If you’re considering a career in wildlife, conservation, or environmental sciences, you’ve probably heard that these fields don’t pay well and even that you have to be wealthy to make it. But surely, there must be regular folks making it in wildlife careers? Can you really make a living? Pay your bills and raise a family? Or are you doomed to be broke forever if you pursue a career you love in this field?

Making wildlife and related careers work financially is one of those topics that we don’t talk about enough (if at all?). We talk about passion, research, saving wildlife, and making a difference but at the end of the day, we also need to pay our bills so…

That’s exactly what this episode of the Fancy Scientist Podcast is all about! Money is an essential part of our lives and our careers, and we shouldn’t feel bad about not only needing it, but wanting it. It’s essential for us to pursue our calling of working with wildlife and helping the environment. We can’t do this without it.

This week’s episode is all about money. I’ve worked as a researcher for 17 years and now as a career mentor for the past six, and I’m here to tell you that none of the people I worked with- that’s right, NONE, were innately wealthy, yet they landed jobs. My friends who I went to graduate school with, some of whom were skating the poverty line at the time, now have jobs as professors, wildlife biologists, researchers, and more.

I’m going to give you the real deal on the financial realities of working in wildlife and related fields, and maybe even blow your mind (hopefully!) by discussing jobs where you can actually be financially comfortable, and even end up wealthy.

I start with a mindset shift I learned long before I ever became a wildlife biologist, back when I wanted to be an actress. From there, I get into how you can build experience without spending any money at all, and that you don’t need to sacrifice daily 9-5 life by volunteering with unpaid experiences.

I break down where it actually makes sense to spend money in this field, and where it doesn’t: whether paying for programs abroad is necessary, if certificates are worth it, how to think about getting degrees, and why paying for a Master’s degree without a clear plan can actually waste tens of thousands of your hard-earned dollars (I’ve seen it happen).

Finally, I go over the fields and job types that do tend to pay well, and how to think about where the money actually is in this field.

By the end of this episode, my intention is that you walk away with a much clearer, more realistic picture of what’s actually possible financially in this field, to surprise and delight you, and bust the misconception that you need to be wealthy or willing to go broke to build a real wildlife career. It doesn’t matter who you are or what background you come from; I strongly believe this field is for everyone, and I want to help you make a change in your community so that together, we can change the world.