During his high school summers, Scott worked various jobs to earn money for college. Working on an oyster boat off the coast of Long Island, New York, during one summer, the hardened fishermen mocked him for not drinking alcohol. When a man went overboard and 17-year-old "Scotty" was the only sober man on board, he was sent overboard to look for him. In other summers, Scott cut down trees in Utah for the forest service and repaired railroad cars; he also worked as a dishwasher and assistant cook for a logging company in Utah.