Dream Job?
Working in the waterfowl world is tough, but satisfying
By David Hart
THERE YOU SIT, staring out your office window at another cold, gray winter day. While your co-workers are happy to be sheltered from the elements as they tap away at a keyboard, you'd give your left arm to be out in that miserable weather. In fact, you dream of ditching the desk job and taking the plunge into the waterfowl industry.
Why not? Plenty of hardcore waterfowlers are making a respectable living doing what they love.
The bad news? Waterfowling is a shrinking industry. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the number of migratory game bird hunters fell 25 percent between 1996 and 2006. Hunters also spent 14 percent less money on waterfowling during the same period. But there are still jobs out there. In fact, a few areas of the waterfowl business are actually growing.
Duck Doctors
Frank Rohwer, Delta Waterfowl scientific director
One of the best career opportunities is in waterfowl biology. Waterfowl scientists spend their careers studying birds to gain a deep and broad understanding of the life of ducks and geese through intense research.
Frank Rohwer, Delta Waterfowl scientific director, said the job market for biologists is actually pretty good, particularly with the federal government and private consulting firms.
"The increase in environmental regulations has helped increase the demand for biologists who specialize in wetlands," said Rohwer, who also teaches at Louisiana State University. "Even some private clubs have their own biologists on staff, so I would say there are jobs to be had out there. All but two of the 50 or so grad students who worked under me got jobs."
State wildlife agencies tend to pay the lowest entry-level salaries, even for biologists who have completed the additional two years of education required to earn a Master's degree. Without that piece of paper, you'll likely only become a wildlife technician, a flowery title that really means grunt, and often provides nothing more than an hourly wage. A PhD will open up more doors and increase the salary, although Rohwer said a doctorate isn't necessary to have a good career as a waterfowl biologist.
Even with a Master's degree and the job that follows, don't count on much field time. Rohwer figures he spends 80 percent of his time in front of a computer screen. He rarely gets into the field. Much of the fieldwork that examines everything from nest success to hunting mortality is actually conducted by graduate students working on their Master's degree. Rohwer, an avid waterfowl hunter, doesn't spend much time clutching a shotgun. He loves his job, nonetheless.
Paid To Hunt
Charles Snapp, waterfowl guide
If becoming a biologist doesn't seem like a dream job, maybe you should consider starting a guide business. You're good with people, blow a mean duck call and nothing stirs your emotions like standing in a marsh as freezing rain pelts your cheeks. Imagine: Someone is willing to pay you good money to share that experience. But working as a guide isn't quite as glamorous as it might seem.
"It's not about hunting, it's about the business of hunting," said retired guide Charles Snapp, who ran a successful Arkansas waterfowling business for 31 years. "A lot of people who dream about guiding think they'll get to hunt all the time. A successful guide doesn't hunt. He helps others hunt. It didn't take me long to figure that out."
The cost of running the business can be enough to kill the dream. Operating costs alone can run $10,000 to $20,000, or even more, per season. Land access is the biggest expense. You can't hunt one or two blinds for 60 days and expect to kill ducks all season, can you? Unless you already own a 2,000-acre rice farm with a couple hundred acres of flooded timber, you're going to have to lease it. Leasing a single 40-acre Arkansas rice field can cost $3,000 or more per season. You'll also need to advertise, and the fuel expense of daily scouting alone can put a fair dent in your budget.
Because duck season lasts just 60 days, maybe 100 if you add goose or sea duck hunts, you've got the rest of the year to consider. Brushing blinds, fixing decoys, digging pits and other necessary chores will take time, but you aren't getting a check when you do that work. And then, there are factors beyond your control.
"A bad migration or a dry year can just about put you out of business," Snapp said.
When things are good and the ducks are flying, you can expect to rise at 3 a.m., get to the marsh by 5 a.m., head back at the diner/motel/gas station by noon, and then pick ducks, scout, repair gear and work the phones until bedtime for as many days straight as possible. It's a grinding schedule — one Snapp admits he doesn't miss. On top of that, you'll be sweet-talking unhappy clients who blame you for bluebird skies and a late migration. But Snapp said most of his clients were good people. That's exactly why he loved guiding so much.
"I'd do it all over again, no question," he said. "I was fortunate to get in when I did, but I'm not sure if I could make it if I tried to get started now."
Product Pusher
If guiding seems too uncertain, how about working as a pro-staffer? Those guys who give seminars at sports shows and mega-retail stores surely must be making a killing just to talk up decoys, calls or boats right?
Not exactly. Most don't get any money. Instead, they work for the privilege of calling themselves a "pro-staffer" along with a few window stickers, a couple of hats and a discount on product. So why bother? Avery pro-staff manager Rob Jepson says the people who sign on just like to be connected to the industry.
"They believe in the products and they like to be part of a team," he said. "There usually aren't any additional hunting opportunities involved, either. However, being involved in the industry can lead to all sorts of opportunities, even if those opportunities are new places to hunt with new friends."
Some equipment company pro staff members are paid, although it's rarely more than a little extra spending money. A few even manage to parlay their effort into a full-time job as a regional sales representative or other in-house position. That's pretty rare, Jepson said. He can only recall a few people who turned a pro-staff position into a full-time job within the hunting industry.
Working All Angles
Captain Jeff Coats, working all angles to make a living!
Some of the most successful people in the waterfowl industry combine several jobs. They guide in season, give seminars at outdoor shows and perhaps make and sell their own calls or decoys the rest of the year. They work as pro-staffers for different companies, jumping at every opportunity to talk ducks. The hardest working among them, such as Captain Jeff Coats, a Chesapeake Bay guide, might even have a television show. He hosts "Ducks, Dogs and Decoys."
There aren't many slots on the various outdoors networks dedicated to waterfowl hunting, though. And for the few slots available, countless guys with video cameras are trying to become the next celebrity waterfowl hunter. Some actually make money at it, but Coats admits he isn't one of them. The show does, however, promote his guide business, which represents the bulk of his income. Coats said making a living in front of a video camera is extremely hard work that requires more than the ability to kill birds. Successful hosts not only sell their show to potential sponsors, they sell themselves, and they have a magnetic personality on and off camera.
"You basically buy the time slot from the network and then you have to convince manufacturers to sponsor the show with enough money to cover the expenses and pay you and a camera man or two for your time," Coats explained. "These days, gun and decoy companies are bombarded with guys looking for some sort of sponsorship, so you better be really, really good."
Coats also makes a little money from waterfowl photography, and he sells T-shirts, hats and even cork decoys he makes himself. Again, he's not making much with those side businesses, but the cumulative effect adds up enough that he can do what he loves to do.
Hard Work Required
No matter which you choose in the waterfowl industry, be prepared to work your tail off and don't plan on doing much hunting at first. Whether you enroll in a wildlife school at a prestigious college, plunge into the unknowns of the guide business or try to make it Hollywood-style, you'll need to focus your energy where it counts — earning a degree or building a brand and a business. And don't count on a lot of money even if you manage to snag your dream job.
But it's not about money, is it? Being paid to stand in a marsh and watch the ducks fly is a good way to make a living.
David Hart is making a living as an outdoor writer in Rice, Va.