Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been following the threads on KS for several months now and have never heard anyone speak of their full time job (if it's not breeding herps). I would like to know what type of career field you all work in. This is kind of a dumb question, however I want to see the diversity amongst hobbyists.

Residiential Sales for me...I work for CertaPro Painters

Nick

I work for the largest oppressing company in the world as a produce clerk. Thank god I have/breed ball pythons for peace and serentiy.

I make enclosures for other people who want to quit their real jobs and breed snakes for a living.....lol

I run two laser that burns pictures into glass cubes....

I work at a childcare center working with infants.

I work as a graphic designer in marketing for a large clothing company. But I use to work for the worlds largest oppressing company as an assistant manager. I feel your pain. Just a guess, but Walmart SUCKS dude.

Jeff

?

Wal-Mart is an American corporation, and actually the largest retailer in the world according to Wikipedia.

They sell just about everything, from groceries to toys to home supplies.

-Bree
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0.0.1 Okeetee corn snake "Apollo"
DeviantART Gallery

I'm an assistant store manager for a grocery company "Brookshires" located in the south. Retail really bites!!!!!!!!!

I work in the Publix warehouses in Lakeland, the hometown and headquarters of the company. For those who don't know, Publix is the leading grocery chain in the southeast.

I work at a grocery story in the meat department, it's bloody and cold but decent enough. I'm also going to school for mechanical engineering.
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1.1 Normal Ball Pythons (Snakerton and Mathilda)
1.0 Het Albino Ball Python (Walter)
0.1 Albino Ball Python (Perrie)

Full-time: Independent floorcovering installer
Part-time: Computer services (build, repair, networks, web, etc...)

Hoping to make computer services full-time by next summer. I'll miss the money from flooring but I'm getting too old to be crawlin' around on my knees.

Very interesting thread, btw!

Have a great day!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I work full time doing titles and temp plates at a Chrysler Jeep and Dodge store. I use to work with aggressive dogs at a K-9 unit and i am currently trainning to work with seeing eye dogs . Hopefully my snakes and dogs will be full time some day
Kim
N.A.R.C

I'm a telecommunications installer..big words but basically i install internet and phone systems in businesses...and im trying to start my own woodworking business...i want to be my own boss oneday, im tired of making money for the big boss..(im only 23)

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1.0 Albino Ball Python
0.2 normal ball pythons
0.2 normal Redtail boa
1.1 100% Het Albino Redtail boa
1.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.1 Baby Red Uromastyx
0.1 GF Eryn (WC)

I am in an administrative position for a large waste removal company, hopefully moving into the sales department soon when I can make commission and be paid based on performance.

Worked to the bone, paid in chump change.

Thankfully, my fiance was nice enough to purchase a female albino from Camlon Reptiles for me for X-mas. Pictures coming soon!

-John

Well I'm a graduate student studying wetland ecology. So I teach undergraduate labs, and do research. Hopefully I will be done by summer, so I should be doing something else then. Which will be nice as graduate students are not known for their disposable income.

>>Well I'm a graduate student studying wetland ecology. So I teach undergraduate labs, and do research. Hopefully I will be done by summer, so I should be doing something else then. Which will be nice as graduate students are not known for their disposable income.

where are you doing your grad studies, and what's your thesis?
daveb

I teach fourth grade bilingual but have done just about everything else.

I'm a 7th grade science teacher.

I am a commercial broker, working in joint ventures and commercial development. I have degrees in forensics, criminology, and psychology, but theres no $$$ in it, the hours suck, and you really can not have a life, as you are on call all day and night 365 days a year. So I tried commercial finance, and I was good at it, so I started my own company. I also work FULL TIME with my snake collection so I hope to make a little $$$ with it. I like this thread.

swich

What a great thread!
I guess I’m one of the fortunate ones that can play with snakes for a living. I’ve been fulltime for over tens years and my wife Lori has been fulltime for fifteen years. Before I quit my real job I was a NC computer programmer, and hated every minute of it. The only thing that got me through the day was dreaming of the day I could play with snakes as a job (whatever that means). Don’t get me wrong it’s still a lot of work, but I love what I do and God willing I’ll be doing it for another twenty years or more.
Way to go with the thread, this is what these forums should be like. Not all the negative crap that goes on so often. Have a great day, Brian (BHB)

