AT Job Crisis

[paule]

By saying a year commitment,are you saying they are telling you that they are giving you one years employment?What do you mean by requiring one year commitment?If they are saying they are giving you a job for one year,I would find another job after the hike.Are you in a field of work that is in demand?Parts of the country are booming and parts are not,if you can be flexible in where you live you will always have a job.

[Cannon]

Don't worry about money, They print more everyday!!!

[Traveler]

For what its worth, I would recommend taking the job. Though career ambitions are always good to calculate, you will run across a lot of people through life who found themselves in a different field than their education targeted and were able to apply that education to the new opportunity (with some exceptions of course, cosmology education would not translate well to paralegal work for example). Student loan debt can be a problem on your credit history, which has other impacts like difficulty getting credit when you need it, or being hired.

If you have the funds to make loan payments for 5 months, support a thru hike cost of approximately $1,000 a month (not including gear and transportation), and the job is well outside your intended career, then you are in good shape. Otherwise, there will be other periods of time in life you will be between jobs/careers and will have the time, and likely the ready cash, to do a thru.

[Coffee]

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. No way of knowing what the economy will look like in the fall and things are getting worse, not better, regardless of what the unemployment rate says (it is distorted by millions of people who have given up and are therefore not considered in the labor force and not unemployed). Without the debt I'd always say a young person should just go for it and do the thru hike. Debt changes things. Student loans are the one kind of debt that cannot even be discharged in personal bankruptcy. Getting rid of it is a great idea, then go hiking.

[peakbagger]

Long term trends are that during an election cycle the party in power keeps the economy pumped up to get their party reelected. Therefore the economy should be cranking along this year and then all the stuff that was pushed under the rug will reappear after the election and the economy will slow down. Work this year, pay off debt and then throuhghike next year when the economy tanks.

[shawnlakenorman]

Hello all! I, like the rest of you was planning on completing my thru this year when a crisis happened. I got a job offer.
Pretext, I'm 22, just out of college working on a cruise ship. I have 26k in student loan debt and my cruise ship contract ends Jan 24th. I planned to do the AT in early april but my job would start sometime in February and would require a year commitment. With this job comes a good salary, full medical benefits, PTO and paid vacation (2weeks). I'm at a loss. I don't want to compromise my dream, or even put it off a couple years, but I also need to pay down my loans.

Should I put off the AT for a few years or go for it?

Any inquires are welcome! Please send advice my way!

Wow. I am 50. Wishing to hike. Been a realtor for 21 years. An RN for more. Trying to get back into nursing. If say. Live while you can.

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[bugeyemonster]

I see you have gotten lots of bad advice. I am 45 years old and will be hiking the trail this year. I planned to hike after high school, but ended up in the army. I planned to hike after college but had a wife and young kid. I planned to hike in the summer after my divorce when my kids would stay with their mother, but she never took them for the summer. I planned to hike but something always got in the way. Now my kids are grown and I retired last year. So if you are okay with putting it off for a year it could turn into two and then twenty. There will always be bills to pay and jobs to take but you will only be 22 just this once. Embrace your freedom as long as you can, fate will take it from you when you least expect it. That being said working on a cruise ship sounds pretty cool.

Hello all! I, like the rest of you was planning on completing my thru this year when a crisis happened. I got a job offer.
Pretext, I'm 22, just out of college working on a cruise ship. I have 26k in student loan debt and my cruise ship contract ends Jan 24th. I planned to do the AT in early april but my job would start sometime in February and would require a year commitment. With this job comes a good salary, full medical benefits, PTO and paid vacation (2weeks). I'm at a loss. I don't want to compromise my dream, or even put it off a couple years, but I also need to pay down my loans.

Should I put off the AT for a few years or go for it?

Any inquires are welcome! Please send advice my way!

[Tesla33]

Thank you so much for all of the advice. It helps to hear from all walks of life and points of view. Further clarification for those interested. I majored in Theatre production with an emphasis in lighting. I'm a light technician on board a Royal Caribbean ship. I've saved 5000 for loans and 5000 for the trail since the start of my contract in June. The job I got offered is with an aquatic staffing company in Columbus Ohio. Regional Manager of a branch. I'd be in charge of 100 plus employees and quite a lot of money. Although this isn't in my field, I enjoy the work and I'm not sure what I want my field to be.

For those interested, Cruise ship work isn't bad for someone in entertainment like me. Some days I can get away with working 4 hours, while others I work 14. It just depends. It's an interesting field to fall into and you can travel where ever you want for free. I'm on a 6 month, 3 week contract but I extended to 8 months due to the huge need for light techs and any other Theatrical workers. That being said, if anyone needs a job on a cruise ship, or has any questions about them, feel free to message me or reply to this thread and I'd be happy to help you out!

