Fishers

If you live on one of the coasts or the Great Lakes, you can try to find summer work on a small fishing boat or at a fishing port. You might at least have the opportunity to go out on a fishing boat; contact a state department of fish and game to learn more about the local fishing industry and about opportunities to meet fishers. If you do not live near the water, you can learn about saltwater fish by working for a pet shop or a city or state aquarium.

Join high school and/or college fishing clubs and teams to learn fishing techniques and strategies and meet people with shared interests.

Talk with a fisher about his or her career. Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What type of tools and equipment do you use to do your work? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What are some key skills for success? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job? How will advances in technology change the field? Ask your school counselor to help arrange an interview.

After high school, you can look into working for a cold storage facility or cannery in Alaska. Though this factory-line work, called working on the "slime line," won't involve actually going out in a fishing boat, you will get a great sense of the business and will have the opportunity to meet people in the commercial fishing industry.