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Austin Forsyth Job: How Will Joy-Anna Duggar’s Betrothed Support Their Family?

By Aaron Homer
Published on: 11:53 PST, Mar 4, 2017

What is Austin Forsyth’s job? That’s the question fans of the older Duggar girls are asking after news broke this week that the fourth-oldest Duggar daughter (and ninth-oldest Duggar kid) and her longtime beau are officially engaged.

As of this writing, it’s not 100 percent clear what the 22-year-old’s job is, as it doesn’t appear to be something that he’s publicly talked about. Unofficially, however, there are some clues about his family that may offer hints about what he does to pay the bills.

Austin’s family, according to a November 2016 Us Weekly report, owns an Old West-themed Christian camp in Saint Paul, Arkansas: The Fort Rock Christian Family Camp, which, among other things, at one time boasted the longest zip line in Arkansas!

“Head out to the Old West and join us for one of Fort Rock’s many Family Camps! Nestled in the heart of the Ozarks, you and your family are sure to enjoy the great outdoors and experience gracious country living! The younger cow pokes in your family will enjoy our new additions here at the Fort, we’ve added some horses that even they can ride! We’ve got comfortable lodging, delicious home-cooked meals, and activities for all ages!”

As of this writing, Austin himself still appears on the website, in photos of his family posing at the ranch. So it seems safe to assume that, during camping season at least, Austin is raking leaves, chopping wood, preparing meals for campers, and whatever else needs to be done around the family business.

Back in 2009, Austin was featured on a different reality show, CMT’s World’s Strictest Parents, which in part focused on the Forsyth family and how they were raising their kids, Austin included. The Forsyths, who are friends with the Duggars, share similar views when it comes to child-rearing: at the time, the family revealed that Austin was not allowed to “date,” but only to “court” instead (“courting” being an old-fashioned relationship model in which the male suitor gets the girl’s father’s permission to pursue a relationship with his daughter, and during which all dates are chaperoned and physical contact is limited to hugs). Other revelations about Austin’s upbringing included the fact that he was required to take a vow not to have sex until marriage; that he could not close his bedroom door; and, most importantly to this post, he was required to get up every morning at 6:30 to help with household and camp chores. Of course, Austin was 15 at the time and most likely didn’t have much choice in the matter.

At this point it bears noting that Austin’s presumed employment at his family camp is only that: a presumption. It could very well be that he has some other job that isn’t publicized.

Not for nothing, Austin isn’t the only partner in the relationship with a steady paycheck. According to a February 2016 International Business Times report, Joy-Anna is also slogging it out in the trenches, joining her brother Jedidiah in interning at the Arkansas State House of Representatives.

Of course, there’s another source of income for Austin and Joy-Anna that isn’t talked about as much: they get paid for appearing on Counting On. How much they get paid is not clear, but it’s almost certainly not zero. According to a June 2016 Business Insider report, even B-list players on reality TV programs can make a few thousand bucks per season. That’s not Kardashian money, but it’s not minimum wage, either.

Do you think Austin Forsyth should keep his job at his family’s campground or look for a better one?

[Featured Image by gpointstudio/Thinkstock]

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