I did everything right. I did all of the things I was advised to do to earn a decent-paying biology job. I went back and got my master's degree, an MS rather than an MA, to prove I can do research. I have a 4.0 GPA. I got three seasons of field experience in different ecosystems. I worked for different sectors (federal, nonprofit, academia, state) and agencies-- US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, US Department of Agriculture, $ch00dic the nonprofit, and in academia at M University, which is a state school. I worked in land management, agricultural research, environmental education, wet labs, and data analysis. I earned a GIS certificate. I took trainings and joined professional societies and went to conferences to boost my resume. I applied for technician jobs over Christmas break so I would have something lined up as soon as school ended. I wrote individual cover letters and tailored every resume to the job description and followed every formatting guideline and resume tip to a tee. Everyone who has seen my CV told me how impressed they were by the amount and diversity of experience I have.
I did everything right and it wasn't enough.
I graduated into the worst biology job market anyone in the field has ever seen.
Federal hiring freeze. Extreme budget cuts. Firing National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife, and Forest Service employees, with a focus on the "behind the curtain" natural resource management staff. Defunding research. Defunding state agencies that depend on federal funding. Cutting Ameri Corp$ programs. Selling public land. Adding sunset clauses to existing environmental protection legislation. Redefining the definition of "harm" in the Invasive Species Act, rendering it powerless. A general air of anti-intellectualism, anti-science, anti-women-outside-the-home.
I got rejected from so. Many. Jobs.
I was overqualified for most of them. And I'm not alone. There's a Facebook group, Wildlife Science Career Network, with thousands of members all echoing the same sentiment. "What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?" We all have Excel spreadsheets of the many, many jobs we've applied to and been rejected from. We all have experience and education and passion. But it isn't enough.
"Just apply for state park jobs," say the conservatives in my ken who supported Trump and all his cronies. What state park jobs? The landscapers and cleaning staff and lodge dishwashers that make West Virginia minimum wage? (Which JUST increased from $8.75 to $11 an hour, by the way.) It's such a slap in the face from the people who refuse to recognize they voted for the reason there are no biology jobs to apply to. I have a MASTER'S DEGREE in a STEM FIELD that has always been competitive, but has never been so underfunded. I will NOT go mow tourist cabin lawns for $11 an hour with the good old boys. If I have to, I will pivot and switch career paths (again.)
I tried (unsuccessfully) not to crash out. I've taught whole classes on biology career options. I know what other things I can do with this degree. It didn't help. It felt like the world was ending.
I almost didn't finish my thesis.
My family, who all work in healthcare and are all in high demand, had no helpful advice to give.
Yes, I wrote individual cover letters. Yes, I tailored every resume. Yes, I am applying for things I'm actually qualified for.
@cactusquollcreations Instagram account has been some solace. Gael's account has become a place for biologists to connect and commiserate over memes. She has a lot of great resources for early-career biologists-- the thing is, the mid- and late-career biologists are struggling just as much right now.
I started this post in January. It's July. I wish I could say it's gotten any better, but it hasn't. Every day comes a new horrific headline about stupid decisions made by stupider men in suits.
I did finally get a job by the skin of my teeth, a temporary in-state Ameri Corp$ position. It bought me six months to find something else. I'm okay, for now. I have the privilege of having family to fall back on if something goes terribly wrong. I just don't want to do that.
Boomers love to gripe about the younger generations and their useless degrees. My bad-- I should have hired a fortune teller before I started my degree. I should have had her confirm that a respected degree in a science field wouldn't be useless just in time for me to graduate because the entire country elected the actual anti-Christ and has decided by uneducated popular vote that science doesn't matter.
I'm not bitter about any of it. Not at all.