| The following information was provided by a successful Guide/Outfitter in the Peace River area. |
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"A hunting guide takes hunters out; an outfitter runs a business that may employ one or many guides. As a guide in Alberta, there is always work. Outfitting requires some special skills, as I will describe below. What Outfitting is like: Only a quarter of your time is outdoors, hunting with the clients and scouting new and better territories. The rest of your time is business oriented, involving accounting, advertising, and client contacts, either by mail or phone. High School courses needed for Outfitting: General Business courses are the best for this career. You can't escape the office work if you want to be successful! Special certificates & training: First Aid, CPR, Hunter Training Course. Insurance and Bonding. Benefits: Guiding is a 'hands-on' outdoors job, great if you like to be in the bush. Outfitting can be too, and it pays well (if your business skills are also great). Non-tangible rewards are the world-wide friends you make, the things you learn about other ways of life and world geography. Pay expected: Guides' wages are similiar to any other labour wages. Outfitting income depends on your ability to expand your business. A great business person with management skills could have a yearly income in excess of $150,000. The average outfitter will make about $25- to $30,000 annually. (Just a guess) Good and not so good features: Good: You can pick and choose your work times within the season(s), so you have considerable freedom from regular job schedules. You are in the outdoors. Not so good: Income is variable and seasonal, but your financial planning must be 12 months a year. Outfitting is expensive to get into. Good places for education or experience : First get your high school diploma for the basics in day-to-day life. Guide Schools offer guiding courses. The best way to start is by working as a guide for an outfitter, who can teach, through experience, the ins and outs of making outfitting successful. Considerations for this career: If your heart is not in it (outdoors and hunting) you should not consider this career. There are also things to worry about, like expenses, equipment, gaining access to the non-resident alien licences, and the changing regulations annually." |