So, You Want to Play for a Living? Work in the Outdoor Industry

Life and work in the outdoor industry

It's 7:00 a.m. and Rachel Jamieson is getting ready for another tough day at the office. She pulls on her usual office attire, T-shirt, fleece sweater, quick-dry shorts, then crawls out of her tent and begins packing her gear into a waterproof canoe pack.

Rachel works as an instructor at Boundless Adventures and her office is 10 kilometres of pristine river in the Madawaska Valley, near Ottawa, Ontario. She'll be spending the next five days on trip, teaching people the ins and outs of white water canoeing, rock climbing and camping.

Brutal summer job, right? Well, sometimes it is, but most of the time there's no other place Rachel would rather be.

Working in the outdoor industry is, in many ways, one of the most rewarding jobs you could find. You get to meet a lot of amazing people, travel to some incredible places and get paid to play.

For Rachel, the constant challenge is the most rewarding part of the job. "There is no ceiling you can hit because there's always a new move or a new method required for improvement and success. When I'm at work I'm always pushing myself to try new things and improve on learned skills. I love tackling the personal goals".

It takes a bit more than hitting a couple of outdoor stores and buying a bunch of gear. It takes a lot of training, the drive to gain experience and, most importantly, an ability to work with people.

So, how does one snag a job like this? Well, it takes a bit more than hitting a couple of outdoor stores and buying a bunch of gear. It takes a lot of training, the drive to gain experience and most importantly, an ability to work with people.

Prior to being hired as an instructor, Rachel spent three intense months learning the ropes in a guide training program run by the School of Wilderness Arts and Technology. While on course, she ate, breathed and slept outdoor skills training.

"We teach skills that range from white water canoeing and kayaking, to rock climbing and wilderness first-aid" says Mike Desrochers, the program's director. "But the most important thing that we try to instil in our students is that no matter how good your hard skills are, it's your leadership and people skills that are going to carry the day."