Please reply all with any responses! I graduate soon and plan to work other technician jobs past what I already have to find what route my graduate studies should take. Success stories, or just stories in general, would be amazing.
On Fri, Jun 29, 2018, 11:53 PM Meghan Bohn <mboh...@hotmail.com> wrote: > As an older recent graduate looking to transition from animal keeping to > something more conservation/education focused, I'd like to see some success > stories as well. 😊 > > Meghan > > Meghan Bohn > Animal Keeper, Peoria Zoo > ------------------------------ > *From:* Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news < > ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU> on behalf of Jason Hernandez < > jason.hernande...@yahoo.com> > *Sent:* Friday, June 29, 2018 11:32 PM > *To:* ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU > *Subject:* [ECOLOG-L] Those rare success stories... > > Now that the academic year has ended, the big wave of seasonal field jobs > has abated, as have the inevitable posts by graduating students hoping to > find one. And I have to admit, I have gotten a little jaded. I put myself > in the shoes of one of those young people... > > ...Tropical rainforests have had a lot of exposure for many years now, it > is no surprise when a young person is inspired to pursue a career in > conservation, with hopes of making a difference in the tropics. But as you > search for opportunities, what do you find? Every opportunity in a tropical > environment is a volunteer position or an unpaid internship. Some cover > your expenses; some expect you to cover your own airfare; some even charge > you a fee. But, you rationalize, it's an investment in your future; you > will gain a new skill set and valuable experience for your resume, make > contacts in the conservation world for your network.. So you take the > unpaid job. You have a wonderful experience, you learn a lot. But then you > begin to notice that every season, it is the same. Every position in the > tropics is unpaid. If you were an organization with limited resources, why > would you pay someone when there is a steady stream of idealistic young > people eager to work for free? As the young person, how many of these > unpaid jobs can you afford before you have to give up and go mitigate > wetlands for a strip mall developer, or count dead bats on a wind farm? > > It can't possibly be that way for everyone. I am interested in the stories > of young people who succeeded in pursuing this dream sustainably. How did > you make it happen? > > Jason Hernandez >
