College advice

College will be coming up before i know it and im not entirely set on my major yet. I would like to major in something with wildlife. Either majoring as some sort of wildlife biologist or something for conservation of streams im not totally sure whats out there. I know im being pretty vague, but is there anyone out there in the profession that has some advice for me or what universities i should be looking into. Any advice at all can really help me.

-Zac

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The way to a flyfisherman's heart is through his fly

To each his own of course, but I will be majoring in both environmental science and fisheries biology at Mansfield University.

Don

[Harold Hattaway]

Don and Zac;

Good luck picking a major. Let me give you both and anyone else that is getting ready to go to college a tiny bit of advice.

Take the blinders off.

My dad told me when I went off to college to "get the education I wanted, now what someone else told me to take".

So when I say take the blinders off I mean look at ever course that is offered. Sure get your major and a minor but do not stay inside the lines the college draws for you. There is no reason to pass up the opportunity to get "your education" If you decide on something in the wildlife area, then get out of the box and take classes that will round you out. I loved college and everything about it. I made it fun by spreading my education into many different fields. I changed major 3 different times. So my young friends, listen to your advisors, but it is your education and your money, get the most for it.

I will bet most of us would agree the college years were special times for us.

Make the most of this time, you will make friends that will remain with you through life.

I envy you both.

Harold

[Spud]

You could apply to Cornell University and be a Natural Resources Major.

I'm at Cornell now and really love it here. I am a Natty Reeser and would like to be a wildlife or fisheries biologist. There are a lot of requirements to get out of the way just like most places (bio, chem, etc), but I'm really liking classes such as Water Resources Management and Fish Ecology this semester. I'm planning on taking stream ecology next time it is offered. There are classes from maple syrup production and woodlot management to fisheries, wildlife, etc. There is the research/management part of NTRES, which is where I am. There is also policy and ethics.

One great thing about Cornell is that it's big, but it is spaced out...not really urban. There is a broad range of courses that you could take, especially great if you change majors. The physical education courses are great. I took Intro to Freshwater Angling first semester (even though I wasn't a beginner, I just wanted to fish for college credit!). I took Fly tying/Fly fishing second semester. This year I took Introduction to Handguns and that was also a great course. You can find about anything you would want.

BTW, the Natural Resources Professors are the greatest professors that I have met. They are all fun people and really get you out into the field. There is also a LOT of research opportunities to gain experience.

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"If firearms cause crimes and kill people, all of the ones I have must be defective."

[DG]

JC I was fishing, where else?

Lots of colleges out there with good fisheries and wildlife programs. Email me and we can discuss it in some more depth. I would also recommend calling your local fish and game office and asking some of their bios about their careers, where they went to school, what they would and would not do differently...

Making a career out of something you love can be a good thing, but it can also ruin it for you. I pretty much gave up hunting, started THINKING too much about it. REfused to go into fisheries work so I could keep fishing and not worry about things too much. Worked so far.

[analogbob]

Your course of study should be in a field that interests you. That being said, it won't hurt to include a couple of practical courses to your curriculum vitae in case you have trouble finding employment in your field. Take Accounting 1 and 2 and enough English Lit courses to learn how to write. These courses will increase your employment chances outside your chosen field.

Zac,
I was surprised to see that 2 respondants to your questions were from around here, Cornell and Mansfield, both of which are within 35 miles of Elmira. Going a little further there are Cobelskill and of course Penn State.

I'm more familiar with Cornell since Fall Creek forms a beautiful gorge that divides the campus. Its a trout and Atlantic Salmon spawning stream. While fishing there,I met a Co-ed doing water studies below the falls. She was very pleasant and sooo beautiful. Seldom do I disagree with Harold but I'd recommend your donning your blinders before entering the area. I fear that you may take your mind off your studies... if any more nymphs of that species be there!

Ol' Bill

[fcch]

Zac,

Congrats on your futur endeavour. You're looking at a fine branch of the "natural resource" sciences.

A few questions ...
Why specifically wildlife bio or streams conservation ??
Just streams, ... or habitat in general?

I also agree fully with Harold. The "science" aspect of an "education" is the core of knowledge base (or the foundation as you would). Strangely, after I finished in forest resource management (in Canada), what was lacking was Project Managament, Communications, Technical Writing, Humain Resources Mgmnt.

I took a bit of extra time to do my studies and never regretted it. Came away with 3 majors and several minors. Helps alot.

In terms of "futur employability", we look for abilities in communication, problem solving, team work and project management. Systems approches to analysing situations is important too. SO these are all areas of interest you could look at "cultivating" during your studies.

On some of the managament counsels I'm on, there is too much "my turf" "your turf" infighting. The biologists want to manage the wildlife and habitat, but we foresters have "a bit of impact on the forest cover"

I envy you, ... you're about to embark on a wonderful adventure. Choose a field that inspires passion in your soul. I did and I love my work.

ps: Check your e-mail

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Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://www3.sympatico.ca/chris_chin/:082d5]http://www3.sympatico.ca/chris_chin/[/url:082d5]


[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 12 March 2005).]

[Spud]

Bass Angler,

Don't forget to take into account the fishing opportunities in the area near where you go to college.

One thing I like about Cornell is that it's on the Finger Lakes on NY, where you can have anything from some very nice smallmouths and largemouths to pike, landlocked salmon (big ones) and lake run trout. Good runs of salmon and browns come up the tribs in the fall, and the rainbow run is in the spring. The Susquehanna isn't far, and if you want to drive a little farther you can have steelhead and pacific salmon out of Ontario.

It's also not far from the Catskills where I live, so there are really lots of fishing opportunities.

I'm starting up a fishing club as I type this...let me know when you decide where you want to go, and if you want more info let me know as well.

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"If firearms cause crimes and kill people, all of the ones I have must be defective."

[phatkid248]

all i have to say is that you have to be amazingly committed right now to pick your major and stick to it. i am heading off this coming september and i cant even decide on a college, let alone a major. there are so many factors that go into it, all of which can affect your major. you also may have to make a sacrifice or two as well. for example, i think i may want to study coastal and marine policy and management at the University of Rhode Island. Now this program is very strong at URI, but i also want to study business at the same time. The problem is that URI doesn't have a strong business department. If i choose to go to a different college, i could study in a great business program, but lose the advantage of a strong enviromental program. my advice to you is to explore your options and give yourself the most time possible to look into specifics at different colleges.