r/wildlifebiology

Hey guys, I'm a first year Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology major with plans to pursue a minor in Geographic Information Systems. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do in wildlife yet, and I'm scared that I'll dig myself into a niche hole where I won't be able to financially stabilize myself to go for a master's degree. The job market is daunting for me long term, so I'm looking for potential academic cushions in case working directly with wildlife doesn't go well.

With that in mind, do you guys think it'd be worth it to pursue a double major Environmental Science & Management? I'm leaning towards yes but I'm not sure if it'd make a difference if I was applying for a job after I graduate. I was wondering if it'd catch an employers eye because it's an additional academic skill set, however I'm not sure if that's better and if I should just focus on my one degree. I'd appreciate your guys thoughts!

Hello everybody,

I am in the market for a new field shoe. In the past, I wore more Merlin hiking shoes, but I need something that's a little bit more field-tough. I'm thinking about maybe just switching over to a boot. I would like my new shoes to be snake-proof, waterproof, and breathable, with thick sole padding, because I walk on various rocky terrains all the time, and I'd also prefer them not to give me blisters. If anybody has suggestions for these shoes, let me know.

Hello all, I am struggling trying to pick up experience or establishing myself in this career for wildlife biology or conservation. I have my associates of science already and I am on track to get my bachelors in biology, but I don’t know where to look to get any job experience or internships for the summer working in research. Any advice on where to look? Or who I should be talking to?

Hi! I’m in the process of getting my wildlife bio degree and thought this subreddit would be a good place to ask this question.

Why don’t we ticket people for getting too close to wildlife in National parks? I live near Rocky Mountain and everytime I’m up there during rutting season I see tourists getting way too close to elk. Is that illegal and I’m just unaware?

I feel like tickets would be a great way to discourage people from getting too close, and honestly it would be a great source of income for programs/state and government agencies.

Sorry if these are silly questions! Thank you for your time!

Hello first time poster,

I’m a recent graduate with a bachelors in biology and I’m sure it’s not news to most that it’s tough out there to get into the field. I’ve been applying for jobs since February from trying to find work in federal positions, state level, city level, non profits, etc with no luck. Hell there would sometimes go weeks without a job posting in my state in wildlife.

It’s not like I have zero experience either I’ve had volunteer opportunities in forestry, a seasonal role as a bilingual naturalist assistant, conducted my own research project in using GIS to predict wildlife habitats, was a member of the American Fisheries Society. Everything. I tried my damn best to stand out compared to my other peers and yet still no luck! I’m debating on putting wildlife on a hold and look into a full time position elsewhere probably in the airport since that’s what I was doing before coming into college but I’m scared if I go outside of the field it’ll be hard to get back in, I’ve been told by my professors that it’s the worst possible time to get into the field because of the current administration with all the cuts and that I should wait it out until the next one comes in. So, should I wait it out and fallback into the airport field or do I risk being cut out from the field if I spend too much time outside of it?

My dream goal is to one day become a Wildlife Inspector and I spent 3 years of my life getting a degree in biology with a certificate in GIS it sucks that not even a month after graduation I’m starting to feel I wasted my time for nothing.

Hello R/wildlifebiology, 
 I was wondering if there were any true cons to dandelions? From my very limited research (Please if you have article / book recommendations I’d love to know), the only downsides are that they’re considered invasive, and make manicured lawns not appear uniform. Any particular / specific downsides? And can anyone go into detail about the invasive point? Just because it’s not originally from here, are there any particular ramifications it’s having on its surrounding environment? Is all this bad press from weeding companies for capitalistic gain? 

I’ve also heard plenty of upsides; medicinal, early pollination resources, ability to grow in urban environments, etc. But if you have any of your own upsides please let me know as well :)

Please excuse any stupidness to this question, not my typical field of research! Thank you. 

Hello! I am seeking advice and opinions on my situation, and maybe looking to hear some stories from people who have had similar experiences or have walked the same path I am.

My credentials: I have a BA with a marketing focus, a masters of natural resources focused in fish and wildlife science and management, and am now in my second summer field season as a fisheries technician. I have training and experience in boating, backcountry nav, backcountry communication, gun safety, etc. I would like to break out of fish and get into wildlife work (marine mammals, land mammals, etc.), however, I have been taking fisheries work because its what I can get.

