Author Topic: A Good Profession for a Man These Days (Read 3145 times)

ShepherdofSheep · « **Reply #15 on:** January 27, 2013, 07:02:54 PM »

Another one I forgot is sheep ultrasound tech. There is a HUGE demand for them right now...people are flying in people from England to the US and Canada just to get their ewes pregnancy scanned. Huge-scale commercial breeders are making great use of these services, as are smaller scale purebred breeders using artificial imsemination and embryo transfer programs. You can add doe (goat) pregnancy scanning to this as well.

JohnGrey · « **Reply #16 on:** January 27, 2013, 08:28:26 PM »

Quote from: ShepherdofSheep

Another one I forgot is sheep ultrasound tech. There is a HUGE demand for them right now...people are flying in people from England to the US and Canada just to get their ewes pregnancy scanned. Huge-scale commercial breeders are making great use of these services, as are smaller scale purebred breeders using artificial imsemination and embryo transfer programs. You can add doe (goat) pregnancy scanning to this as well.

Aren't large commercial animal breeders reliant on government subsidies to maintain operations?

PereJoseph · « **Reply #17 on:** January 27, 2013, 08:50:19 PM »

Quote from: Graham

The world needs coppersmiths, leatherworkers, potters, bookbinders, and glassblowers too, not only welders and electricians. Consider aligning yourself with utility and beauty.

Indeed. An electrician or plumber may not have quite as much demand in a future without mega cities based on cheap fuel and large scale mechanised industry. When I was looking to become a craftsman, I desired to become a master in something beautiful but also something ancient, a real craft that linked me to thousands of years of history. Thus, I was interested in timber-framing, in learning the old methods of the mediaeval and classical masters. Be careful, though, that you choose something that has a good program for learning. There are many programs for timber-framing in Europe, and they include living in a house as an apprentice for several years, eating common meals and so forth (at least in France). Perhaps this might not suit you, as it did not suit me due to my other obligations and some other difficulties. The key seems to be to find a good program that will easily lead to a rewarding life-long craft with sufficient income to support a family, if that is indeed your choice and you don't have a vocation. Being any kind of metal smith, a leather worker, potter, bookbinder, glassblower, luthier, shipwright, or some other kind of skilled artisan is both honourable and practical.

ShepherdofSheep · « **Reply #18 on:** January 27, 2013, 09:12:46 PM »

Quote from: JohnGrey

Quote from: ShepherdofSheep
Another one I forgot is sheep ultrasound tech. There is a HUGE demand for them right now...people are flying in people from England to the US and Canada just to get their ewes pregnancy scanned. Huge-scale commercial breeders are making great use of these services, as are smaller scale purebred breeders using artificial imsemination and embryo transfer programs. You can add doe (goat) pregnancy scanning to this as well.

Aren't large commercial animal breeders reliant on government subsidies to maintain operations?

Some are and some aren't. I won't speak for other livestock industries, but the "subsidies" that are offered to sheep farmers are very ineffective and the ones who are faring the best, in my experience, are those making it on their own. The sheep industry is in need of a major overhaul which will only be accomplished through the shepherds themselves, not the government, and it's starting to take place at a smaller level. The larger commercial operations are looking at things from more interesting angles, and it's quite interesting to see the new developments on these operations and their effect on the industry as a whole.

If you are interested in discussing this, I'd be happy to do so, although I won't get into the subject further here, or else it will result in a major thread derailment!

Spork · « **Reply #19 on:** January 27, 2013, 10:52:51 PM »

Go into the pet sitting business. Seriously. Learn to groom. Get insured and bonded, advertise, and walk, feed, and style other peoples' 'babies'. House sitting, cleaning, and maintenance are also extra income opps. Sounds sissy, but owning one's own business is where it is at.