Q: I'm interested in becoming a climber, hiker, explorer, anything that has to do with getting back to nature, fighting against the elements, and testing myself. I want to be a professional photographer and capture climbing expeditions and the like on film. I was wondering if you had any advice for how to get into these kinds of things. How did you get started? I'm a sophmore in high school. How can I start preparing now?

—Justin Hinkley
Battle Creek, Michigan

If you're a sophomore in high school and you already know what you want to do with your life, let me tell you, you've seriously got your act together. I didn't figure out what I wanted to do until well after college. If someone had told me that I could be a professional climber/adventurer/writer, I'm not sure I would have believed them. When I was in college I paid a visit to the career counseling center and they had me take a test that would supposedly determine my aptitude for various careers. Let's just say that all the choices were pretty lame. The only one that was remotely interesting was tree surgeon. Swinging around on ropes with a chainsaw might not be bad. I am a bit disappointed that no one ever mentioned the unlimited possibilities with writing and photography. I remember once asking one of my mentors if I could make a living writing articles for magazines. He told me, "Absolutely not, it's impossible, don't even bother trying." This was bad advice and I can tell you that he was dead wrong.

If you want to be a photographer, try to shoot and learn as much as you possibly can. Look for internships and other programs where you can get yourself into some type of an apprenticeship. One of the most valuable things I did when I graduated from college was taking an unpaid internship at Climbing Magazine. At the time it seemed like kind if a waste of time, but looking back I can say that this one job had a huge impact on the direction my life and career has taken since. Also, and I can't emphasize this enough, it is never too early to start networking. My parents used to always tell me, "It's not what you know, but who you know." As an idealistic teenager, I rebelled at this whole idea because it didn't seem to me like the way it should be. Maybe, but it is the way it is. With writing, I find that by far the hardest part is getting the assignments—writing them is simple by comparison. Don't underestimate how much of photography is actually salesmanship, selling your work and your ability to do it. A few other rules I've tried to live by: Never turn down an assignment and never miss a deadline. Show people that you are good on the follow-through, and it will most likely lead to more work.

You can do it!