How did you know you were in the right/wrong field?
Ask a Biologist Monday 3/4/24
Answers from Biologists:
I think I’m just in the wrong lab-very cliquey. PI has favorites and I’m not supported with my ADHD.
When I could check off experiences on my life list and not dread going into work.
Being surrounded by other people who understood my passions.
Realized my office was outdoors half the year.
Wrong field-no support as a working mother.
Right field-I do the same things on my days off that I get paid to do on my week days.
Right field, because I made it fit into the rest of my life, not the other way around.
For awhile I wasn’t sure, but I realized this didn’t have to be my life. It can just be your job.
When I saw significant human-wildlife conflict reduction in a city who now advocated for us.
When you think about leaving the field but cannot find any other career path that fits you.
Even when I job hopped, I stayed in the same field instead of pivoting.
I was excited about work and could not understand why everyone did not want this job.
I was excited to wake up at 4am for fieldwork and nerd out with my peers even though I’m shy.
Seasonal jobs in the wrong field-I was counting the day until it was over.
I realized I felt like I was living and happy again.
Right-no more “Sunday scaries”. Mondays are just another day to have fun.
Wrong-cliques and loads of rules without instruction until a rule was broken. Demeaning leadership.
There’s always something new and exciting to be known.
I just can’t afford to keep working within it.
When I look forward to work every single day, no matter the weather.
I spent a lot of time just waiting for the animals to appear and enjoyed it.
I say things like “I miss work” and “I can’t wait to go back to work” because it doesn’t feel like work.
I enjoy it so much it rarely feels like work.
I got to spend all day in the woods like when I was a kid and got paid at the end of it.
Stopped feeling like I was suppressing my passion. Could express excitement in observations.
I wanted to talk about work outside of work in a positive way.
I realized I love the challenges sometimes more than the standard days.
I have never stopped being curious and I love to share what I do with others.
.Work doesn’t feel like work.
When I told my family about my work and had nothing bad to say about it.
I feel good about the purpose/mission of the work, even the mundane parts.
The statistics started making sense and wasn’t boring.
I couldn’t imagine being as happy doing anything else.
The work felt like I was helping and it was not always difficult to do, not a struggle.
First experience with fieldwork was banding saw-whet owls in below freezing temps all night and loved it.
Getting out of bed to go to work wasn’t something I dreaded.
Wrong field-It was taking over my identity and life.
It balances well with my life.
I always find something new and interesting in my work.
I enjoy the people I work with.
