Charlives
Elite Member
The only way I can think of would be to metal detect for the army...but I'm guessing that might not be as fun.
How do I turn Detecting into a career?
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scoundrel
six feet under(water)
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scoundrel
six feet under(water)
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dan
Elite Member
Thanks, scoundrel! Love a bit of verbal jousting now and then! So:
I don't follow them, but I'd guess they make their money more from the TV business than the treasure business? I will admit that when I hear someone say they'd like to make a living with their metal detecting finds, I don't think they are talking about becoming cable TV stars. So, anybody doing it without a show biz connection?
No, never read The Fountainhead. In fact, I don't think I've ever read any book that was 700 pages long. But I've read some Horatio Alger books, which I guess are about the same thing, except that Alger's characters aren't congenital sociopaths. And remember, in fiction, anything the author wants to happen, will happen. Not so in real life.
As for Edison, he was a well-financed genius, with a decade of inventions and several substantial patents under his belt before he found his carbon filament. He wasn't a regular guy who just one day decided to quit his day job and support himself and his family by finding things with a metal detector. So, not a valid comparison. (Now true, maybe our guy isn't a "regular guy" - he may be an outstanding, resourceful genius. But I think the odds are still stacked against him, bigtime).
Scoundrel, my point is pretty well covered in my podcast from two years ago on making a living with a metal detector: http://thetreasurecorner.com - show #25. Give it a listen.
Bottom line: Think of what you yourself have found since you began the hobby, and how many hours you've put into it, and figure your approximate "earnings" per hour. For the vast majority of us, it is well below minimum wage, even with a big hit every now and then.
Is there a single reader here who can say they are consistently beating minimum wage? Is there a reader here who has won the lottery? I'd quess that the odds are better that we have a lottery winner here than a treasure hunter who is making a living at it.
I don't follow them, but I'd guess they make their money more from the TV business than the treasure business? I will admit that when I hear someone say they'd like to make a living with their metal detecting finds, I don't think they are talking about becoming cable TV stars. So, anybody doing it without a show biz connection?
Yeah, you got me there. I was exaggerating when I said it "ruined his whole life." It just wiped out his life savings and left him in deep debt. Four years later he is still trying to crawl out of the hole (and he's in his mid-sixties, so who knows if he will make it back before he runs out of time).
No, never read The Fountainhead. In fact, I don't think I've ever read any book that was 700 pages long. But I've read some Horatio Alger books, which I guess are about the same thing, except that Alger's characters aren't congenital sociopaths. And remember, in fiction, anything the author wants to happen, will happen. Not so in real life.
And imagine if the guy who won the lottery last week had taken my advice and not spent his money on lottery tickets. Therefore my advice is wrong? There is always the possibility of exceptions, but going with the odds is generally the best idea.
As for Edison, he was a well-financed genius, with a decade of inventions and several substantial patents under his belt before he found his carbon filament. He wasn't a regular guy who just one day decided to quit his day job and support himself and his family by finding things with a metal detector. So, not a valid comparison. (Now true, maybe our guy isn't a "regular guy" - he may be an outstanding, resourceful genius. But I think the odds are still stacked against him, bigtime).
Which is perhaps even MORE reason to not quit your day job. There are people standing in line for it, and you may not get it back.
Uhh, the law of averages?
I think that's pretty dangerous except for that very rare individual who has what it takes - genius, perseverance, and luck. So we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.
Yep, it's easy to give advice when there are no consequences for the advice-giver.
Wouldn't it be great if he did? If salesmen were actually accountable for the results of their professional persuading?
Scoundrel, my point is pretty well covered in my podcast from two years ago on making a living with a metal detector: http://thetreasurecorner.com - show #25. Give it a listen.
Bottom line: Think of what you yourself have found since you began the hobby, and how many hours you've put into it, and figure your approximate "earnings" per hour. For the vast majority of us, it is well below minimum wage, even with a big hit every now and then.
