As someone who’s been in this field for 20 years, I know what it’s like to be in your shoes – from struggling graduate students to successful wildlife professionals – I understand the rollercoaster of emotions and challenges you’re facing in this competitive field.
In this episode of the Fancy Scientist podcast, I’m tackling two of the biggest elephants in the room when it comes to getting a job, and even maintaining a job in wildlife careers: time and money – These are the two things most of us never seem to have enough of!
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I vividly remember the days of feeling overwhelmed, especially in graduate school, juggling all aspects of research – from understanding how to set up an entire project by myself, run it internationally, collect and analyze data, and write up the results to publish all while maintaining other responsibilities such as classes and attending seminars. There never seemed to be enough time! But the thing is, if you don’t invest in yourself, through time and money or both when it comes to your career, you’re likely going to struggle later on, costing you even more time and money.
Let me give you an example. If I had taken the time to really study and even just look at jobs that I would have eventually been applying for, I would have been a lot more competitive for them because I would have known exactly what they wanted. For investing in your career, you may need to raise funds to support a volunteer opportunity you need to do to gain more experience or into professional development like the programs that I offer, attending conferences, or participating in societies.
So many people let these obstacles stop them and just throw their hands up – like I did (“I don’t have time to look at the jobs – I am working on my dissertation!”) But I’ve learned through a lot of amazing mentors and mindset work that these are stories that we just tell ourselves and when we really want something, we can go after it and make it happen.
I’ve learned that it’s not about having more time or money – in fact, no one has more time. You and I have the same amount of hours in the day as Oprah Winfrey, Jane Goodall, and Beyoncé (and none of them started off wealthy either). It’s about how you THINK about time and money, and maximizing what you have.
That’s exactly what I’m here to share with you today. I’ll take you on a journey through my own experiences where I realized I was spending way too much time on the wrong things and how I changed my approach to time and money in my career. I’ll offer you practical strategies that have not only helped me but have also transformed the careers of many wildlife professionals I’ve had the privilege to coach.
Whether you’re an aspiring wildlife biologist still in school, an early-career professional feeling stuck in seasonal positions, or a seasoned expert looking to make a bigger impact, this episode has something for you. We’ll challenge the scarcity mindset that’s so common in our field and explore how to adopt an abundance perspective – even when resources seem limited.
I’ll share candid stories about my own financial journey, influenced by my family background, and how it shaped my approach to managing money in this field. We’ll talk about creative ways to boost your income that you might not have considered before, and I’ll give you a peek into some unconventional fundraising strategies that have worked wonders for conservation projects.
By the end of this episode, I promise you’ll have a toolkit of practical strategies to better manage your time and money. But more than that, I hope you’ll feel inspired and empowered. Because here’s the truth – you don’t need to wait for more time or money to start making a difference. You have everything you need right now to take the next step in your wildlife career.
Specifically, I go over:
- The importance of tracking your time and money
- Strategies for prioritizing tasks and identifying “big rocks”
- Shifting from a scarcity to an abundance mindset
- Creative ways to earn extra income in the field
- Tips for effective fundraising and grant writing
- Overcoming limiting beliefs and stories we tell ourselves
So, are you ready to transform how you think about and use your most precious resources? Dive in and unlock your potential to make a real impact in the world of wildlife biology and conservation!
Resources and Sources in Shifting the Scarcity Mindset
