Well, I'll try and give you some insight here Ross......
For the forestry/outdoors part, I have been trying the same thing, sending letters to the MNR, and checking out differnt programs they offer. Most are for people 17-23 looking for summer work. I am older then that, so I asked if their was any extentions or other ones for older people and have gotten no response(they are on strike now) but that was two weeks ago sent out. I would tend to agree, that the forestry guy could be pretty bored, and lonely. What I'd like to get into is fisheries, you know, restocking, building spawning beds in gravel, studing habitats and soil effects, things like that, working towards building a better outdoors for our kids to enjoy. A buddy of mine took forestry at Sanford Fleming, and then went into mining up north, making MAD cash, now he does some of those huge contruction projects near TO, like those road overpasses, and shit like that, he really likes it. Since your a uni grad, maybe you could get into the design of these knids of things?
OK the electrician part. My dad is a contracter, and has been for his whole life. He syas the way to go is to get into a trade, be it plumbing, welding, electrictain, tool and dye, they are all lucrative.
He was a plumber for a good chunk of that, and worked for a company for ten years or so, then started his own company. He got out of residential jobs, now he basically installs, high pressure washers, gas lines, and water feeding lines in pig and cow barns. He can be as busy or not busy as he wants(really busy right now) there are sooo many new barns going up(costing Millions and millions to build) and my dad makes a nice portoion of that (30 - 40 ks on a big barn. and if he wants to take a month off to go to Costa Rica or Venezula or Mexico, or Europe or Arizona(he;s been to all the last 3 or 4 years), he can schedule his work that way. From what ive learned, you can do an apprentice for 3 years I think making ok coin 13- 14 bucks/hour, but after that you will esaly make 20 onwards for companies, more if you work for yourself, but more paperwork if your on your own.
And youtr own business has lots of taz breaks, and if you get a good accountant, you can find lots of loopholes and breaks on taxes. Just don;t marry forign women and loose half like my dad also did
Possible things that suck about this job: Cold outdoors in the winter, sore knees, if you work for a company, oyu can get stuck with poeple who are lazy, or don't want to work at any knid of pace, and people who are just plain dumb, who don't really jknow whats going on. That's why I think your own business is the wya to go, you do the hiring.
one thing you might have to give up is clubing, unless you plan on being dead early, lottsa times my dad will leave at 4 in the morning to get to jobsites and weekends if needed. I found i was just pyhicaly exsausted at the end of the day, eat and lounge, go to bed at 9 or 10 at night.
if you are really interested email me, I can give you lots of other info, hell you could prolly apprentice with my dad, And I know for a fact that the electricians are hurting for people too, I can hook you up with someone to talk to htere as well. Good luck Ross.
Dave
