Saving the Earth as a Career: Advice on Becoming a Conservation Professional
224
Saving the Earth as a Career: Advice on Becoming a Conservation Professional
224Overview
- Is this the right career for you?
- Designing a program of study
- Designing and executing a project
- Attending conferences and making presentations
- Writing papers
- Finding a job
- Making a difference
Saving the Earth as a Career 2e is a friendly, accessible guide with a global perspective for anyone interested in becoming a conservation or environmental professional, and teachers will find this an invaluable resource for university students at all levels.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781119184805 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| Publication date: | 02/11/2016 |
| Sold by: | JOHN WILEY & SONS |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 224 |
| File size: | 5 MB |
About the Author
David B Lindenmayer is a Research Professor in Ecology at the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.Aram J K Calhoun is Associate Professor of Wetland Ecology at the University of Maine, a staff scientist at Maine Audubon Society, and chair of the Student Affairs Committee of the Society for Conservation Biology.
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Table of Contents
Preface ixPreface to the second edition xi
Read this road map before you begin xiii
1 Is this the right career for you? 1
What is a conservation professional? 1
Conservation contributors 3
Diverse compensations 6
Location, location, location 8
Your image 10
Talk and experience 11
2 Establishing an undergraduate foundation 14
Universities and degrees 14
Course work 15
Course performance 17
Experiences outside the classroom 18
References 24
Standardized tests 25
Changing course 26
Switching careers 27
Next steps 28
3 Selecting an educational program 30
The key elements: University, topic, degree, and advisor 30
When to begin? 37
Some scenarios 37
4 Applying for admission 46
Making contact 46
Personal essay or letter 49
Initial conversations 50
Application mechanics 50
References 51
Visiting 52
First impressions 54
Interviewing a prospective advisor 55
Interviewing other students 58
Interviewing other faculty 60
Making a decision 60
5 Designing a program of study 62
Your goal 62
A project 64
Course work 65
A balancing act 65
Teaching 67
Internships 68
Comprehensive exam 69
Investing in your department and yourself 70
Extracurricular activities 73
Communicating with your advisor 75
An advisory committee 77
When things go very wrong 79
A final word on work styles 82
6 Designing and executing a project 84
Selecting a topic 84
Setting realistic expectations 85
Framing the problem 87
Writing and presenting a proposal 92
Executing a project 98
Non-completion 111
Writing a thesis or final report 112
Final defense 114
7 Attending conferences and making presentations 116
Which to attend? 116
Conference information 120
Attending talks and other sessions 121
Networking 122
Professional-society activities 124
Presentations 126
8 Writing papers 138
A thesis versus a collection of papers 139
Writing a professional paper 141
Authorship 148
Selecting a journal for your paper 149
Submitting a paper to a journal 152
Your paper comes back from the journal 152
Other kinds of publications 158
9 Finding a job 162
What to seek 162
How to search 165
When to apply 167
How to apply 170
Accepting a job 176
10 Making a difference 179
Savior syndrome 179
Compassion fatigue: The flip side of the savior syndrome 183
Making a difference as a student 184
Making a difference as a conservation professional 188
Life style 193
Conservation ethics 194
Index 199
What People are Saying About This
“A lively and informative guide for those starting a career in conservation, or thinking about such a career, to how it's done! This book should be useful for college and university students - and their advisors - as well as anyone interested in the rapidly-expanding and vitally important field of conservation.”
–Peter H. Raven, President, Missouri Botanical Garden
“Informative, engaging, practical and empathetic: these are just a few of the adjectives that describe this guide for fledgling conservation professionals. The authors – all seasoned and highly respected conservation professionals – have provided aspirant planet doctors with the wisest advice possible.”
–Richard Cowling, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
“Conservation professionals invariably take themselves way too seriously. This, in contrast, is a useful, novel and very entertaining book packed full of pithy advice”
–Hugh Possingham, University of Queensland
“Read, absorb, act and save”
–William Sutherland, University of Cambridge
"So you want to change the world? If the thought of politics turns your innards, then don't despair. Hunter, Lindenmayer and Calhoun have written a thoroughly engaging 'road map' of the many options available to the aspiring conservation professional. It’s packed with the hard-won experience of some of the world's most respected conservation biologists. Importantly, they tell you just how to get there, from the now-mandatory University education, to learning how best to plan research and get it published, to securing the right job."
–Barry Brook, University of Adelaide
“This is a much-needed and invaluable resource for those pursuing a career in conservation, written by an experienced trio who freely dispense sage advice. If you want to be a conservation professional, read this book, perhaps more than once.”
–Gary K. Meffe, Editor, Conservation Biology
“Many people seek careers or even just fulfilment from contributing to conservation. With mounting environmental problems, we need all the best people we can find. This very readable book provides sound advice. Crucially, it will help match able and committed people to the right jobs, whatever their nature. I strongly recommend it as essential reading for anyone, whatever their interests, or wherever they are in their career.”
–Georgina M. Mace, Imperial College London