20 Best Outdoor Jobs in Demand that Pay Well

Sticking indoors day after day for hours at a time just to bring home a paycheck can become a monotonous drag. It’s no wonder so many people are looking for the best outdoor jobs to get away from their suffocating cubicles. Being outdoors has not only proven to boost your mood, but is also good for your overall health.

Outdoor jobs can come and go depending on the time of year. But the amount of money you can make could trump the indoor job that is currently sucking the life out of you. You have nothing to lose by trying out jobs in nature without a degree.

Don’t settle for a career that isn’t fulfilling. If you love being outdoors and want to experience it on a daily basis, choose from the best outdoor careers.

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20 Best Outdoor Jobs That Pay Well Without a Degree

If you desire the great outdoors and you’re fed up with the cubicle life, the following are the best jobs in the outdoor industry. You can create your own schedule whether you need Saturday-only side jobs or a complete full-time income replacement. Find the one that intrigues you most and pursue your passion.

1. Get Paid to Walk Dogs

Dog walkers are underrated. This is an extremely rewarding job monetarily plus you get to add some fur friends to your crew. Offer your dog walking services to your neighbors, post about it around your area, or advertise online.

Dog walkers can take on regular, predictable dog walking jobs. They also have the ability to just accept sporadic jobs. Set your rates and the hours you want to work to live a fulfilling life as a dog walker. Add dog walker to your list of best outdoor jobs, and sign up with Care.com to find clients.

2. Start a Camping Blog

One of the top creative outdoor jobs is becoming a blogger who writes about outdoor things like camping. You get to have control over the content you write about on your blog. If you like to camp, write a blog about it.

Start with telling your readers about the best campsites, best camping gear, what your experiences have been like, and so on. Get paid to camp and share experiences on your blog by incorporating ads on your posts and adding affiliate links every time you refer to a camping product. If a reader buys products through your link, you will earn a commission.

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3. Become a Beekeeper

A beekeeper is one of the best outdoor jobs without a degree because you can make good money and make a difference in the ecosystem at the same time. Set up your own beekeeping business in your backyard or somewhere else on your property. You can control how many bee hives you want to have, which will dictate how much money you can make from this business.

4. Become a Hiking Tour Guide

There are hikers who want to explore new trails or beginner hikers who need to be shown the ropes. You can offer hiking tours to these people to help them experience beautiful new outdoor spaces. You can also help new hikers understand the different altitudes and hiking trails they should start with.

While on your tours, you can educate hikers on the plants and wildlife that are indigenous to the area. Don’t forget to point out anything dangerous that they should watch out for. Set an hourly or daily rate to give hikers these exclusive tours and get paid to hike.

5. Start a Fishing YouTube Channel

Fishing is a sport that takes quite a bit of practice to master. Whether you are doing it recreationally or for a competition, you can record yourself while you are out on a fishing trip. Upload these recordings to your own YouTube channel and get paid to fish with your virtual audience.

YouTubers get paid for displaying ads on their videos and recommending affiliates to make purchases from. Start with basic fishing 101 then increase the level of difficulty slowly with each video so that your audience can follow along and learn from your YouTube videos.

6. Become an Outdoor Teacher

There are many opportunities to get paid to teach and host your classes outside. Teach yoga or other fitness types of classes outdoors. You can also teach children’s classes outdoors through sites like Tinkergarten where you encourage outdoor exploration for little minds.

Related: How to Get Paid to Exercise

7. Teach Horse Riding Lessons

If you have experience with horses, consider teaching horse riding lessons to those who want to learn. You can teach children and adult beginners, or you can coach riders who want to enter competitions. Charge by the hour or with a monthly rate for people who want to continue using your services.

8. Become a Theme Park Tester

If you enjoy some thrills and some sunshine, become a theme park tester. Travel to various theme parks around the country and take in the experience. You can become a park employee to test the park, use a blog to report your experiences, or become a mystery shopper for theme parks.

9. Become a Nature Photographer

Photographers can get to take pictures of people, landscapes, and other outdoor areas. If you are handy with a camera and you want to be outside seeing what this earth has to offer, become a photographer who specializes in nature.