I am 26, early in my career, and my thought is I will just continue picking up work and skills as I can - does this seem like a good path? At the moment I find myself in a role i dont really like, pay is poor, and hours are poor (nights counting fish), however, I know that i need to do time and take stepping stones as they appear. I am working in Alaska at the moment but am gunning for a field role in Hawaii this upcoming fall/winter/spring. Thoughts? Advice? Random Opinions? Connections?

Just looking for some comparisons and perspective.

Hello everyone,

I am someone who has enjoyed wildlife biology for a long time. Since I was young, I have read many books about the subject and watched many, many documentaries. My career, however, is not as cool as yours — I am a software developer. I am satisfied with my income, but I am interested in opportunities where I can volunteer to work on projects related to wildlife (preservation, documentation, etc.).

I know that I will not be able to do the advanced work that people with actual degrees and experience in the field can do, but I am ready to help however I can: carrying equipment, helping with technical tools, and so on.

I am based in France. I speak three languages fluently (French, English, and Arabic), and my Spanish is alright as well.

Is there a way I can find opportunities like this? If yes, where should I be looking?

Also, is it worth studying for a degree (after work hours) to be able to find more opportunities?

Thank you in advance.

Currently in the market for a watch that would work great for off trail field work in rugged terrain.

Most of my work/hiking consists of bushwhacking various mountainous areas and the preferable features that would be in this watch would be

Great battery life

Good altimeter barometer and compass that I can add waypoints to

Generally great tracking functions, a topo map on the watch is not necessary but would be nice.

Good HR sensor

Rugged and able to standup to abuse

Waterproof

Minimalist/not absolutely massive on my wrist.

As in Orcas are one of the largest members of the dolphin family, but we call it a whale and compare it to other whales.

Mountain Lions are similar, they belong to the small cat family… but are often roped in with the big cat family.

What other animals share this common ’miss-classification’ ?

I’m going into college for wildlife management and I need help choosing a Lenovo laptop. I really like the Yoga models aesthetically, but I’m open to other Lenovo laptops if they fit my needs better.

I’ll probably be running GIS/mapping software, simulations, and drone-related programs for classes, so I need something that can handle heavier workloads while still being practical for everyday college use.

What I’m looking for:
Windows laptop
16GB RAM minimum (preferably 32GB)
512GB storage minimum
good webcam
preferably dedicated graphics
able to run Roblox and Minecraft smoothly too

My budget is under $2k, but ideally around $1500 give or take a couple hundred.

Right now I’ve mainly been looking at the Yoga Pro 9i, Yoga Pro 7, and some Legion models. I care about portability, battery life, and build quality too since I’ll be carrying it around campus a lot.

Any recommendations or experiences with these?

I write science article about slang and I want know some words in your region. It will be nice if you write story about your expressions.

Just curious!! Can be funny, scary, cool, interesting, whatever.

I’m in college rn and I love being outdoors and I also love animals and plants, so I decided wildlife biology (with an emphasis on wildlife and minor in geology) would probably be a good fit. The only problem is I’m not sure what job I would want to have in the field, I love hiking with my dog, being in the mountains, I like traveling, I like watching wildlife, I just like everything outside in the mountains basically. I don’t know what job title this would fit into, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated (I want to start looking into some different jobs in wildlife biology).

Why isn’t there a union for technicians? So often I feel like our work is taken advantage of (unpaid overtime, little to no sick leave, the expectation to work thru illness and injury, and no time off). I love what I do, and am committed to the field, I just wish that we got treated like humans. I think a technicians union would have a lot of power for collective bargaining, and I’m just wondering why there isn’t one in any state I’ve ever worked.

Since graduating with a BS in fish and wildlife conservation I have gotten a mix of terrestrial wildlife and fisheries experience. I think my long term goal is to be a biologist for state/federal agency and ideally I think I want to work with mammals.

However, I see a very interesting and appealing graduate opportunity that deals with freshwater fish.

How much does that matter for a long term career goal like mine? I get the species focus isn’t ideal but I think there are a good amount of transferable skills. This opportunity is focused on movement ecology so there would be some telemetry experience. I would also build experience in quantitative analysis, academic writing, and research/thesis experience.

Even with transferable skills like this would I be shoehorned into fisheries work forever or would I be able to frame it in a way that could still get me into terrestrial wildlife jobs?