Brian...Could you explain how it felt for you when you made the career transition. What is a typical day like for you now?
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Nick

2.2 Normals
1.0 Poss. Het for Carmel Albino
1.0 Dbl Het for Green/Yellow Ghost
0.0.1 Snow Corn

Hi,

I’ll try not to make this too long because I could go on forever. First, it wasn’t as easy as you would think. When you have a career you have structure in you life. Then you go out on your own and it feels like you have no structure at all. So you have to relearn how to be productive. The other thing that I worried about was turning something that I loved to do into a job and making it really feel like a job. I didn’t want to loose the passion for the animals. I would say the first year was a little hard, but after learning how to restructure my time and not look at the animals as a job, even though that’s what’s paying your bills, it was great. Each year we have grown and it seems like it will never end. Of course we couldn’t grow if it weren’t for our clients. We build a 15,000 sq foot building three years ago and I really thought that I would never fill it. But already I’m running out of room and thinking beyond this place. I have a great passion for the business and the animals and also have a great respect for them. I’ll never take for granted how blessed I am. Keep up the good work with the great topics and I’ll look forward to posting more! Thanks, Brian (BHB)

that is unbelieveable at the size of your place. i dont know how your are able to sell so many animals? you should charge a small fee to tour your place. i would be the first one in line. i dont know how i got into this but i must say it addictive! i only have 4 morphs about 6,000 value. but i cant wait to get more. i have yet to be able to breed my animals. next year will be the test. although i have a small collection so far i keep them in a nice animal plastics rack, i breed my own rats. i take excellent care of them. but i have no support from anyone so sometimes the people around me think im nuts. (LOL). the truth is i really love this hobby and would love to be able to make a few dollars from it eventually just so i can get more great looking snakes. p.s you said you didnt want to make your story to long as far as for me i could listen and hopefully learn from a couple like yourselves. keep up the great work and hope to see your display at the next daytona. p.s please put the website together.

HI,
Addictive is the word for sure I don't think it ever ends, it sure hasn't for me. I'm sure that if you're working with your animals because you love them that you'll make a profit. And then you can be like me and just keep buying more snakes. I'll look forward to seeing you in Daytona and that website is making progress. I really think it'll be nice when it's done. Thanks again, Brian (BHB)

Hey Brian,

How long did you do it as a hobby before it became a business? I would love to have a job where all I do is take care of snakes all day. I have been only in the hobby for 3 years and have a small collection of just under 50 ball pythons, but would love to have more. I have to agree, this hobby is very addictive.

Kyle

50 animals of any species is not a small collection for a hobbyist, lol. I remember the days when I first got started with breeding reptiles (15 years ago) when I was 13 that a large breeding group of animals was like 3.8 of the same species. Now if you don't have hundreds people think it's a small collection. I'm proud of our collection (around 75 animals) and look forward to adding several more species and hopefully being able to add a little pocket cash to buy even more animals, lol.

I will say this, after talking with Brian in daytona, he is a straight up guy. And on a side note for Brian, we bought some het pied females from you in Daytona in 05 and one of them is a nice 1640g animal that is locked up right now to a het from alan bosch, here's hoping for a pied or two in several months.
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons:::

1.0 striped vanilla
1.0 spider
1.2 Citrus Ghost and hets
1.2 Albino and hets
2.3 het Pied
0.6 50% poss het pied
1.1 Pastel (male has additional gene going on with him)
a bunch of normal female breeders
a bunch of normal female holdbacks and several rescued normal males

0.1 columbian boa, she's a feeding monster, controls my
over production of rats, lol
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa, another rat eating monster
1.1 corns

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

HI,

I appreciated the business and I wish you the best of luck this coming year. There's still nothing better than hatching a pied. Well, I guess hatching a bunch of Pieds?? Thanks, Brian(BHB)

lol, well after you seen TSK's collection or another big breeder, your collection looks seem very small. Good luck w/ the het pieds.

