I quit my real estate job in Indiana and moved to Florida to hunt pythons. Here's what my typical day looks like now.

• Amy Siewe participated in the 2019 Florida Python Challenge and it inspired her to change her life.
• She moved from Indiana to Florida and now owns a guiding service that takes people on python hunts.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with python hunter Amy Siewe. It has been edited for length and clarity.

During college, I had various jobs in the pet and reptile industry, including breeding snakes and working at an exotic pet store part-time. After college, when I started my career as a real estate broker in Indiana, my work with snakes became more of a hobby.

After my first python hunt in Florida in 2019, I knew I'd found my calling. I quit my job and moved to Naples, Florida, to become a contracted python hunter.

Why I hunt pythons

My fascination with snakes started when I was very young. My dad started taking me out to the creek, where he showed me how to catch all kinds of critters, including snakes.

Sometimes I wonder why I couldn't have developed a passion for kittens, puppies, or something a little more "normal," but I guess I was just born to love snakes.

By hunting pythons, I'm using my passion for snakes to make a difference in the world. People don't always understand why I hunt pythons when I love snakes. But because of my fascination with them, I'm not afraid of the pythons.

Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia and are an invasive species in Florida.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew demolished a python breeding facility, sending about 900 pythons into the same general area of the Everglades. People who bought Burmese pythons as pets and let them go when they became too big to feed, house, and handle have also contributed to the problem.

These massive reptiles have become the apex predator in Florida, and they have a voracious appetite.

That's why you'll no longer see some animals, like rabbits, foxes, raccoons, and opossums, in certain parts of the Everglades. Burmese pythons aren't picky eaters, either, so they'll also eat birds and other animals, especially as their main food sources dwindle.

It's not their fault they're here, and I absolutely hate having to kill them. To preserve the Everglades, though, they have to go.

From real estate to python hunting

Real estate is an established industry with processes and systems in place to follow, where you can become successful over time with the proper dedication.

As a python hunter and guide, I bring my love of snakes and appetite for adventure to the hunt, and my entrepreneurial drive to the business. Every single day brings something new, and I thrive on the challenge — I know I'm living my best life.

Now, I spend my time in the swamp, catching these elusive snakes on the move. They're not easy to find, since they don't like to be exposed and spend most of their time not moving.

When they do move, they tend to travel under vegetation, and their colors perfectly camouflage them with their environment.

In the summer, we have to hunt at night since it's so hot. We go out on a truck with a "snake deck" — a built-on platform fitted with lights to see over the sides — driving down the roads very slowly, looking into canals and the grass, searching for pythons.

Sometimes they're in the treeline, sometimes parallel to the road or even crossing the road. They're so big, they usually move pretty slow, and they often don't see us as predators or prey, but as more of an annoyance. When they get spooked and want to go, though, they move very quickly, which makes the capture even more challenging.

Python hunting isn't without its risks

While I started out as a state-contracted python hunter, I now own a guiding service and take people on python hunts. I love this because I get to head out into the Everglades with people who've never gone out before.

I explain all of the laws in place for hunting the pythons humanely, teach them how to spot and catch the pythons, and show them the proper way to euthanize them.

I capture pythons alive and use a captive bolt gun to euthanize them. The American Veterinary Association has approved this method for humane euthanasia of Burmese pythons.

While pythons aren't venomous, they're incredibly strong and powerful animals. Dodging their coils can be a bit tricky, and it's definitely more dangerous to catch the ones over 15 feet long!

They also have a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. I've been bitten many times, and I can say those bites aren't fun. They bleed quite a lot.

Plus, there's always the chance of running into an alligator, panther, bear, or venomous snake. However, these animals tend to stay away from people.

How I respect the pythons I hunt

I want to use as much of the python as possible, but they don't make good eating, since their meat is very chewy and full of mercury.

However, their skin is gorgeous and makes beautiful leather products. This means their beauty can live on, even if they can't be a part of the natural world in the Everglades. I'm pioneering the invasive python leather industry as one of about 10 people who actually skin the pythons, have them professionally tanned, and made into products.

I'm all signed up and ready for the annual Florida Python Challenge, too. This will be my fourth year participating — and I placed second in the 2020 challenge for "Heaviest Python."