Is there a single reader here who can say they are consistently beating minimum wage? Is there a reader here who has won the lottery? I'd quess that the odds are better that we have a lottery winner here than a treasure hunter who is making a living at it.
(Heavy)
Elite Member
Invent something, patent it, lease it, become financially independent and metal detect everyday 
scoundrel
six feet under(water)
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scoundrel
six feet under(water)
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needler420
Elite Member
The only way to make it a job would be to make what a salary of at least a minimum wage job would be. Like $200 or so a week and 12k a year estimate.
Most won't come close to it. I think anyone trying to quit their day job to make metal detecting a job is going to short change themselves.
Though i don't see why it has to be a job.
I myself look past it as a hobby and a little as extra income but even if you take the best peoples finds on this site it couldn't be a only source of income.
Gold right now is about $50 a gram so unless you can find 5 grams of gold per week you'll make more flipping burgers at mcdonalds with some over time.
Now if you think like a entrepreneur does then you have other options as well for a source of income within the industry. But to count your finds as a only source of income seems unrealistic to me. You only find what you swing over. You better start selling some homemade sheaths like lol does to go along with your finds.
Though if you want to make a living out of it i think its very possible. Its happening right here its called the sponsors. They are the ones who realistically get a steak on the table from making a living in this industry and at the same time " some of them do it as a hobby".
Most won't come close to it. I think anyone trying to quit their day job to make metal detecting a job is going to short change themselves.
Though i don't see why it has to be a job.
I myself look past it as a hobby and a little as extra income but even if you take the best peoples finds on this site it couldn't be a only source of income.
Gold right now is about $50 a gram so unless you can find 5 grams of gold per week you'll make more flipping burgers at mcdonalds with some over time.
Now if you think like a entrepreneur does then you have other options as well for a source of income within the industry. But to count your finds as a only source of income seems unrealistic to me. You only find what you swing over. You better start selling some homemade sheaths like lol does to go along with your finds.
Though if you want to make a living out of it i think its very possible. Its happening right here its called the sponsors. They are the ones who realistically get a steak on the table from making a living in this industry and at the same time " some of them do it as a hobby".
Brittany-Guy
Forum Supporter
Metal detecting would be my full time job, if I won the lottery before I started.
dan
Elite Member
Okay Scoundrel, we've both had our say - now let's have the OP check in with us a year from today and report on how it's going.
Bonesquat
Elite Member
Look at me, I seem to be doing pretty good lately, made 2k in 3 weeks
... On mu lunch breaks! I bet I would make a killing if i did this full time... AM I AM IN SOUTH FLORIDA.. Silver and gold is everywhere here on our beaches. BUT I would never quit my job... I am doing just fine on my lunch breaks
scoundrel
six feet under(water)
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BAGoonie
Junior Member
, Getem' Scoundrel, lead with two lefts and then follow with a right hook! Dream killers! Usually people who try to dream crush are those with insecurities and dont want you to succeed because they dont have the nads to try! What ever happened to being supportive and offering ideas! I'd hate to live my life with the glass half full! Who cares if a man lives below or above poverty. If he's happy and enjoys his life than all is well. You cant take it with you! Good luck, and I hope you find success in your ventures. Keep that coil to the soil.....Goonie from Va.
dan
Elite Member
Excellent! Go get 'em!
dan
Elite Member
Zowie, hope you're not talking about me there! I made the decision to enjoy my life rather than work for big bucks after my first year in the engineering program at Purdue. I learned that just because you're good at something, it doesn't necessarily follow that you enjoy it.
I spent that summer (after my freshman year) as a draftsman for General Motors, watching guys near retirement draw a line on their drafting board, look up at the clock mournfully, and draw another line. They obviously hated what they were doing. I didn't like it much either.
So that fall, I switched my major to broadcasting and went into radio. I DID follow my dream, big time. Not near as much money, but a lot more fun being a DJ than a mechanical engineer!