Kyle

HI Kyle,

I've neeb breeing snakes for about twenty years, but we became a business is 1989. So I guess I worked and ran my business for about seven years. That was a tough time, working all day and then working most of the night on the animals. But it's like I said in the post above, if it wasn't for the snakes I wouldn't have been able to put up with my job
Remember if you continue to love what you do that's where you'll make the most money. But you have to be patient as well as enjoy the journey. That way you'll be profitable in all ways. Keep it up, Brian (BHB)

Maybe doing it as a biz will be something to look forward to one day. But I am fine w/ it being a hobby, lol even though my family and ALL my friends think I am nuts.

Kyle

I work for a Geotechnical Engineering company, that performs Geotechnical and Environmental engineering, materials testing, lab work, and field work, which is what I do. I perform Soil density testing, footing inspections, Concrete testing, soild and concrete sampling, Asphalt testing for roads and parking lots, and lab testing every once in awhile. I have a pretty cool job, and working outside in Southern California does not suck! I plan on getting my Masonry Inspection card soon. I put in at least 2 hours a day cleaning and feeding the collection. Saturdays, usually about 4 hours.

Dave

Professional drummer/percussionist, and teacher of the same. I also work at a crappy chain petstore when business is bad. It sucks, but I need to make money.

I'm also a full time student of music education and performance, and I hope to someday teach instrumental music in a public school so that I can turn my career as a professional musician and private lesson teacher into more of a hobby, as things tend to generally be more fun when I'm not dependent on it for the money. That's why all of my reptile projects have remained my favorite hobbies. Once reliance on money from reptiles comes into play, the fun seems to get a little bit lost along the way due to concerns about making enough money and such. Don't get me wrong...if I could breed reptiles for a living and be somewhat worry free, I would. For now it's just a hobby.

Im a Chef/Baker, currently working for a bagel/pastry shop, and with no pc at work my idle time is spent making dough into snakes, and daydreaming of the day that my snakes make me dough!
and Gregory is a vet tech who gets to work with all sorts of critters, lucky devil. Not to mention the job we have cleanin up after all our own critters.

Kelly
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1.0 CB Boyfriend (Gregory)
1.1 Burmese (Gravity, Niran (turns out hes a she!)
1.1 Albino Burm (Rodimus, Typhoid Mary)
5.9 Ball python(too many to list)
1.0 Green tree Python (Scotty Don't)
1.0 Amazon Tree Boa (BigE)
0.1 Hog Island (Jane)
0.1 Nic red tail (Bonita)
1.1 Central Amer. Red tails(Pugsy, Odessa)
0.1 Ambon Retic(marilyn)
4.3 King snakes (various phases)
1.2 Rat snakes
1.1 Blood Pythons(Taint, Dee)
2.4 Leopard Geckos
2.0 dumb-estic cats (nugget & pedro)
1.0 Pit Bull (joker)
0.1 Jack russell/chihuahua (Harley)
1.0 MinPin (Bishop)

I'm a full time professional firefighter/EMT and own a small lawn business, apart from breeding snakes. I've been breeding snakes since 95 and am completely addicted. As far as profiting...i do profit for the most part, but i always seem to reinvest, stock the rodent freezer, buy cages, trade. Its a never ending process. One of these years i'll try to end up with some cash profit, but for now, i'm really enjoying all the morphs and possibilites so who knows. I'm fairly new to this forum but have enjoyed it so far.

Chad

I'm a full time student majoring in biology. I have been lucky in that I have made my time as an undergraduate coincide with my obsession with herps. I am currently doing research with timber rattlesnakes and run the "animal room" at my college.
--Nick
www.iaherp.org

I'm a kitchen, bath, office, misc designer for the largest home improvement warehouse (also a very large pet supply house). I love what I do and knowing a part of me goes into people's homes is indescribable. Getting the thanks and praise when the projects are done is priceless. There's nothing like having a client come back to you after several years and having them thank you for what you have created for them. Still my most rewarding job is not the design not the snakes or lizards but raising three beautiful children.
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Louie

Injection Molded Plastics, Process Engineer....

Indiana_Dan