My advice is: forget about graduate school. Find a way to get going
with your dreams, passions interests and desired work rather than
seeking "training" for it. I am 35 and the only thing that would take
me back to any kind of school would be if I wanted to go to law or
medical school, or some sort of professional training with a very
specific and targeted purpose in mind. I CERTAINLY wouldn't do
something like a postdoc or other similar type of temporary technician
position. Life's just too short.
Consider positions with the government or even some sort of
entrepreneurial track (the latter is what I am doing now - or maybe work
for or start some sort of non-profit organization). Don't be afraid to
apply for grants to do the work you want to do, particularly private
organizations/foundations who care less about the unfortunate academic
pyramid shaped ivory tower hierarchy or titles.
You might find some useful information in the articles posted on this
facebook page - email me if you would like me to send you a large list
of them all in a single email.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Postdoc-Union/275402225908673
Good luck and feel free to email me directly if you would like any more
specific information, etc.!
ATD of ATB
--
Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs
Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation
http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/
http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs
1-352-281-3643
On 1/30/2013 4:31 PM, Sean wrote:
Having graduated with an abysmal GPA from Colorado State University back in
2000 ( wildlife
biology 2.7), I have found it very difficult getting into graduate school.
Two winters ago I
completed two graduate level classes at Oregon State: Forest Wildlife
Management and a
graduate Statistics course. Unfortunately just a B+ on the statistics but A
on the wildlife. Of
course I have a ton of field experience going back 14 years in lots of
different taxonomic
groups. Having just turned 36 I'm at my wits end trying to move forward. So
I am soliciting
advice. Would a non-thesis program like the field naturalist program at U. of
Vermont be
worthwhile? Frankly at this point I want to get into something permanent.
I'll always engage
my naturalists interest regardless of the employment I have. If I do
something unfunded (such
as non-thesis) I would really need to have good employment prospects coming out
of it.
Sage words of wisdom are welcome! I'm completely open to any and all advice.
My ideal
situation would be a thesis based M.S. on any of the many taxa I have
experience with (birds,
butterflies, amphibians, bats, plants etc).
-Sean
--
Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs
Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation
http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/
http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs
1-352-281-3643