After being a DJ, news director, sports director, program director, music director, and public service director at radio stations in three different states, I taught radio broadcasting at a college for 26 years.
I saw many of my students become successful in the field. But the GREAT majority of my students either quit or failed, because radio is a tough business with tons of competition and very little money unless you're in a big market, and having the dream often isn't enough. The only students I ever discouraged were those with speech impediments, and I guided them to other jobs in the industry where they weren't on mic.
Anyway, I am assuming you were talking about me because I'm the main one who said living from metal detecting finds is as probable as winning the lottery. And I do believe that.
Probably his wife and children, for starters.
gtoast99
Forum Supporter
I see a bit of a flaw in your plan... You made a profit of about $5,550 for 5 months of detecting "part time" (about 20 hrs /week). But 72% of that net profit came from a single cache find. How often do you honestly expect to find something valued at $4000+? Every 5 months? Can you honestly say it's likely that you'll produce something that valuable, that often? Show of hands - who here thinks they find a $4000+ find every 400 hours of detecting?
If you take out the outlier, your net income drops to $1550 for 5 months, or $310/mo ($3.88/hour). That's tough to live on to say the least. If you work "full time" and assume the same frequency of finds, that's $620/mo. without you cache. How long can you survive on that before your next "big score"?
I think Dan's "lottery" analogy is actually quite fitting, assuming you're looking w/o research (ie beachcoming, etc). Now, like I said before, there *are* valuable treasure out there waiting to be found. It *is* possible to find them with significant amounts of research and starting capitol. It's still risky, but it's a more viable route. But you have two problems here, too. 1) When you're researching your cache, you're not metal detecting, so you lose that base "income" from your other finds. 2) You're not a professional metal detectorist, you're a treasure hunter, and probably won't get to MD much at all (see my other post).
I just don't think it's possible based on the numbers provided. BUT if you think you can get a $4000+ find every few hundred hours, best of luck to you!
gtoast99
Forum Supporter
Sure thing! My wife and I manage a horse farm, boarding and lessons. The first year it seems like all we did was work haha. We started making a profit around our first anniversary. The schedule got better through the second year, and we're down to a much more reasonable "full time job", now in our third year. We do some barter for work, which helps quite a bit, both to introduce individuals to horses who might not otherwise be able to afford it, and to get more man-hours on the farm. The biggest downside for scheduling for me is that I work 7 days a week, and my wife has lessons 6 days a week (and school on the 7th), so we don't really get away very much. But, since I work for myself, I get to set my hours. So long as I get my needs done, I can work during the day, go MD'ing for a few hours, and work more in the evening (and move those around as I see fit). I am tied to the farm at sunup and sundown, but that's okay by me. Another downside is that our surplus money generally goes back into the farm, so my retirement plan is based on the resale value of the property. Though we're still young (27) and owe quite a bit less than the property value. We don't have a ramen noodle diet, but we're also certainly not wealthy by any means. And that's okay. I have an advanced degree, and could have gone to a much more profitable career path. But like you said, just because you can do it, doesn't mean you'll be happy there. I love what I do, it keeps food on the table and the bills paid, what more could I ask for? Of course, should we end up pregnant (we're not trying!) in the near future, it would be back to the grind for me. This lifestyle is fine for my wife and I, but not to raise a family (though we hope and plan for future business growth, so someday it may be).
OH, one thing I should point out. We knew before hand how many horses we would eventually be able to board, and lessons we'd be able to teach. We knew how much we'd get paid for each, and how much our monthly bills would be. So we were able to figure out before hand whether we would eventually be able to make a profit. I don't think the same can be said for MD'ing. I'm sure you can figure out what your average rate of clad and jewelry finds are. But if you're relying on big scores to pay the bills, there really isn't any way to predict how often they're going to come along. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that I hope you have plenty of reserve to live on during the dry spells, and a plan for maximizing your chances of getting the big scores on a regular basis.
scoundrel
six feet under(water)
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