What’s a work-related thing that you stress out about?
Ask a Biologist Monday 10/17/22
Answers from Biologists:
Imposter syndrome
Giving presentations.
Giving my techs fair time off amidst chaotic conditions.
I’ve been out of the field for 3 months and I’m still having stress dreams about if I left a mist net up.
Am I doing enough?
Being sure the boat plug was in place after launching.
Meetings: Will I be talked over? Will there be drama after?
Scheduling volunteer events and committees as a junior biologist that can’t say no.
Did I turn off the water? (animal care turtles and frogs)
Did I lock the enclosure?
Safety in the field as a woman.
Making sure my field workplaces are safe and equitable for all.
Someone getting hurt on my watch during field season.
Making sure to do thorough decontamination of equipment and shoes.
Plant phenology as a biologist who does native seed conservation.
Spending my days off stressing about work issues.
Grants.
Trap checks. Making sure I check and close/remove all traps.
Mice potentially escaping before I can get all their measurements.
Getting back to people in a timely manner when I’m in the thick of field season.
An entire season of negative detections. Are they not here or are my traps not working?
Getting the ATV stuck.
Sending emails. Should be simple, but man can it be stressful.
Funding.
Who did I accidentally leave on “read” today?
Will I ever feel like I know what I’m doing?
Packing for hitches.
Facilitating meetings.
Did I lock the office door at the end of the day?
Getting the truck stuck.
My samples getting lost/delayed in the mail.
Statistics.
Forgetting a deadline.
Having to pee in the middle of a telemetry flight.
That my data is clean and techniques are sound (especially in GIS).
Are the techs going to break/lose everything if I take a a day off?
Being able to retire after years of seasonal work without 401ks and whole career of being underpaid.
Did I spellcheck before sending out my report.
Not being taken seriously as a woman/minority.
Remembering to close all the fences behind me (or leave them open if they were open).
Forgetting to set the telemetry receiver correctly before I take off in the helicopter.
Getting injured in the middle of field season.
DNA degradation during the shipping journey to the diagnostics lab.
Applying to jobs every 3-6 months.
Not giving enough attention to my friends and family back home while I’m on a field job.
Being physically capable to handle my job. I’m usually around very fit people.
Getting your truck stuck where there is not service.
Did I bring the keys for the camera traps? Did I leave the keys for the locks at the camera?
Forgetting an essential piece of field gear.
Gathering data while I’m in school.
