The American Fisheries Society publishes the "AFS GUIDE TO FISHERIES
EMPLOYMENT SECOND EDITION".

http://www.afsbooks.org/x55053xm

If this link doesn't work, search for the title and you should be able
to find the book.

On Fri, Mar 11, 2011 at 9:05 AM, Olyssa Starry <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dear list,
> I am interested in this topic, and specifically the variety of positions out
> there for people with science degrees (or who are thinkng of getting them)
> and who are deciding whether they want to be researchers, practitioners, or
> managers.  Does anyone know of a publication that highlights specific career
> paths (granted these paths are not clear-cut, but it might help to at least
> define them)?  I am looking specifically for a document that would describe
> these environmental careers in terms of training required, mission, and
> typical work activities (ie whether they involve basic research or more
> applied work).
> Thanks,
> Olyssa
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 12:21 AM, Warren W. Aney <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> There have been relevant responses to Malcolm's challenge.  Even so, let me
>> offer something semi-relevant using a perspective gained from a career with
>> government followed by several years as a consultant:
>>
>> You can go to work for a government agency and end up very content with
>> maintaining a status quo.
>> You can get an academic appointment and end up satisfied with a short
>> publication list in obscure journals and herding a progression of students
>> through the mill.
>> You can work for a not-for-profit organization begging for grants and then
>> feel useful completing a long string of short term random projects.
>> Or you can become a consultant with wildly fluctuating incomes and work
>> loads and perhaps successfully educate or transform a client or two without
>> selling your soul.
>>
>> So what do you want to accomplish given your knowledge and skills?  What do
>> you hope is going to happen because of you?  These should be the top
>> criteria for selecting a career slot in ecology.
>>
>> If you're good at planning, organizing and performing improved ecological
>> management, then a government job may be the way to make a difference.
>> If you're good at discovering and comprehending the meaning of rigorous
>> ecological details and inspiring others to employ this knowledge, then
>> academia may be our route.
>> If you are good at envisioning and promoting an ecologically considerate
>> socio-political structure, then some non-profit organizations could make
>> great use of you.
>> And if doing the right thing ecologically in ways that improve both the
>> natural and human systems is your forte (and you don't need to make a lot
>> of
>> money), then consulting can be your field.
>>
>> In every one of these situations, you want to be able to finish your career
>> able to look back and see where things changed and improved because of you
>> -- you didn't just maintain a status quo, do some obscure research, make
>> temporary improvements, or satisfy a client.  You made a difference because
>> you chose the field where you, with your special abilities and interests,
>> could make a difference.
>>
>> And I wish someone had told me that early in my career.
>>
>> Warren W. Aney
>> Senior Wildlife Ecologist
>> 9403 SW 74th Ave
>> Tigard, OR  97223
>> (503) 539-1009
>> (503) 246-2605 fax
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news
>> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of malcolm McCallum
>> Sent: Friday, 04 March, 2011 15:08
>> To: [email protected]
>> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] working in academia vs govt vs consultancies
>>
>> Hi,
>> With all the graduate students and recently graduated on this listserv,
>> might it not be interesting to compare from personal experience working in
>> different academic sectors (e.g. research, regional, private, public,
>> SLAC),
>> government (e.g. US EPA, USGS, US FWS, NOAA, USACE, USFS, state vs fed),
>> not for profits (e.g. nature conservancy, zoos, museums), and consultancies
>> (e.g. self-employed, tetra tech, &c.).
>>
>> I just think this might be a useful discussion and we seem to have people
>> from all groups!
>>
>> --
>> Malcolm L. McCallum
>> Managing Editor,
>> Herpetological Conservation and Biology
>>
>> "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan
>> Nation
>>
>> 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea"  W.S. Gilbert
>> 1990's:  Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss,
>>            and pollution.
>> 2000:  Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction
>>          MAY help restore populations.
>> 2022: Soylent Green is People!
>>
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