Careers for Courageous People & Other Adventurous Types (Careers for You Series)

177 Pages·2004·0.86 MB·English

by  Jan Goldberg

VGM Careers for You Series
CAREERS FOR
COURAGEOUS
PEOPLE
& Other Adventurous Types
J G
AN OLDBERG
SECOND EDITION
This book is dedicated to the memory of
my parents, Sam and Sylvia Lefkovitz.

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DOI: 10.1036/0071454608
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Contents
Acknowledgments v
Preface vii
CHAPTER ONE Is the Adventurous Path
Really for You? 1
CHAPTERTWO Careers in Faraway Places 7
CHAPTERTHREE Careers for the Strong and Agile 25
CHAPTER FOUR Careers Involving Animals 73
CHAPTER FIVE Careers in Law Enforcement 89
CHAPTER SIX Careers for Other
Courageous Spirits 123
APPENDIX For Further Reading 165
iii
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Acknowledgments
The author gratefully acknowledges:
• The numerous professionals who graciously agreed to be
profiled in this book.
• My dear husband,Larry,for his inspiration and vision.
• My children,Deborah,Bruce,and Sherri,for their
encouragement and love.
• Family and close friends—Adrienne,Marty,Mindi,Cary,
Michele,Paul,Michele,Alison,Steve,Marci,Steven,Brian,
Jesse,Bertha,Aunt Estelle,Uncle Bernard,and Aunt
Helen—for their faith and support.
• Diana Catlin,for her insights and input.
The editors also extend thanks to career writer Mark Rowh for his
work in updating the 2005 edition of this book.
v
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Preface
H
ere’s a book for those of you who always thought you were a
bit more courageous or adventurous than your brothers,sis-
ters,and friends.Inside you will find a wealth ofinformation
about a number of occupations requiring an extra measure of
courage.
Want an inside look at some especially “adventurous”occupa-
tions? Then you’ll no doubt be interested in the profiles sprinkled
throughout the book of real men and women engaged in such
careers. These profiles, many of which are told in the words of
their subjects,include a test pilot,a foreign correspondent,a Peace
Corps volunteer,a family of daredevils,a scuba diving instructor,
a hunting and fishing guide, a photojournalist, a skydiving
instructor,an FBI agent,an explosives handler,a police officer,and
a SWAT team member,among others.Although these career areas
do not represent an all-inclusive list by any means,they will give
you a sense of what it is like to engage in a courageous or adven-
turous career.
In addition, you’ll find other information such as the type of
preparation needed for a given career area, the tasks performed
by those who hold jobs in the field, and sources of additional
information.
Chapter 1 looks at the nature of what we’re calling “careers for
courageous people.”This includes a look at various occupational
areas,some speculation about what is really involved in appealing
to one’s adventurous spirit from an occupational viewpoint,and
some questions for you to answer about your prospects for pur-
suing such a career.
vii
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viii • PREFACE
The second chapter covers some careers that might be pursued
in faraway locations. Focusing on careers involving international
travel, it covers the work of journalists who travel to cover the
news,Peace Corps volunteers,missionaries,and others.
Chapter 3 looks at some of the careers of special interest to
those who are active and physically fit. This includes careers as
stunt performers, circus performers, bodyguards, Secret Service
agents, cowboys or cowgirls, divers and diving instructors, test
pilots,astronauts,sky divers,and river rafting guides.
The next chapter looks at some occupations for folks who enjoy
the challenge of working with animals. Careers profiled here
include beekeepers,animal trainers,zookeepers,and hunting and
fishing guides.
Chapter 5 covers the world oflaw enforcement and some ofthe
careers that constitute this career area.Information is provided on
careers as uniformed police officers, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs,
state police officers, detectives, guards, correctional officers, and
more.
In Chapter 6,several other adventurous job areas are examined.
This concluding chapter examines careers as firefighters, emer-
gency medical technicians, private detectives and investigators,
and more.
Addresses and websites for professional associations appear
throughout the book.An appendix listing helpful books on career
planning is also included.
Certainly,the occupations profiled in this book will not appeal
to everyone.For some people,they may fall too far into the “risky”
category. But for others, the careers profiled here might sound
especially appealing.
Even for those with a particularly adventurous spirit,the career
fields described throughout this book are offered as only some of
the possibilities worth considering.You will be able to add more
from your own experiences and those of friends and family or
from further research. In the meantime, perhaps some of these
overviews will inspire you in making your career plans.
C H A P T E R O N E
Is the Adventurous
Path Really for You?
Courage comes by being brave; fear comes by holding back.
—Publilius Syrus
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
—Anaïs Nin
Oh courage,oh yes! Ifonly one had that,then life might be livable,
in spite ofeverything.
—Henrik Ibsen
W
hat does your mind conjure when you think of the adven-
tures of the medieval King Arthur and the Knights of the
Round Table? Do you picture swords,armor,villains,and
damsels in distress? Do you recall heroic tales of valor, bravery,
and good deeds?
While these well-known stories are not entirely true, they are
not totally fictional either.History tells us that in the sixth century
A.D. in Wales there lived a King Arthur who had a reputation for
chivalry far beyond what was common in those days.Legend tells
us that his Knights of the Round Table traveled the kingdom per-
forming acts of courage and courtesy and that the handsomest,
strongest,and bravest knight was,ofcourse,Sir Lancelot.As Mary
Macleod,in The Book ofKing Arthur and His Knights,tells it:
1
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