Dear Ecolog: Greetings!
I'm reaching out to this wonderful network of many minds in hopes of having a little luck and that one of you (or many!) have connections in Costa Rica and wouldn't mind helping a young aspiring conservationist. So firstly, thank you for taking the time to read this and not filter it out with the other Ecolog e-mails that don't apply to you! I am a native Costa Rican, born to a Costa Rican mother and an American father. I speak English and Spanish fluently, and also can write well in Spanish. I've lived in the U.S. most of my life and completed my B.Sc Biology degree with a concentration in Marine and Freshwater Biology from George Mason University. I also completed a minor in Applied Conservation Studies through a joint program with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. (I also completed a minor in Dance Appreciation from George Mason, though I don't imagine this will take me anywhere professionally!) Since my parents have moved back to Costa Rica and I have almost no family in the US, I feel the need to move back there as well, but have been advised against doing so without first having a job lined up. So, I've been looking a bit on craigslist and the classifieds sections of TicoTimes and La Nacion, and most of what I see is for teaching English, retail jobs, sales, call centers, etc. and not much in any sort of conservation-related job at all. Do any of you know any organizations that might be a good idea for me to check out? Or any helpful hints or ideas? Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this and offer any advice you may have! I am generally quite independent minded and a bit shy with reaching out to strangers (especially ones on Ecolog who I'd rather be trying to impress or contributing intellectually to conversations with) for help, and I am definitely stepping out of my comfort zone a bit on this one, so I really from the bottom of my heart thank you! Pura vida! Sincerely yours, Rachel E. Ford Melendez PS - Since I have just a B.Sc and not an advanced degree, I understand that a job as a researcher or something like that is probably out of the question. I would love to eventually get an advanced degree, but I have a lot of interests and a broad range of skills, so for now I really want to just explore my interests and earn enough money to have my own place and a little extra so I can learn to scuba dive. I am open to a variety of different types of jobs, as long as at the end of the day I feel like I am contributing towards a 'greater good' in some way. Ideally, I'd like to be working with a conservation organization, but again I am open to various opportunities such as working with a (legitimate) eco-tourist organization. Something like an entry-level biological technician job would be ideal - where I am serving to help carry gear and other practical things that someone with "just a B.Sc" can do, but still contributing concretely towards conservation or sustainability. My hope is that I could be uniquely important in such a position because I can help translate English/Spanish or Spanish/English, and also have the technical training to do things like report writing, macroinvertebrate sampling, mist-netting, or water chemistry testing. :-)
