Fancy Scientist with Dr. Stephanie Manka

A big lesson that I learned from studying abroad in Kenya is that the key to understanding a place's wildlife and conservation issues is to connect with the people living there. When my travels led m…

Lots of people think that the only way you can work in conservation and make a difference is by studying threatened animals to learn more about them so that we can save them. But there are a million …

After recently moving to the Chicago area, I have been captivated by the urban wildlife in the area, particularly the coyotes. Seeing them in broad daylight, not just at dusk or from afar, has been a…

Navigating career paths can be a daunting challenge. We pour our time and effort into applications, only to be met with rejection after rejection. Many aspiring wildlife professionals can relate to t…

Experience is critical to build your career in wildlife, ecology, or conservation biology. When you’re just starting out though, this can be hard to get. Even unpaid volunteer positions can be treate…

As a wildlife professional, I understand the struggles that many professionals in this field face when trying to secure a job. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the larger goals and overlook the sma…

I love hearing success stories from people who have finally landed their dream jobs, especially after challenging and twisty career paths. I always like to say, your current situation is not your fin…

When I give advice to young wildlife professionals or those aspiring to go into this career, I always tell them to reverse engineer it. To “start with the end in mind,” (a quote from Stephen Covey), …

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 …

It’s no secret that the wildlife or conservation field can be competitive, and many of you have always asked me, “How do I get my foot in the door?” or “Is there any chance that I will get a permanen…

You may have heard me on social media talk about how I am writing a kids’ book and unless you are new to the podcast, you will already know that I wrote a book called Getting a Job in Wildlife Biolog…

I know that so many of you out there are struggling to get jobs in wildlife biology. I see all of these posts in the wildlife Facebook groups, and when people join my own Facebook group, Getting a Jo…

One of my favorite podcast episodes to share with people is #46: Starting a Wildlife Career at 40: Interview with Jeffrey Hunter. In this episode, I interview Jeffrey Hunter of the National Parks Con…

Whenever I talk to someone who wants my help, I always ask them “What is your ultimate career goal?” and frequently the answer is “something with endangered species.

We’ve all seen the videos of scien…

Students always ask me – how do I choose my research? When I was in graduate school, this question lingered over me for the first six months. How in the world, out of all of the things to study do I …

I was having some struggles in my business – specifically how to talk about my program to potential student.

I was thinking about purchasing a new course to help me with this problem and I was asking …

On this week's podcast, I talk about a hot button issue and one you probably wouldn't expect from a wildlife biology and conservation based podcast: money. I always knew I wouldn't make a lot of mone…

Productivity seems to be more of a career-oriented topic, but this is actually really important in wildlife and conservation work, and it’s something that is often overlooked.

When I was in graduate s…

In mid 2020 when COVID shut so many things down ( virtually everything), a lot of people lost their volunteer positions, internships, or seasonal positions, and they felt that it really set them back…

Hello everyone. And welcome to the Fancy Scientist. We’re still pretty new into the new year, about the end of January. And I am going to talk about the importance of having a vision for the longest …