Fancy Scientist with Dr. Stephanie Manka

In this podcast, I interview PJ Beaven, a zookeeper for over 15 years. PJ created a program called ZooFit where she incorporates health and fitness with conservation. 

First PJ and I talk about what it was like for her to be a zookeeper. PJ worked with elephants and talks about how she took care of them and trained them for medical purposes. But because she gave so much of herself to the animals, she became burnt out and started to develop “compassion fatigue.”

As a result, she created ZooFit. ZooFit takes the most meaningful aspects of being a zookeeper and applies them to fitness. In other words, the techniques she uses to train animals, operant conditioning through positive reinforcement, can work for you too to make working out and eating right engaging and more enjoyable.

ZooFit is more than a workout program – it’s all about self-care AND conservation. What we eat and how we move (by car or by bike) affects not only our waistline, but also the planet. It’s also all about what works. Why don’t we train ourselves like the way we train animals? 

PJ is so engaging and such a positive spirit; you won’t want to miss this interview!

Specifically we chat about:

• Life as a zookeeper: day-to-day duties, its challenges and rewards
• What it’s like to work with zoo elephants
• What is compassion fatigue and why so many people suffer from it
• How animals learn and how it works for humans too
• Why we can’t keep giving and giving – and how this is actually worse for animals and conservation
• Should we keep elephants in zoos? 
• How can you reward yourself for small successes in life

For full show notes click here.

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every other Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

I invited my friend and colleague Rebecca Mowry for a conversation about her job as a big game wildlife biologist on my podcast. Rebecca is the Bitterroot area Wildlife Biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. I’ve been seeing her photos of mountain goats, moose, bighorn sheep and more pop up in my Facebook feed for years now and thought it would be great to have her on the podcast to talk about her journey into wildlife biology. 

I met Rebecca in graduate school where we both worked in the same lab studying very different species (river otters and forest elephants) using non-invasive techniques. Since then, she graduated with a Master’s degree, but Rebecca still didn’t have a straight and narrow path to a permanent job in wildlife biology.

We also go over in detail Rebecca’s path to her permanent job. She has A LOT of experience – for real over a dozen tech positions. She talked about how she struggled to find a job numerous times and almost transitioned careers, even after her Master’s degree. Aspiring wildlife biologists will find this conversation very helpful with lots of advice. 

Specifically we chat about:

• What does a big game wildlife biologist do from day to day? How does Rebecca’s work vary over the year? 
• How often is Rebecca in the field and what type of field work does she do? 
• How do you count ungulates like bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer, and mountain goats? 
• What kind of challenges did Rebecca face on the job market 
• Why Rebecca decided to get a Master’s degree
• What it was like to find a permanent job post Master’s degree
• Rebecca’s advice to someone who wants a job like hers

For full show notes click here.

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every other Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

My colleague and friend, Dr. Mike Cove reached out to me to have a discussion about something he had been thinking about for some time: how mammals of the past impact mammals today. He was especially interested on the impacts of mastodons on today’s smaller mammals like rodents and small carnivores. Because I researched African forest elephants for my Ph.D., he wanted to get my thoughts on this topic and thought it would be a cool idea for the podcast!

Over tens of thousands of years ago, our world looked very different. Here in the United States, our land was dominated by mega fauna like mastodons, giant sloths and armadillos, and saber-toothed tigers. In this podcast we talked about how the mere presence of such huge animals affected our landscape today. 

Mike is the curator of Mammalogy at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Specifically we chat about:

• What’s going on with some of these smaller mammal species? Why are they in decline? 
• How smaller, disturbed habitats are made and how many are overlooked compared to “pristine” forests
• How large herbivores like elephants, bison, and elk change the landscape and what their loss means for smaller animals
• The role of elephants, especially forest elephants in changing the forest: how they create light gaps and help forest vegetation grow
• Should we actually bring large herbivores like elephants back to the United States to restore ecosystem processes? Yes, this is a real proposal by scientists called “Pleistocene rewilding”
• How restoring apex predators in the Eastern US would help our forests 
• and MORE!

