job. I often joke that my web site about hiking and being pretty good at hiking are the only truly successful things I've ever done. With those things I've achieved a small measure of fame, a lot of respect, some admiration and even, embarrassingly a little big of adulation. Yes, I have fans. Ha ha.

As long as I'm still hiking and still able to pay my bills, it's all good. As long as I'm happy and not taking pills to get through my crappy life (I've been there, too), it's even better.

[Author]

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