Fuck The Ladder
A glimpse into a career path many can't accept
Why does it need to be this way?
Since the time we’re old enough to make a buck, we’re told to pursue a linear career path. My grandparents preached it. So did my parents: graduate high school, go to college, get an entry-level job, climb the ladder, become the boss.
Well, fuck that.
Explore First
Graduate high school, and do it well. That part matters. But after that? Explore. Try shit. Work every kind of job you can. Experience the ones you like, the ones you hate, and maybe stumble into one you love.
If higher education is calling your name, go all in. Do it for real. It'll be worth it – if you want it.
The Texas Trainwreck
I was pressured into college. And since about age ten, I’ve had a rebellious streak a mile wide. So college? Not exactly a smooth ride.
My freshman year at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas was a goddamn disaster. I earned a 0.75 GPA (how the fuck does one even do that?) before getting the boot.
I spent way too much time doing what I actually loved – working at ranches and sale barns, going to team roping jackpots, and soaking in the sounds of Texas country music at City Limits. That time was wild, and honestly, incredible.
After Tarleton, I landed a rodeo scholarship at Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas. Same story, different zip code: work, rodeo, honky tonks – and one very memorable night involving Hells Angels and strippers at Kermit's Bar. (That’s a story for another day.)
I held down decent grades and wrapped up my two years at Frank Phillips, which is all they offered anyway.
Snow Science, Helicopters, and Parenthood
Next stop: Montana State University, studying Snow Science. I wanted to be a ski industry pro. Midway through the year, I landed a job as a heli-ski guide for Points North Heli in Cordova, Alaska. (The cover image is a screen grab from their website, so thanks, PNH)
And then it hit me: Why the fuck am I still paying for a snow science degree when I already landed the dream job? So I walked away again.
Plus, let’s be honest – snow science is a bullshit degree. It’s like engineering-lite, you study engineering but you’re not an engineer, and there are maybe six real jobs in the world in the field when you graduate. No thanks.
During my fifth season in Alaska, I met Whitney – now my wife. We had our first kid not long after, and I swapped heli drops and whitewater for diapers and building a home in St. Regis, Montana.
Life was good. The fishing was better.
Back to College – My Terms This Time
Eventually, I got restless. So I chose to go back to college – this time for horseshoeing at Montana State. Turns out, when you do it on your own terms, college can be awesome.
That experience lit a fire in me that’s never gone out. Tom Wolfe, a true legend in his own right, and my instructor who’s still a close friend, helped reignite my love of learning.
After graduating and working a year as a farrier, I realized something: it’s a bullshit job for me. Not because the work isn’t valuable – it is – but because I’m not built for it.
Shoeing horses is brutally hard work. Jesus fucking Christ.
The TCU Experience
That’s when I applied to the TCU Ranch Management Program. I had no clue how hard it was to get in – tons of interviews, paperwork, more interviews, letters. They only take serious people. People who give a damn about agriculture and want to make it better.
You can read more about my experience at TCU in this post.
I graduated both the MSU horseshoeing program and TCU Ranch Management with flying colors. That’s when it finally clicked: college can actually be fucking awesome.
University of Montana: Best Experience Yet
After cowboying across western Montana, I enrolled at the University of Montana. And honestly? Best educational experience I’ve ever had.
The environment, the professors, the challenge – it was everything. College didn’t just make me smarter. It made me younger.
The best benefit was being a non-traditional student, I didn’t give two fucks what anyone thought about me or what I wore. I was there to learn, and I soaked it all in.
That experience put me on a lifelong path of knowledge. Every day I try to challenge what I think I know and learn something new. Always forward.
Until next time,
Walker