For full show notes click here.

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every other Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

This episode is a must listen-to for anyone who wants to go into wildlife or conservation careers. I interview Dr. Nick Askew, founder of Conservation Careers, an organization dedicated to helping students find the right career for them in conservation. 

We chat about Nick’s background; how he pivoted from a Ph.D. research project in barn owls to working for a consulting agency, nonprofit, and then starting his own business. Nick realized that there wasn’t much information out there for those interested in such careers and he wanted to help them. 

Think conservation careers just involve watching wildlife? They are so much more than that! We talk about some of the many different types of careers and how students really need to think beyond research (we both did). 

Specifically we chat about:

• What is a conservation career? 
• Can you easily pivot from research to non-research jobs? Or are other skills needed?
• Where should students start when thinking about conservation careers? 
• How have careers changed over the years? 
• How the number of jobs are increasing, but so is competition
• Where are the opportunities in conservation careers? 
• Which jobs are the least competitive? Most lucrative?
• What does it mean when you are applying for hundreds of jobs with no response
• and MORE!

For full show notes click here.

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every other Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

Communication is huge in conservation and wildlife biology careers. People tend to only think of the species, ecosystems, or research that scientists work on, but this research is always communicated in some way – to other scientists, the public, and/or various stakeholders.

In this interview, I sit down with Director of Facilitation and Planning at Impact by Design, Inc., Ben Christ. Ben was an undergraduate researcher when I was getting my Ph.D. at the University of Missouri and he talks about his trajectory from science into working directly with people at Impact by Design. 

Impact By Design is a nonprofit consulting agency that provides training and capacity building to other nonprofit organizations so that they can increase their effectiveness and maximize impact. They specialize in nonprofits working on conservation, animal welfare, and environmental advocacy. It’s Ben’s job to bring together different sectors within a nonprofit or across nonprofits and their stakeholders to get specific outcomes.

Ben provides some great perspective on the things you need to think about when brining people together. These messages are especially important to hear now because we have a diversity problem in wildlife biology and conservation. One of the ways that we can help is by learning how we can hear others more. 

Specifically we talk about:

• How Ben’s plan to go to graduate school broke down, but it was a blessing in disguise
• How and why Ben made the transition to consulting from science
• The importance of communication in conservation and the many ways things can go wrong
• How to run effective meetings
• How to make people feel comfortable
• How to encourage underrepresented voices and make sure they are heard
• Thinking beyond scientific research in conservation and wildlife work
• and MORE!

For full show notes click here.

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every other Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a Facebook Live entitled, “Are You Too Old for a Career in Wildlife Biology? When I advertised for this event on my social media, I got quite a few comments. 

One of them was from senior program manager at the National Parks Conservation Association, Jeffrey Hunter. He responded with “this was me,” meaning he started his career later in life. I knew I had to invite him to talk about his late start in the wildlife field on the podcast.

Many people fear they are too old to start a career in wildlife biology after they started another one, or perhaps just graduated from school and realized their degree was not right for them. By old, I don’t even mean old! People in their late 20s and early 30s are worried that they are too old!

Many people fear they are too old to start a career in wildlife biology after they started another one, or perhaps just graduated from school and realized their degree was not right for them. By old, I don’t even mean old! People in their late 20s and early 30s are worried that they are too old!

Jeffrey started his career in wildlife when he was 40, after spending 20 years working for Verizon in corporate America. This is a fantastic conversation for anyone who thinks it is too late for them! Jeffrey offers a lot of advice for those entering the field so even if you aren’t a late bloomer, this is still a great episode to listen to.

• How and why Jeffrey Hunter started his career in wildlife at 40 years old
• Did Jeffrey face discrimination as an older applicant?
• How his corporate skills helped get him his first job
• How he got offered the second job he was interviewed for
• Perspective and advice on working for government and nonprofit jobs
• How volunteering with citizen science projects for years helped him land a job
• Career advice for wildlife biologists and related careers
• and MORE!

For full show notes click here.

