From Web Developer to Starting an Environmental Career: Interview with Melina Shak

Have you ever thought about starting an environmental career, but instead chose a more “safe” and “secure” route? Or maybe you are currently tempted by it or you simply didn’t know how to go about a wildlife career and took a path that was more easily laid out? 

Is there a part of you that still wonders “what if?” but worries it might be too late or are too scared to step out of your comfort zone?

We only get one life to live and so much of our lives are dedicated to our work – simply by the hours put in. What if I told you it isn’t too late. If you feel at all pulled to make a change then I’m here to tell you that you can. But maybe you don’t know how…

In this episode of the Fancy Scientist Podcast, I interview web developer Melina Shack about her experience transforming from computer scientist into a career in wildlife, ecology, and the environment. Perhaps just like you, Melina didn’t know how to start the transition or even if it was possible. But it is and she is currently starting an environmental career.

Melina is a student in my Successful Wildlife Professional program and had no idea about how to go about changing careers, but she felt a pull that that was the right move for her. She had always been interested in careers in the environment and ecology, but she didn’t know how to get there, and she took computer science because it was a lucrative, safe, and secure route. In this interview we talk about how she is making that transition through the help of my mentorship and being in the Successful Wildlife Professional program.

Melina has just started this transition after being accepted into graduate school (with a scholarship!) several months ago. We talk about the steps she has taken to make this transition and what it’s like her first semester in graduate school. 

Specifically, we chat about:

• What it’s like for her to start graduate school and experience her first semester
• What got her to finally make the transition into a career in the environment
• What it’s like for her to start graduate school and experience her first semester in a different field
• How to go to graduate school as a working professional – having a full-time job and enrolling in a Master’s program
• The difference between thesis and non-thesis Master’s programs

and MORE!



Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” to see how I can help you in your career: 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/ 

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