Like, whatever! I didn’t get the Educator Guide position at the Wild Animal Park, but I was going to turn it down anyway. I think the main issue I had was that first, the hours were REALLY variable – between 4 and 20 per week, with no set scheduling, which would make it hard to plan other work. Additionally, the job announcement wasn’t really accurate – I wouldn’t be handling animals, giving animal presentations, or VIP tours. The main duty was helping out with programs for REALLY little kids – as young as 2 – and I’m sorry, but I’m not a babysitter. So there. I think I probably didn’t get the position because I don’t have experience working with such little kids, nor do I want to have that experience. So it’s for the best.

In other exciting events, all of you out there should TOTALLY CALL MY CELL PHONE!!! I’ve got custom rings programmed for all you guys, so when you call, instead of boring ringing you (yes, YOU, not me) will hear other fun things. So you should call me and find out what ring I set up for you! Hee hee hee!

So today I had an interview with the US Fish and Wildlife Service for a biologist position I applied to about four months ago. It was nice though – only 20 minutes away in Carlsbad, and I didn’t even have to take a freeway to get there. I think the interview went really well – no real stumpers, and the people interviewing me seemed nice enough. The position is more regulatory in nature, dealing with development proposals and evaluating what the impacts might be on endangered species.

Did you know that San Diego county has the most endangered and threatened species out of all the other counties in the United States?

So the job is definitely conservation-oriented, and based on what people told me, it’s a real opportunity to actually affect things and help protect endangered species. Pretty cool, I think. They said it would be a few weeks until I hear anything, and not to get discouraged. I’ll call in a couple of weeks for some (hopefully) good news!

Tomorrow is my interview at the Wild Animal Park for the Educator Guide position – part time, but very fun. I guess I’ll have to choose between whatever opportunities are presented to me – hopefully there will be a few options!

You’re probably all wondering, with baited breath, what’s going on with the job situation. Well, first off, I’m probably going to tell the wildlife museum to bite me, because I don’t think the salary will be anywhere near what I’d need to pack up and move to the Bay Area; and after talking with them, it seems like the position would really be mostly administrative, managing about a hundred volunteers.

BUT…

Today I received a call from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who would like to interview me for a Fish and Wildlife Biologist position in San Diego. So the interview is next week. I’m not terribly excited by this prospect, but who knows – it might be interesting. I’ll keep an open mind about that one.

AND…

My friend Mark contacted me about doing some consulting work for him – he’ll give me projects as they come up, which is great because it pays really well and I would definitely be using my education. So my first project will be compiling and synthesizing water temperature standards for western states (or something like that).

And my application is still out there for an Educator Guide position at the Wild Animal Park, which I would LOVE to do. It would be great experience for the direction I want go, and combined with the consulting work, I could make some decent money.

But we’ll see. Are your fingers STILL crossed? Good! 🙂

For a while I was feeling like this:

But now I’m feeling more like this:

You know why? Because the wildlife museum called me back about the the book I wrote in response to their questionnaire! Woohoo!!! So, I have kind of an “informal” phone call scheduled with them a week from Sunday, just to go over what the job is, living in the Bay Area, answer questions I have, etc. And if it still sounds good to me, I progress to the official phone interview. And after that, the in-person interview up in the Bay Area.

What I think is kind of funny is that I got zero response with the government applications I sent out, but I’ve got somebody interested from the first job I applied for in this new direction I’m headed. So maybe I’m onto something, eh? And even if I don’t get this job, I’m sure there are others out there for me – one that I will get.

Are your fingers still crossed for me? Good!

Yesterday, while zoning in the trance-like state I am able to achieve while monitoring recorded phone calls for quality control, I suddenly found myself struck by an odd sense of clarity. This clarity, as you might have guessed, concerns my BIG question, What Should I Do With My Life.

Fortunately for me, Mom had given me a book for Christmas with this very title. I’ve only started reading it this past week, but I’ve been impressed by two points already. First, I’ve been scared that I just don’t want anything, that I have no more passion. That it has been beaten out of me. Not true! I learned that people who struggle always have passion – if they didn’t care about anything, there would be no struggle. So that’s important lesson number one.

The second thing I’ve realized is that I need to have fun. And that it will be possible for me to do this in my career. Basically, in applying for all these government jobs, I’ve been barking up the wrong tree. I’ve always gotten everything I’ve truly wanted, and the reason I’ve been getting NO reponse to these applications is probably due to the fact that I don’t really want these jobs. In the past, I’ve truly enjoyed working – with animals, with writing, with being creative, with interacting with people while educating, with art. And there are jobs out there like this! For me!

So, I’ve decided to pursue a career in conservation education with zoos, museums or aquariums. There are lots of jobs posted on the AZA website, and several sound interesting. A couple even pay pretty well! I’ll be able to educate, entertain, utilize my creative talents, and work for a cause that I believe in. AND, I won’t be abandoning my education (Brett, if you’re reading this, those manuscripts are STILL on my list of things I want to finish – keep the faith!).

Well anyway, it was just a glimpse. Tomorrow the clouds might come in and I might decide to pursue telemarketing from a tiny, dark cubicle for my career. If that happens, either shoot me or point me to this blog entry. Thanks!