[Wolf - 23000]

I would suggest taking the job and pay down your studentloans. When you do get a chance to hike the trail you won't have the fact of a26K student debit holding you back. Taking from some who knows first hand, itsucks getting off the trail because you don’t have the money to continue.

Wolf

[One Half]

LOL 1 year. We are in our mid 40s and never did hike the AT. Now we are planning on doing a thru after my husband retires. While he would be supportive of me if I wanted to do it now on my own or with a buddy, that's not something I want to do.

You have debts you took on and are obligated to pay. Do that. Then play.


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[Falcon]

Imagine the peace of mind if your loans were paid off. I personally think hiking a thru hike with no debt hanging over your head would be well worth hiking without the debt worry. I'm 62, retired 3 years ago and totally debt free. As a section hiker, I thoroughly enjoy my section hiking for 2-3 weeks at time without the worry of having to go back to work to pay bills. My suggestion, get out of debt then hike.

[Options]

Tough decision, no doubt. Like the old commercial states, "life comes at you fast". Who knows the future? Best we can do is plan for it and keep some dreams alive (no I'm not an insurance rep). My hope for a thru attempt collapsed in 2014. I kept the dream though and luckily it looks like 2016 will be my year. Good news is during that two years I was able to pay off my debts. Now I'm debt free and can just walk without that additional burden on my shoulders and mind. Luck be with you regardless.

[CoconutTree]

It sounds like you know how to save money and it sounds like you have employable skills. If you think finding work after your hike won't be so bad, go hike. Jobs have a way of sucking you in, the longer you wait the harder it will be to do this.

[Dinendir]

I have been in your situation just a few weeks ago. I plan to start the trail in March as I graduated from university last August, and than a job offer came up. Very well paid, lots of paid vacation, in my field of expertise, and a contract without an end date. So I would be starting my professional life exceptionally good. The only downside to this job, was the impossibility to hike the trail in the next 5 years, due to different obligations connected to the job. And as I'm a European section hiking isn't a viable option to me.
I thought really hard about it, and figured that if I don't hike now, I probably never will. And developing myself as a human being is more important to me than having professional success. So after some though days of doubting I choose the thing I would never want to miss in my life. So I'll be starting the AT on the 20th of March, as you should in my opinion.

[Pastor Bryon]

Job.

15+ years out from college, still paying on my loan, which has been frustrating and limiting.

[Heliotrope]

At 51 I still have student loans (85k) and I did not thru hike when younger. I think I didn't have the mental strength to thru hike. However, once you end up married with children and a mortgage you will be hard pressed to get that much time off. I'd say if you take the job commit to knocking down the debt. If you hike enjoy it fully because it may the time of your life you will look back on with find memories.


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[bigcranky]

Not to rain on your hike, but most people attempting a thru hike quit, often quite early in the hike. What happens when you break an ankle a month into the hike?

$26K in student loans isn't terrible; live as cheaply as possible and pay them off quickly.

[MuddyWaters]

Been working in field of major
Has money saved for thru
Has 2-3 yrs of student loan payments depending on terms
Job offer not in field

Just go hike if its what you want

[4eyedbuzzard]

Thank you so much for all of the advice. It helps to hear from all walks of life and points of view. Further clarification for those interested. I majored in Theatre production with an emphasis in lighting. I'm a light technician on board a Royal Caribbean ship. I've saved 5000 for loans and 5000 for the trail since the start of my contract in June. The job I got offered is with an aquatic staffing company in Columbus Ohio. Regional Manager of a branch. I'd be in charge of 100 plus employees and quite a lot of money. Although this isn't in my field, I enjoy the work and I'm not sure what I want my field to be.

...huge need for light techs and any other Theatrical workers. ...

It sounds like you know how to save money and it sounds like you have employable skills. If you think finding work after your hike won't be so bad, go hike. Jobs have a way of sucking you in, the longer you wait the harder it will be to do this.

Been working in field of major
Has money saved for thru
Has 2-3 yrs of student loan payments depending on terms
Job offer not in field

Just go hike if its what you want

I'm pretty conservative usually about work vs. hike question. There's the old saying, "the trail will always be there." But if you don't attempt your thru-hike, the desire to thru-hike will also always be there - and it will gnaw at you, sometimes for many, many years if you miss your window of opportunity. My brother in law is a lighting and sound guy, and he always can find work, either in Vegas, NY, or managing shows with bands on tour. I'd say go ahead with the hike.

[Cannon]

Do the hike!

Quitting your job may seem stupid to most people, but I think its even more stupid to be saying "I wish I did that" later in life. Money is important in this world, theres no denying that. To ignore it would be stupid, but also realize that it is very far from the most important thing in this world.