If you’re considering a career in wildlife, conservation, or environmental sciences, you’ve probably heard that these fields don’t pay well and even that you have to be wealthy to make it. But surely, there must be regular folks making it in wildlife careers? Can you really make a living? Pay your bills and raise a family? Or are you doomed to be broke forever if you pursue a career you love in this field?
Listen to Building a Wildlife Career Without Breaking the Bank
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Making wildlife and related careers work financially is one of those topics that we don’t talk about enough (if at all?). We talk about passion, research, saving wildlife, and making a difference but at the end of the day, we also need to pay our bills so…
That’s exactly what this episode of the Fancy Scientist Podcast is all about! Money is an essential part of our lives and our careers, and we shouldn’t feel bad about not only needing it, but wanting it. It’s essential for us to pursue our calling of working with wildlife and helping the environment. We can’t do this without it.
This week’s episode is all about money. I’ve worked as a researcher for 17 years and now as a career mentor for the past six, and I’m here to tell you that none of the people I worked with, that’s right, NONE, were innately wealthy, yet they landed jobs. My friends who I went to graduate school with, some of whom were skating the poverty line at the time, now have jobs as professors, wildlife biologists, researchers, and more.
I’m going to give you the real deal on the financial realities of working in wildlife and related fields, and maybe even blow your mind (hopefully!) by discussing jobs where you can actually be financially comfortable, and even end up wealthy.
"Just because you
have a higher degree
doesn't mean you're going
to get paid more, and it
doesn't necessarily mean
you're going to be more competitive for higher salaries."
I start with a mindset shift I learned long before I ever became a wildlife biologist, back when I wanted to be an actress. From there, I get into how you can build experience without spending any money at all, and that you don’t need to sacrifice daily 9-5 life volunteering with unpaid experiences.
"For some reason, people think that you need to pay for experience, like the only experience that you can get is if you do these abroad programs where you pay to go, and this is so not true."
I break down where it actually makes sense to spend money in this field, and where it doesn’t: whether paying for programs abroad are necessary, if certificates are worth it, how to think about getting degrees, and why paying for a Master’s degree without a clear plan can actually waste tens of thousands of your hard-earned dollars (I’ve seen it happen).
Finally, I go over the fields and job types that do tend to pay well, and how to think about where the money actually is in this field.
"A lot of people think that certificates will solve their problem, but the thing that employers care about most is experience."
By the end of this episode, my intention is that you walk away with a much clearer, more realistic picture of what’s actually possible financially in this field, to surprise and delight you, and bust the misconception that you need to be wealthy or willing to go broke to build a real wildlife career. It doesn’t matter who you are or what background you come from, I strongly believe this field is for everyone, and I want to help you make a change in your community so that together, we can change the world.
"The earlier that you start in your field, the better, because you can get
your experience while you're in school."
Specifically, we cover:
- Whether it’s actually possible to make a living, pay your bills, and raise a family working in wildlife, conservation, or environmental sciences
- The mindset shift that makes the early, low-paid years of this career easier to accept
- Why when you search average wildlife salaries on Google, they are strongly misleading, don’t tell the whole story, and what they leave out
- How to get real, resume-worthy experience without paying for expensive programs through simple, yet unconventional approaches
- Where to actually spend money on your education, and where you can save, including where to go for your Bachelor’s degree, and how to think about Master’s and PhD programs
- Whether certificates pay off and are worth the investment.
- Why a Master’s degree doesn’t guarantee you a job, and how to avoid wasting money on the wrong program
- The types of jobs and organizations that tend to pay well in this field, and how to think about what kinds of jobs and places pay the most
- Unexpected jobs and workplaces that can create a major impact for wildlife, yet are typically not thought of for wildlife careers
- And MORE!
Resources and Sources: Building a Wildlife Career Without Breaking the Bank
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Fancy Scientist Podcast #158: When Your “Dream Job” Isn’t What You Thought: Finding Career Alignment in Wildlife Conservation: Interview with Dylan Karl
