I know a very nice young man who is an extremely intelligent biochemist.  

He's never handled livestock in his life.

Last week, I taught him how to shear, vaccinate, and condition score sheep.  Not that those can be learned (well, the vaccinating perhaps) in a day, but he did a wonderful job.  I've taught close to a hundred people how to do many of the things we did that day, and none of them came close, despite the fact that many of them were farm kids.

He has no intention of shearing as a career, of course.  But he has always wanted to try it.

I do believe that most jobs can be appropriate for Catholics- I don't really understand why for some people, only certain ones apply.  Not saying that is what you mean, Matthew.  It's just an observation.

Each person is an individual and each possesses different skills.

It's an honorable way to provide for one's family, farming.  So is being an engineer or veterinarian or sheep shearer or molecular biologist.  I'd love to see Catholics in every field.

Once in a while, it's good to point out a job that WOULD be good for a Catholic man.

This is the kind of job that makes me say to myself, "I hope my son is qualified for this job when he is 18. I should order the rest of his upbringing/training to that end."

I sure hope they're paying a decent wage -- skill with horses AND mechanic skill? Not to be a party pooper, but those skills OFTEN don't go together. I guess they're looking for a cowboy type who's not afraid of learning all kinds of things -- a jack-of-all-trades.

But, again, that's the kind of son I'd like to raise. Someone who sees something new, isn't afraid of it, and goes ahead and learns it too.

Quote

Our trail riding season is getting started and we need a guide/ranch hand. Duties : repairs on ranch and ranch equipment. Care and training of horses. Maintain property. Guide and manage trail rides.
Required skills : must be able to drive a manual dually and be efficient at hauling horses. Must have strong riding and training skills. Maintain vehicles/trailers.
Will provide some training as a guide. Must have a truck. No felons. Room and board provided plus pay. Pay depends on ability and skill. We will pay the cost to maintain your truck ( oil changes, brakes and gas when in use. You can email us at [email removed]. Kathy

I doubt it pays well if they aren't providing a truck.

Wow, 1200 acres! And I thought I lived on a good amount of land.

Anyway, Tele is right, jobs like that rarely pay much.

 :roll-laugh1: :roll-laugh1:  Gator wrestling  :roll-laugh1: :roll-laugh1:

It is probably true that this type of job doesn't pay all that well.  But money isn't always everything.  I am thinking that for a lot of young guys, simply learning how to work would be a good life skill.  Too many young guys spent much of their time growing up in front of TV/Internet/smartphone etc.  They don't know how to do hard physical work.  I am by trade an underground miner, and believe me, over the years I seen lots of 'fresh meat' come through the mines.  Young men in the prime of life that had absolutely NO idea how to work and how to work safely.  It is a basic skill that seems to be lacking in a lot of the younger men (millenials is that what they are called?).  

Anyways, even one summer of farm/ranch work would help a lot of these guys out, call it character building   even if most of these guys went on to seminary, or higher education etc.  It is a life skill that would pay dividends through out their lives.

Luke