Yes me too! I would love to know how people recently out of school or otherwise are sculpting their careers. I graduated from undergraduate in 2013 and have had a few really wonderful paid work experiences doing data collection, but always seasonal and usually not a way to move up at it. Then for the last year and a half I have worked for a wonderful NGO (Mongolian Bankhar Dog Project) - an amazing experience. I started off working for them for a small stipend and covering my expenses, and eventually I asked for a full salary and got it. But still, they cannot afford me long-term and because of our small size, I don't have as much mentorship as I might have at a larger program. So I am moving on to graduate school with the plan that more education plus my experience will lead me to work where I can really apply my skills, make amazing conservation programs, and... oh yeah! Get paid well and for the longterm!
I don't count myself a 'success story' yet, and as next steps get closer, some examples of people making it work for them would be really helpful to me. Good luck everyone out there looking for work or continuing school. On Sat, Jun 30, 2018 at 11:57 AM, Adam Schultz < adam.t.schu...@wolves.northern.edu> wrote: > 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 >> >
