Advice for Beginning Wildlife Biologists

[elkhunter505]

I just read up on the careers thread and noticed that there are quite a few wildlife professionals in the mix. Having my undergraduate degree and working some seasonal positions for both Nevada Department of Wildlife and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. I am finally looking at going back to graduate school and I was hoping to get some opinions from you all on the things you would say would have been the most helpful to you in your earlier days. I’m working at a dead end job right now just to have full time work and I’m hoping that the graduate degree will help me bridge that gap. How did you guys get into the field? And what paths did you take job wise, degree wise, and really anything you could impart on me. Thanks for anything everyone!

 

[Lukem]

Be patient. Don't take the wrong job just to have a job.

Be willing to work anywhere for anybody and don't just treat it as a job. Learn everything you can and particularly why you're doing what you're doing. Learn why your supervisor makes the decisions they do. Try to understand the bigger picture.

Unless you're interested in staying in academia, don't worry about what your Master's degree focuses on. Make sure it's wildlife and wildlife management (or land management, etc.) and do a good job at it.

Do your best to get variable experiences, be diverse in who you are as a biologist. Be a jack of all trades. You might be a master of none, but you'll be better off for it. You have the rest of your life to figure out what area you want to master.

Have fun!

 

[Huntindog45]

stay out of the regulatory world. It is tempting because there are a ton of biology related jobs ...but damn they suck. I tell people I am a biologist and they a think i am out wrestling critters.... i sit in a cube and work on permits..... i took the job i needed more than the job i wanted. Find the job you want before you settle down and have to take a job to support the family. You will have to be willing to move to do that and once you are anchored in place it is tough to find those jobs.

 

[ClearCreek]

Decide where you would like to end up working and go to graduate school in that state.

Become extremely proficient in GIS.

Learn to write and speak well. The better you can write (technical publications) and speak (public speaking) the better off you will be.

Try to get involved in all kinds of wildlife related activities. If that includes volunteering for state or federal biologists, do it.

As has been mentioned, be willing to move and be willing to spend time in places that may be (to some at least) very isolated.

Be willing to do the grunt labor. Doing these jobs will is where you get known.

Ask questions. Find out the how and why of things.

And, grow a thick skin. You will not believe how many anglers and hunters are experts on fish and wildlife management and they are not timid about letting you know how you should do your job.


Good luck. The fish and wildlife field can be both very rewarding and very frustrating at the same time.

ClearCreek

 

[tt_johnsclist]

ClearCreek did a pretty great job outlining what I was going to write. Just to add and/or reinforce:
Work hard and produce a good product and publications from your masters degree. A masters is all but required in wildlife anymore and learning how to speak and write is extremely important.
Meet people and set a good impression always. “Who you know” is can go along way in this field, more so than other careers. Volunteer, work seasonal jobs, and attend professional conferences to expand your network in your desired field.
Be willing to move often and far working seasonal jobs as needed to get your foot in the door. That being said, have a long term goal of where you want to end up and with some patience you will likely achieve it.



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[FLAK]

Some excellent advice here. I have the education but never could get my foot in the door, even at the most basic level. Its a fine line to walk, you have to get experience but the experience you get will determine what you get down the road. If you want to work with Bears but take a job in Florida working with sea turtles, you may have done more harm than good. I ended up taking a job in Agriculture, 19 years later I'm still in Ag.

 

[elkhunter505]

Thanks guys I really appreciate it. I’m having trouble having already met a girl so that limits me to certain things haha but she’s lenient enough that I have the option to go to grad school and then move some places. It’s hard to keep up with the seasonals when other people are relying on you but I’m figuring my way out. I’m lucky I have some great contacts from my first two jobs that I tap into a lot for my references and hopefully getting into school this next spring or fall will go easy.

 

[elkhunter505]

I’m also lucky that my girlfriend is a 4H leader so my public speaking through her and through being an ambassador for my college has become very good compared to what I thought it would ever be.

 

[Bear_Hunter]

You have to have things that set you apart from the other guy to make it. It's an extremely competitive field, and getting that first permanent job can be tough, and a discouraging process. A masters is a must, but having one is no guarantee of getting a job. Everyone has a masters now, and if they don't, they're trying to get one like you. It can even be a quite competitive process to get accepted into a masters program. To do that, you need a good GPA and a good GRE score. Once you get accepted into a graduate program, you'll need to keep your good grades there. Be active in clubs such as the student chapter of the wildlife society (become an officer). Show you have leadership skills. While doing your masters, seek out ways to present on your research. Get noticed! Become a TA if possible. Develop those public speaking skills, that will set you apart from a large portion of the field. Volunteer all you can. Show initiative. Your graduate advisor can be your best asset with a strong recommendation letter, so bust your a$$ and impress them.

Get to know biologists. Don't burn any bridges, it's a small world. A good word from a biologist you volunteered/worked for can go a long way. But a bad reference will go even further. Do things that build your resume for the field (dead end jobs don't). Even after you get your masters degree, and you've developed an awesome resume and have great references, you're still competing with actual wildlife biologists for wildlife biologist jobs. Be willing to move to get the experience. Also, understand that after getting your masters degree, you may have to be willing to start at the bottom (technician level) and work your way up into biologist positions with some agencies. Don't expect to walk into your dream job after getting your degree. Good luck!

 

[ODB]

Find a mentor.

 

[Huntindog45]

Decide where you would like to end up working and go to graduate school in that state.

Become extremely proficient in GIS.

