He attended the Academic Gymnasium and started his military service in 1815 as furir at the Fuhrwesenkorps (Train) [de].
Besides his civil service career, he wrote more than 70 plays for the suburban theaters of Vienna with which he achieved considerable success although they mostly only reached (quite wanted) mediocrity.
The competition with the then very popular playwright Franz Xaver Told let him move to the Theater an der Wien but his heyday was over.
His work Die Hammerschmiedin aus der Steiermark oder: Folgen einer Landpartie (music by Franz von Suppé) became one of his last successes in 1842.
In September 1838 Schickh's work Noch ein Kobold, aber vermuthlich der letzte oder: Der junge Herr muss wandern was published and, in contrast to Told's and Nestroy's versions, found approving acceptance ("[...] so any unbiased person will have added the words in silence: And the best so far!".