Take walks to new places and capture the beauty of the area. Sell the pictures to local shops to display your work or sell them in your own online shop. You can also take on clients who want you to go out and photograph specific scenic views.

Photographer sitting outside with laptop and camera at the beach

10. Become a State Park Ranger

Park Rangers are state employees tasked with keeping parks clean and safe. Ensure park-goers are following the rules, aid anyone needing help, and educate others about wildlife in the area. As a state employee, you would also be privy to state benefits and pay. This makes being a park ranger one of the best outdoor careers.

11. Get a Water Maintenance City Job

Water maintenance personnel work outdoors cleaning city drains and pipes that could be clogged due to debris or movements in nature. This kind of work helps keep the water safe to drink and filters out the water that needs to be routed to specific areas. Check with your surrounding areas for city jobs within water maintenance.

Related: How to Become a Pet Groomer

12. Become a Lifeguard

Lifeguards are top outdoor careers in demand, especially during the summer. If you have skills in swimming and have a passion for helping others, a lifeguard position could be the best fit for you. Lifeguards can find jobs at lakes, water parks, community pools, and other private pool areas. You can even find that some of the best ocean jobs fall into the laps of experiened lifeguards who watch of the beach.

13. Become a Freelance Writer about Hiking

Freelance writers have the ability to write for clients in a niche of their choosing. This means you can write about hiking and take your work outdoors. Clients could ask you to find the new hiking trails or report on your experience hiking in certain areas. Write great articles about hiking to continue keeping your clients happy.

14. Offer Landscaping Services

Landscaping has the potential to be one of the best outdoor jobs that pays over $100K. Depending on how many clients you are willing to take on and the time of year, you could make a significant income in the landscaping business. Offer services to your neighbors, advertise to your surrounding cities, and share your business information online to expand your startup.

15. Become a Camp Counselor

Camp counselors are needed year round at summer camps, Bible camps, science camps, sports camps, and more. Find a camp that interests you, apply for the position, and begin your influence as an outdoor camp counselor for kids.

Related: How to Become a Babysitter

16. Become a Camping Influencer

If you enjoy going camping, then you are in for a treat. Use your camping skills and trips to become an influencer who promotes camping gear, products, and destinations. Influencers promote products through social media to entice followers to buy products using their special code or link. Influencers make a commission for every purchase that is made from those links or codes.

17. Become a Fisherman

As a fisherman, you can make money selling your catches, entering fishing competitions, or training others to be successful. You can also join a fishing crew to go fishing together and split the profits. If you have the skills and experience as a fisherman, you can make a living doing something you love outside.

Related: How to Become a Filmmaker

18. Create an eBook About Outdoor Destinations

There is nothing better than being able to share your excursions with others. You can do exactly that by writing an eBook about your outdoor explorations. Whether you want to share about vacation destinations or your experience bird watching at a local park, you can do so in your eBook.

Sell your eBooks and begin making a profit quickly. Think of this as your own way to create the best jobs in nature without a degree.

19. Become a Ranch and/or Farm Manager

Ranches and farms need someone to help upkeep the facilities. You can apply to be the person to do this job and get paid to work outdoors as a property manager. Tend to the crops, animals, and overall structure of the land. Get paid by the hour or negotiate a monthly salary that fits the lifestyle you want.

20. Sell an Online Gardening Course

For those who want to learn how to start and care for a vegetable garden, you can sell them a course online detailing exactly the steps they should take to make this happen. Share all your tips and tricks for gardening to help them get started on the right foot. Sell the course online for a price that you are comfortable with and make a living selling your plants and knowledge.

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Outdoor Jobs Are Healthy in Many Ways

Your life is worth more than a paycheck from a job that you don’t enjoy. It’s time to start enjoying doing the job that you spend many hours a day at. Take advantage of the highest-paying outdoor jobs to truly change your life.

From blogging to beekeeping and even theme park testing, there is no shortage of outdoor jobs you can find or start on your own. Life is too short; make a career for yourself that brings you the most sunshine and happiness.

20 of the Highest Paying Outdoor Jobs Without A Degree