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every other Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

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This podcast features a fantastic interview with science filmmaker Rob Nelson. Rob is a friend of mine and we both appear together on the Science Channel’s What on Earth. He transitioned from research into filmmaking and has a YouTube channel with almost 150K subscribers and multiple videos with millions of views.

In this episode, I chat with Rob about why and how he decided to turn to science filmmaking. This is certainly a unique career path without obvious instructions. Even if there was an instruction manual, it would change from year-to-year or even day-to-day as there are constant changes in social media and how we receive information.

For full show notes click here.

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every other Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

This podcast features an amazing interview with scientist and founder of Nova Conservation: Laura Marsh. Nova Conservation is a brand new organization dedicated to connecting scientists and non-professionals to conservation and research opportunities. 

Laura and I chat about so much – how and why she founded Nova Conservation, how it will change ecotourism and provide opportunities for scientists to connect with research projects without having to get too involved, and the barriers to entry that exist in conservation field.

Specifically we chat about:

• What exactly is a Nova Conservation? 
• How will Nova Conservation work? 
• How wildlife professionals and non-scientists can get involved in conservation research
• How some tourism operations can deceive you into thinking they are focused on conservation when they are not
• Laura’s background as a scientist and ornithologist
• Free/volunteer internships and research experiences – how it needs to change, but it’s a necessary evil right now for students to get jobs. 

For full show notes click here.

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

In this episode of the Fancy Scientist podcast, I interview scientist and blogger Charlotte Hacker. Charlotte is a Ph.D. candidate who uses non-invasive genetics through scat (poop) to study snow leopard populations in China. We talk all about her snow leopard research and journey to become a scientist.

This is a fantastic episode to listen to if you are an aspiring wildlife biologist or scientist! Charlotte talks about all of the pivots she had to make on her way to become a scientist. Learn how she bounced back from failing in her college courses and what she did when her Master’s research was cancelled THE moment she started graduate school. 

This is a fantastic episode to listen to if you are an aspiring wildlife biologist or scientist! Charlotte talks about all of the pivots she had to make on her way to become a scientist. Learn how she bounced back from failing in her college courses and what she did when her Master’s research was cancelled THE moment she started graduate school. 

• Charlotte’s snow leopard research: What she is studying and how she uses scat to study snow leopards
• What snow leopards are eating and human-wildlife conflict
• Charlotte’s journey to become a scientist – what inspired her and how she bounced back from almost failing out of college
• The lack of role models for female scientists when we were growing up)
• How Charlotte was determined to study elephants, but ended up with research on snow leopards
• How Charlotte approached studying elephants for graduate school and her experience contacting professors
• What happened when Charlotte’s Master’s research immediately was taken away from her when she just arrived to start!
• Why Charlotte started blogging and that most of us scientists are more artsy than people think
• What Charlotte does as a side hustle
• Words of wisdom from Charlotte for aspiring wildlife biologists

Get the full show notes here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/charlotte-hacker/

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

This podcast features an amazing interview with conservationist and founder of Lonely Conservationists: Jessie Panazzolo. Jessie is a conserves conservationists; in other words, she works to save those who are saving the world.

In episode #41, I talked about how important self-care is for scientists and how easily we can become burnt out and quite honestly, depressed. Jessie felt this herself, which was why she started Lonely Conservationists. Turns out there are a lot of lonely conservationists out there and her group has gained a lot of momentum over the years.

This is a wide-ranging discussion not only about the challenges scientists and conservationists face, but also some field stories, how Jessie wrote a book in a month, and about the complications with boycotting palm oil. 

Specifically I go over:

• What exactly is a Lonely Conservationist? 
• Why are conservationists susceptible to problems like loneliness and depression? 
• What other challenges conservationists face in this field
• The Lonely Conservationist blog and that you can submit stories
• How Jessie wrote a book from her experience and why
• Fun field story – getting chased by a tiger!
• Should we be boycotting palm oil? Or advocating for sustainable palm oil, which is far from perfect

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

I go live in my Facebook group every Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ 

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology

For full show notes click here.