I dealt with the same issue for 3 years in-between undergrad and grad school. I spent two Michigan winters mowing down invasives for the Nature Conservancy in areas not as accessible during the summer, but it was miserable work most of the time. If I was lucky they would save 4-6 weeks worth of funding from my summer job at MNFI for me to count tree rings and process samples we collected during the summer. The other times were spent waiting tables and working my high school job at a record shop.
Those times were nerve wrecking as funding was only guaranteed for a few months at a time if I was lucky. In my experience, exhibiting a good skill set (field botany, sampling procedure) and an eagerness to work long days in terrible weather seemed to result in off season funding and having your name passed on to other agencies. Josh Brinks (SERC) On Sun, Feb 13, 2011 at 6:36 PM, Ruchira Datta <[email protected]> wrote: > I just wanted to say how much I admire the dedication of you and the other > seasonal technicians who've responded to wildlife / conservation biology. > Thank you for keeping up the good work! > > --Ruchira > > On Sun, Feb 13, 2011 at 12:15 PM, Merran <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi all, > > > > It's so nice to hear from other seasonal technicians! I work as a plant > > technician and as much as I love winter, it can be a problem. After > > college, I was able to find an awesome job working year-round in Western > > Washington -- it was a revegetation job and we spent our winters > > planting. Another good place to look for a year-round job is in the > > desert. I spent some time volunteering in Joshua Tree earlier this > winter > > and loved it, and I think they spend their February's pulling Sahara > > Mustard > > (a horrible weed). I've also seen that some National Parks will give you > > free board in exchange for volunteering. > > > > I began working seasonally last summer because I wanted to travel and > work > > in new plant communities (incidentally, I worked in Utah and a common > > offseason job there was ski instructing). Being unemployed can really > get > > you down, so I would recommend volunteering whenever you have a break -- > > although the temping idea is a pretty good one. Thanks Zuri! This > winter > > I've been collecting unemployment and volunteering, and it's so much > > fun. I'm currently helping out at a nonprofit that does environmental > > education -- another type of year-round work. > > > > Merran Owen > > >