Learn to write and speak well. The better you can write (technical publications) and speak (public speaking) the better off you will be.

Try to get involved in all kinds of wildlife related activities. If that includes volunteering for state or federal biologists, do it.

As has been mentioned, be willing to move and be willing to spend time in places that may be (to some at least) very isolated.

Be willing to do the grunt labor. Doing these jobs will is where you get known.

Ask questions. Find out the how and why of things.

And, grow a thick skin. You will not believe how many anglers and hunters are experts on fish and wildlife management and they are not timid about letting you know how you should do your job.


Good luck. The fish and wildlife field can be both very rewarding and very frustrating at the same time.

ClearCreek

THIS...../\

 

[dieNqvrs]

An environmental job for a large energy company is the only job I’ve ever seen where you can truly make a decent living and support a family,in the biology/environmental realm. Regulatory is where a large amount of their work is.

All other biologists I know are challenged financially in some capacity. Have friends that stayed the course and the ones with families/kids struggle and the single ones just do ok.

I have a WIldlife degree, and starved for years working it. Hard to get a job without experience and hard to get experience without a job!!

I had an offer for a masters degree. But the loss of income, accumulation of debt and salary potential once completed didn’t make financial sense. So I pivoted and changed careers.

I know several doctorate lever state/fed biologists that their kids followed in parents path to biology graduation and a few years of field work to quit and go into other biological fields- ie nursing/medicine.

I ended going back to school got an additional degree and into another field. $ is way better and now affords me with time off and money to play in the outdoors that I love so much.

Really think hard. Ask yourself, do I love the outdoors/biology so much and am willing to get paid nothing to “put in my time”, always eating beans and rice to then hopefully get a highly sought after low compensated position and forever be challenged to make ends meet? The higher you go the better the checks are, but the more office/no field time you have to do.

Or other alternate is should I holistically look into a more highly compensated field/position and pursue it knowing that I will have time and money to recreate in the outdoors when I can/want?

Something to consider if you are good with math and still has a human biology-component. : Industrial Hygiene

Hope this helps coming from somebody that came to the crossroads you are on and made a choice that was best for me and my situation. Make the best for you. Good luck. Not easy.

Cheers.

 

[S.Clancy]

I worked in Fisheries for 5-6 years then started grad school in the state I wanted to live, MT. I then quit grad school after the first semester, went and got a Civil Engineering degree and now work for the Gov't. I wouldn't give up those 5-6 yrs for anything because I learned a ton of lessons, but I'm happy where I am now. I figured out I like to solve problems, which I very rarely did in the fisheries world. My advice is make sure this is really want you want to do, cause you're going to be poor and have little control over where you work for a while. If that's ok, I agree with all the responses above as how to progress. Good luck, we need excellent wildlife bios out there.

 

[Clarktar]

I worked in Fisheries for 5-6 years then started grad school in the state I wanted to live, MT. I then quit grad school after the first semester, went and got a Civil Engineering degree and now work for the Gov't. I wouldn't give up those 5-6 yrs for anything because I learned a ton of lessons, but I'm happy where I am now. I figured out I like to solve problems, which I very rarely did in the fisheries world. My advice is make sure this is really want you want to do, cause you're going to be poor and have little control over where you work for a while. If that's ok, I agree with all the responses above as how to progress. Good luck, we need excellent wildlife bios out there.

I'm an ecologist, because engineers need heros also

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[S.Clancy]

I'm an ecologist, because engineers need heros also

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It's heroes....thank God you fly drones around cause you'd make a terrible English teacher.

 

[elkhunter505]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I’m gonna look long and hard at some stuff before I make the decision for graduate school.

 

[Walking Birds]

There's a reason the most common saying in wildlife is "we don't do it for the money" mostly because there isn't any anyway. I've got what some folks would call a cushy job working for a private outfit as an Airport Biologist at a Part 139 Airport, but it's more of a consultancy position with more politics involved than actual wildlife work. I never bothered with the grad school thing, I know many other wildlifers with grad degrees that make as much/little as I do with a bachelors.

I miss the techin jobs, those are the real fun times. They pay doodly squat, but you make some real memories and get to mix with some eclectic folks.

I'll never steer anyone away from working in wildlife, because I really do love the work, but you've gotta have your heart in it if you're going to make it in this field. If I was going to give any advice though, it would be to really choose your jobs, don't let necessity for work get in the way of working with species/guilds that you want to work with. Oh, and Network, Network, Network

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

I get asked this question a lot and my first reaction is to get a different job that pays well enough that you can buy property and be a biologist on your own land when you retire early.

In reality though a masters is absolutely required to get into the field (on the govt side anyways). The guys I know that didn't continue to grad school are not in the field. Entry level jobs are filled by people with their masters and people without one aren't even qualified to apply.

New Mexico Fisheries had some real turnover a few years ago and were desperate for good employees, even with very little experience. You may want to consider that side as well.

 

[ScottinPA]

Gonna show this thread to my son who's going thru his freshman year at PSU for Wildlife Bio.

 

[Tod osier]

One thing to add that I'm not seeing here is that if you are a Wildlife Biologist with a PhD and get an academic job or a federal job, you can make a very good living. We have a lot of friends in Biology with PhDs and they have great jobs with good benefits, good pay, and nice flexible schedules.

Having said that you have to be very good to get those jobs and just getting the PhD doesn't mean much, you need to have the degree AND the work ethic to make sure you have what you need to be competitive for the jobs (which I'd be happy to describe).