Advice for "Mike the Bass Fisher" on SSFC College

[lhousesoccer]

Mike - I tried to reply to your original post, but I don't think it went through. Since I typed so much and was afraid of losing it, I copied and pasted my text to a Word document. Good thing ! Anyways, I'm reposting it here for you to see ....

 

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Mike: Don't let any of the naysayers detract you from pursuing your dreams and goals in life. I am a graduate of the 3-year Fish & Wildlife Program at SSFC. The three years themselves were some of the best years of my life, and I made lifelong friends, and the learning, friendship, camaraderie, and experiences alone you will take away from there is worth it on it's own.

 

However, if this is truly what you want to do in life - work in the field of fisheries or wildlife management - then the 3 years at SSFC will be extremely valuable, and will set you on a course that will take you wherever you want to go in life. That's not to say that you will step out of there the day after graduation with a full time job. The road can be long, and may take you many places. You may elect to further your education beyond SSFC as well, as I did.

 

The first and best piece of advice I can give is to be completely open and willing to follow every chance and opportunity you might find to pursue employment in this field, particularly in the summers. So many people I knew in the years ahead or behind me, and probably some of the people that posted here trying to persuade you against SSFC, went home in the summers and worked in a factory, or construction. Sure - all the comforts of home, free living etc. Where are these people now? Working in factories or construction, living close to where they grew up.

 

My particular F&W Class (1991) seemed to be different. Of the 12 or so close friends I had at SSFC, just about all of us are working in the field. Here's just a sampling of the people I've kept in touch with and what they're doing:

 

1. Assistant Park SuperIntendant, Wasaga Beach Provincial Park

2. Fisheries Research & Management Biologist, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department (Lake Champlain)

3. Professor/Coordinator - Ecosystem Management Program, Sir Sandford Fleming College

4. Fisheries Officer, Dept. Fisheries & Oceans, BC

5. Supervisor, Environmental Monitoring, Toronto & Region Conservation Authority

6. Research Associate, Waterloo Aquatic Toxicology and Ecosystem Remediation Laboratory, U. Waterloo

7. Owner/Operator of very successful Environmental Consulting Firm in BC.

8. Natural Resources Issues Liason between Metis & BC Prov. Gov't's

 

None of these were overnight successes. I can't speak for everyone I listed, but here's a quick chronological listing of what I did. As I said before, you have to be willing to chase after the work, go where the work is, move, volunteer, whatever you need to do if you really want a career in the field.

 

1988 - 1st Year SSFC

Summer 1989 - summer fisheries technician, Lindsay District OMNR, stream surveys

Summer 1990 - Worked for a consultant on contract with OMNR to do access area creel surveys on Opeongo Lake, Algonquin Park. I was put up at the OMNR Harkness Research Station on Opeongo. While there I started volunteering on my time off with actual OMNR research projects at the lab and got to know the biologists. They hired me halfway through the season to work for them as well.

Fall 1990 - Volunteered for 2 weeks at the Parry Sound OMNR deer check station.

Spring 1991 - Volunteered with Napanee District OMNR for 2 weeks to conduct wild turkey gobbling surveys.

Spring 1991 - Graduated 3-year F&W SSFC.

Summer 1991 - Returned to Harkness to work as summer fisheries technician for OMNR.

Fall 1991 Aug-Oct - fisheries technician, Port Dover, Lake Erie Fisheries Assessment Unit, Commercial fisheries catch observer

Fall 1991 Oct-Dec - Volunteered with Agriculture Canada, Animal Disease Research Institute, to work in their rabies research lab, feeding test animals (skunks, fox, rabbits etc). Progressed to paid position to administer experimental vaccines and live rabies virus to test animals.

Dec 1991 - April 1992 - Signed up with Student Conservation Association (volunteer organization that sends natural resources students all over the world to work in the field). Got posted to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee to work on a wild boar control program. Spent 4 months hiking in the Smoky Mountains setting and baiting traps, and carrying rifles, shotguns, handguns to shoot and kill as many boars as possible. Also hunted at night with night-vision goggles and laser-sighted shotguns. Those boys were serious about killing boars !

Apr 1992 - Sept. 1992 - Returned to Ontario to work for OMNR's Salmonid Ecology Unit on Wilmot Creek conducting salmon surveys.

Fall 1992 - Returned to School (Trent University) to get Bachelor's of Science degree. Trent offered one year of credits for SSFC diploma. I did a joint honours B.Sc. in Biology and Environmental Science.

Summer 1993 - Worked for Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters in Peterborough, running their "Zebra Busters" invasive species boatwash and public education program.

