Hi Allison, I feel your pain. After grad school (environmental science) I picked a job with a grassroots organization that help minority farmers and landowners in rural area improve their economy. I took the job to be able to pay bills, while looking for other opportunities in science, but I ended up spending five years. While on the job I found a way to remain in science-the organization partners with universities on different research projects ranging from on-farm research to research in forestry land. The organization links the universities with landowners and farmers on whom farm or land on-site research projects were sited. I took advantage of it and participated in the research projects. I even got a chance to work on rural medicine project. They also do a lot of policy work, which I was involved in too. I finally went back to school last year with a renewed focus on science and my experience in the last five years is now shaping my research interests. Yes, I am still in science - working on interdisciplinary PhD program.
My advice is if you really love science, but can't find a job in science right away choose a job that offers that opportunity to use your science: a law firm looking for expert in your field, a non-profit doing work in relevant area, policy advocate organization, parks focused on sustainability, USDA, tour guide at an ecological center, investment analyst at a firm interested in science, construction company interested in habitat restoration, preservation and/or sustainability, a film production company focused on science, etc. All this will help you keep your science mind and you will still be relevant when you finally find a science job. I would stay away from a career path that makes my years in grad school useless (unless of course I hated grad degree). I wish you success. Sent from my iPad On Jul 28, 2014, at 3:36 PM, "Allison F. Walston" <[email protected]> wrote: > Hey everyone > > I graduated with my MS in ecology earlier this year and I was able to get a > temporary job after graduation. However, the job will be ending shortly and > they won't be able to make any permanent hires in the foreseeable future. I > have a few other irons in the fire, but I am growing increasingly skeptical > that any of them will pan out. > > I know a lot of people are in a similar situation given the job market and > I've recently started thinking about looking outside of science. I did well > during grad school and gained a lot of analytical skills. However, I can > imagine the confusion my grad degree would cause for a potential employer > outside of science/biology/conservation. > > Has anyone else made the decision to leave science shortly after grad > school? What sort of things are career paths are worth looking into? > > Any advice would be greatly appreciated. > > Allison
