Can you describe what a "typical" day looks like in your current role?
A typical day really depends on the season of the year. I am often in my often running models, conducting analysis, writing manuscripts, and tending to mundane office tasks required to make research go. At certain times of the year, I have the chance to get out with the field crews working on various projects collecting data on snowshoe hares or Canada lynx, deploying or collecting game cameras.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?
These research projects are often large and take a lot of planning, a lot of effort and time to execute, and then a lot of time and effort to analyze and publish. Getting to the end of a project and seeing what we learned is one of the most rewarding parts. Getting to spend time in the field and just enjoy being out in the woods as part of my job is pretty darned rewarding as well!
How did your time in FWCB prepare you for your career?
The obvious answers is all of the coursework in my time in graduate school lead directly to the skills I use every day to be able to design, analyze, and write about research projects. Beyond that though, there is a certain level of perseverance, and thick skin you are required to find or acquire that helps you get to the finish line on all manner of problems and criticisms, large and small, that pop up over the course of a project.
What advice would you give to current or future FWCB students who want to pursue a career similar to yours?
Do your best to be your best every day. Sounds trite, but every day you are in a classroom, you're making an impression on your Professor and fellow students. Every day you are at work, you are making an impression on your boss and co-workers. Your performance in those arenas, and others' assessment of your performance, can propel you to future opportunities, or hold you back. Also, keep an open mind about your career opportunities, especially when pursuing something in the competitive field of natural resources. The line from my education to this particular job was not a straight one. I don't think I could recreate again if I tried. But I am grateful for all of the experiences along the way, some of which exposed me to things I liked but never knew I liked, and others that helped me figure out what I didn't want to do in life.