Fall 1993 - Volunteered with OMNR's Rabies Bait drop program for Central Ontario flights.

Summer 1994 - Returned to work for OFAH, this time running a new children's program teaching kids to fish and about aquatic ecology. Travelled all over Ontario with pontoon boat, educational materials, and gear, giving program at Provincial Parks, resorts, lodges etc.

Fall 1993 - April 1995 - Because of my diverse experience in fisheries, F&W Program Coordinator from SSFC contacted me to ask if I was interested in teaching 2 intro to fisheries courses at SSFC. I taught 5 semesters of these courses at SSFC Lindsay while taking a full biology course load at Trent University.

Summer 1995 - Worked for Environment Canada's National Water Research Institute field station on Jack Lake in Aspley as a general field technician, designing, building and running equipment for 5 different graduate students from various universities who were there working on field work for their thesis.

1995-1997 - decided to go to graduate school myself, after meeting many graduate students and university professors at the Environment Canada field station. So in Sept. 1995 I packed up and moved for the 18th time or so to Quebec City to work on my Masters degree in Marine Biology, focusing on anadromous Atlantic salmon reproductive behaviour on the Riviere Ste-Marguerite, a tributary to the Saguenay Fjiord in eastern Quebec.

1997-Present - Just as I was finishing up my thesis, I saw a job posted in the American Fisheries Society's "Fisheries" magazine for a Fisheries Research and Management Biologist with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. On a whim, I applied for the job, and much to my amazement, got offered the position.

 

I've now been here in Vermont for 11 years and I absolutely love my job and the work I'm doing in fisheries. I'm now classified as a Fisheries Scientist III here. I'm married to a local girl and we have a son. Life is great, though I do miss living in Canada. But, I'm only 1.5 hours from the border ! Maybe I'll stay here for the rest of my career. Maybe I won't. I don't know where life will take me. But with the experience I have and the connections I now have, I'm confident I still could apply for and get just about any job I wanted to.

 

The take home message here Mike is to never give up on your dreams. If you want to work in fish or wildlife, you're the only one that can make it happen, with diligence, perseverance, and plain old gumption.

 

Alot of people say "well, you must have known the right people". Nope. When I moved from little old St. Thomas in 1988 to Lindsay, I was an 18-year old student. Everyone told me, just like they're telling you, "you'll never get work in that field". None of my family or friends worked in the OMNR. I didn't know a soul in the field. So how did I get these jobs ? Contacts I made myself.

 

Never be afraid to knock on doors. Never be afraid to call people up. Never be afraid to introduce yourself and tell people who you are and what your goals in life are. Ask your professors at SSFC for advice. They often know of active field projects in the gov't. In the winter, drive around to OMNR or Conservation Authority offices and ask to talk to the regional biologists, and ask what field work they might have for the upcoming summer. Go to the OFAH in Peterborough and tell the woman at the front desk you "want to speak with the person in charge". Hiring authorities like people with confidence, initiative, and goals.

 

Once you get that first job, meet as many people as you can in the field or from other offices. Also - don't stick around any one place too long, if it's doing the same thing, even if it's in fisheries or wildlife. Experience is good. Diverse experience is better. Move on to new things. Connect, connect, connect.

 

You'll make it if you want to. I hope this helps. Good luck with everything.

[Raf]

nice post.. you should do so more often.

 

"hold on tight to your dream"

Edited January 7, 2009 by Raf

[MCTFisher9120]

That was the most amazing post i have ever read on this site, and i thank you very much for the info and experiences you went through pursuing your career. This advice you gave me has been amazing and i truly am amazed at the work you did to get where you are today. I’m off to a slow start but i have began my "networking". I have had some volunteer experience at two different Conservation areas( Purple Woods, and Bowmanville/Westside Marshes Conservation Area) last year. I am planning on doing more hours once more opportunities arise this year.

 

Thank you very much and all the best in the future!

[fishermccann]

No wonder you ended up with a great life, sounds like you worked for it , a labour of love. What a wonderful story !!!!

[holdfast]

WOW nice Post. You couldn't live in a finer State. Just curious where abouts in Vermont are you from. Just interested as I practically Grew up in the Summers on Lake Champlain, close to Alburg and rare day Shopping in St Albans and Swanton.

[ozaibak1]

Great post, any dream is achievable.

[MCTFisher9120]

I just showed my mom and grandparents your story and they thought of it as inspiration, i also sent a e-mail to CLOCA asking if there is any up-coming volunteer opportunities coming up.

Edited January 7, 2009 by Mike The Bass Fisher

[xeon]

The whole leaving st. thomas thing is a great thing in itself. Inside thing.