[pct-l] Pct-L Digest, Vol 62, Issue 38

[Heather]

"Like", from a retired Boeing Engineer ;)

> Message: 21
> Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:47:55 -0600
> From: Jennifer Zimmerman <jenniferlzim at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Jobs after the Trail
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID:
>    <CAC5z1v9VLA7xaBmPcPmX7CYzx_UfK58pTdFxr5E28Q9ECxxNdw at mail.gmail.com>
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> 
> Additionally, depending on how much planning and pre-work you do in advance
> of your hike, I would think that an undertaking like this could be brought
> up in an interview as an example of project management skills - a long-term
> event with tons of logistics and uncertainty that resulted (hopefully!) in
> success.  Yes, there is a robust and info-filled community around the PCT
> that makes thru-hiking much easier than it was even 10 years ago, but it
> still takes discipline and flexibility to pull off something like this.
> 
> How did you plan your resupplys?  How did you assemble and test your gear
> to make sure it would work?  What unexpected challenges did you encounter
> and how did you deal with them?  How did you decide on your timing and
> pace?  And how did you motivate yourself to keep that pace - to wake up and
> hike a marathon day after day?
> 
> I know a lot of this might sound like it's not a big deal after
> you've researched it - and everyone says that the trail will blow your
> planning out of the water within the first week - but from the perspective
> of someone who is not a long-distance hiker and who is looking to hire
> a self-directing self-starter I would think this is gravy.  At the large
> company I work for this would hit a lot of positive points.  It can easily
> be translated into the "corporate-speak" of goals, motivations,
> commitments, flexibility, etc.
> 
> I work in food R&D, so I plan to use my resupply strategy of homemade meals
> as a selling point if I interview in the industry post-hike.  I keep
> detailed documentation of my dehydrator batches and I can go on and on
> about meal selection: balancing calorie load, nutrition, taste, shelf-life,
> ease of preparation, cost, and timing.  If you can find an aspect of the
> hike that specifically aligns with your career in parks, or even just a
> personal interest, that could make you the candidate that stands out in the
> mind of someone who is hiring.  How many people love their hobbies enough
> to make this kind of commitment to them?
> 
> Just my two cents - sorry for the essay and all the corporate buzz-words!
> 
> JZ