Job or Hobby?

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elbeatch

elbeatch

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 23, 2006
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Ontario Canada
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I thought this'd be the pefect place to ask. I'm in college right now becoming an environmental technologist, but looking for jobs it's nothing do do with fish as I was told. SO, does anyone here work in a fish related field or is it doomed to be just a hobby. If so did you get any kind of schooling or should I save my money and get looking?
 
Right now I just sell fish, but in a couple years I will be in a Zoo or Aquarium
 
I was reading about some fish vets the other day.. And allot of them get to deal with all the dealers fish probs :) and Fisheries probs.... That can put you in a different view:)
 
buy a big farm, build a lot of lakes, and breed in large scale... that way i guess you'd get somemoney and work with fish:D ...
 
The answer to this really depends on the income you desire. There are positions for manufacturer reps (salary + commission), There are positions for distributor reps (draw against commission). Both are sales positions. Live fish importers and distributors will have sales positions also (primarily commission, a few draw against commission.)

The degree you're getting could be associated with wildlife sciences, although only remotely.

Aquaculture is a related industry. Some within the industry make good money but only when situations are close to perfect. Most make only slightly above minimum wage. Owners, drivers and sales people are the higher paid positions.

Obviously, if you're in college now, you've heard at some point that working for someone else, you'll never be paid more than it would cost to replace you. In order to earn the highest wage you'll need to be the one in control.

I've worked within the industry for years. The highest paid positions I've held were a sales position where I bought fish from breeders and then marked them up and selling to retailers. The other position was a store manager position in a store of my design. Both of these positions required connections to place myself available and show myself qualified. I'm no longer working within the industry regularly but am available in a consulting capacity.

In the past I've told employees with higher ambitions that high paid positions within the pet industry are few and far between. Even less are available within the tropical fish industry. Best bet... if you're a diver, you could collect. If you're good on the phone, you could import and sell. If you're good at husbandry, you could breed fish , or wholesale, and make your wares available to hobbyists and retailers. If these positions are unappealing, unless you have other ideas, you might be better off to work in a different industry and use your income to better enjoy your hobby. Harsh, I know. But, realistic. Good luck, Dan
 
When you start worrying about money it's no longer a hobby. The truth, you really can't turn a hobby into a job.

You can have dreams of opening your own lfs or working at some position at a hatchery, or selling for a importer but non of them are enough to count on there finding a job for you at some point. IMO stay in school and do something with biology or something you can go into varied fields.
 
You guys are awesome! I have already been speaking to the local scuba diving club about getting some training already. With what I'm getting it has little to do with diving as in dive, assess an ecosystem and come up with a plan to fix the area (if possible) but then again, work is few and far between and most of the job is checking smokestacks and soil samples for parks. Not too shabby. I really liked the idea of being a zoodiver. Thank you! I'm def gonna look into this.
 
There are big things to look at with a question like this. Being involved in the hobby and getting paid is one thing to consider. I'm refering to breeders, wholesale, retail etc.... I've worked that end of it before. Some people really have a nack for it and do very well. If that is your focus, then get into it at any level you can, and become familiar with it. With time, work your way up to the top.

As a professional aquarist/diver, you don't do it for money. Most keepers have at least one part time job on the side, if not more, just to make ends meet. The hours are long, the nights are short (unless you are working nights like I am today and tomorrow - then they're long, too) the pay is minimal and the glory is placed on someone else.

Pay is based on two things. How much the company is willing to dish out, and how much of a demand there is for you. I don't mean 'you' as in your position, I mean 'you' as a person. Take two people applying for a job. Both have met the normal requirements and all of the related things. The position will be focused on (as an example) cold water marine inverts. Now, if you have 20 years of experience, but it's African feshwater time under you belt, you'll probably be looked over for the person with only 5 years of experience, but two of them were coldwater marine. Best thing to do is get BROAD with the range of animals you are familiar with.

Lately, I've been pretty narrow in my scope of work. I've been lucky - the places around me seem to need just what I do. The trend won't last, though. And soon I'll need to refamiliarize myself with more animals all over again.
 
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