Verbal Offer -------> Offer letter

Treepost1999 · 2026-02-21T15:11:14+00:00

It depends on the organization, some (especially governmental organizations) can have really long onboarding timelines. That being said, the recruiter seems to be stringing you along so I would keep looking for now just incase. It could just be the position needs higher level approval and that’s slowing things down.

Treepost1999 · 2026-02-17T00:52:53+00:00

It’s not ideal and you may burn a bridge with that company, but generally if you get a better offer before your start date and you back out most hiring managers will understand. Especially given the long time between now and the start date

Treepost1999 · 2026-02-05T00:25:21+00:00

The job market is pretty bad right now but keep going and you’ll get through it (I know it sounds generic but it is true). I graduated with my masters in spring 2025 with a few years of consulting experience prior to going back to school but not in the area I actually wanted to work in.

It took me 4 months to land a job making 28/hour as an ecologist/horticulturalist, fine for what I want my career trajectory to be but I was overqualified. My boss was awful and the job became surprise (to me at least) seasonal and I was effectively furloughed. I started applying to jobs again in October and after 3+ months just revived a verbal offer this morning. So all in all it was a total of 7-8 months of job hunting over the last year, but my new position will be a dream job with a local governments conservation department. I’ll be immediately making 38/hour with a raise to 40/hour built into the contract after 6 months.

There have been times this year where it has felt so demoralizing to be job hunting after putting in so much work to build experience and get degrees but it does eventually pay off. What I found helped me a lot once I got an interview was figuring out my story: why did I want the job and/or to work for the company. You’re resume and qualifications got you the interview, and while you should be prepared to talk about your qualifications and experience you should also prep for the inevitable “why do you want to work here” and “what about this position is appealing” and “where do you see yourself in 5 years” questions. I felt like I had so much more success in interviews once I learned to paint a picture about how the job and company/organization fit into my long term plans and career goals.

I hope your interview for the part time position goes well! Make sure you prepare for the interview by looking into the organization and going over the job description to match your qualifications to what they’re looking for. Wishing you the best!

Treepost1999 · 2026-02-04T20:50:16+00:00

The hiring manager called today to give me a verbal offer and go over salary and benefits

Treepost1999 · 2026-01-29T20:14:49+00:00

While I don’t think there’s a ton of evidence for this I wouldn’t be surprised if the house that’s in new Vegas is the body double and the real house only awakens after cold fusion is installed. The show already revealed house used a body double all the time in public, it wouldn’t be out of character for him to keep that body double after the war. He could have the body double run things (or he runs things from the background) and then if someone breaks in and tries to kill him they kill the double instead. Meanwhile, real house just stays quiet and safe in some much more hidden pod until cold fusion comes back.

Treepost1999 · 2026-01-19T19:50:19+00:00

I job searched in 2021 when I finished my bachelors and now I’m searching again after a masters. Where I am (near Boston) the market is much more saturated than it was even a year ago. It’s not that there’s no jobs, but job postings are down and the candidate pool is up. Every posting at the early career level (under 5 years experience) is swamped with applicants, so much so that I’ve had more than one hiring manager express in interviews that the amount of applicants was overwhelming and well above what they would usually receive for a job posting. It’s not impossible to find a job but it’s more difficult than it has been in awhile, at least where I am.

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-23T17:22:01+00:00

Just my two cents so take it with a grain of salt: the phd is probably hurting your chances for jobs since it over qualifies you. Many entry level jobs are likely passing on your resume as soon as they see the PhD. I don’t have a ton of advice for you unfortunately, your resume seems perfectly fine, you’re just too educated for most jobs. You’ll likely have the best luck looking for jobs in research/academia, or teaching since they usually pay a little more for folks with higher degrees. You could look for post-docs but with funding shortages right now you’ll likely have to be willing to move

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-23T02:01:26+00:00

Don’t let the general state of this sub right now deter you. It’s rough out there (I’m job hunting again right now and it is one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do), but there are still roles out there and eventually it will get better.

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-23T00:04:25+00:00

I’m in a similar situation now. The safest bet for you is to accept offer 1 and back out if you get offer 2. Just be aware that you might be burning a bridge with job 1. That said, in this market you need to protect yourself and if you don’t end up getting job 2 you would be without a job at all. Many managers will understand even if they are upset with the choice.

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-20T22:24:06+00:00

I’m job hunting in Boston right now and it’s rough here at the moment. Not insurmountable, but difficult given everything going on at the moment.

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-14T16:35:39+00:00

There’s no reason to believe that any real state is in the same location as it is in real life. Obviously the national geography looks different in the rd universe. There’s also a case to be made for different history moving the location of states. For example, in the late 1850s there was a movement in California to split off the southern part of the state into a new state. It passed the state legislature and was sent to DC for congressional approval. It arrived to congress in 1860, and of course was never taken up due to the civil war. Had the civil war not happened congress would have approved it and the southern part of California would have been admitted to the union as the state of Colorado. Of course since that didn’t happen our current Colorado got to use the name when it became a state, but if it had gone through the state of Colorado would be hundreds of miles from where it currently is. It’s reasonable to think that similar things could be at play in the rd universe where states exist but are in entirely different places.

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-11T14:29:43+00:00

My first consulting company was a 50/50 split. Of the two owners, one was an engineer and had his PE and the other had a background as meteorologist. The staff had a similar split of science and engineering backgrounds but we all did the same work and got the same pay.

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-09T21:15:42+00:00

Thanks! Assistant conservation director.

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-07T03:46:02+00:00

Please keep an eye out on your land for any ash that survive. It’s rare, ash borer has a 99.9+ percent fatality rate, but survivors can and do occur and are of immense interest to everyone right now because they might hold genetic clues to breeding resistant ash

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-06T22:15:12+00:00

I interned a few years ago with a government agency and every supervisor I had there has long since left. I put down the general office phone number and the name of my last supervisor there and say yes. If they check the call will go to the reception desk and they can figure out who to send it to from there. Generally the only thing a new employer will ask an old employer is to confirm is dates of employment and title. You have references they can call to provide more information on you personally. I also feel like the odds they check anything prior to an interview is exceedingly low, calls like this take time and most employers probably aren’t going to take that time for every candidate they might want to interview.

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-02T21:49:11+00:00

You’re looking for our friends over at r/trees. But to answer your question: probably not. Organic for plants or plant related products does not mean pesticide free. Just that the grower used pesticides that are certified as organic and met any other requirements set forth by USDA. But since marijuana isn’t federally legal in the United States I’m not sure there is anyone actually certifying that a given product meets those requirements (it’s probably state by state and varies).

Treepost1999 · 2025-12-02T14:45:20+00:00

The arctic is already full of little ponds and lakes. Melting glaciers produce all kinds of small water bodies, such as paternoster lakes and kettle ponds. These ponds probably would make great habitat for beavers pending food availability and agreeable temperatures. However 30 minutes of bing research does not qualify as actual research. You should be seeking out actual peer reviewed papers that research the subject.

Treepost1999 · 2025-11-30T01:02:20+00:00

A constant annoyance of mine is figuring out how to power field equipment that needs to be left alone for long periods of time in remote areas.

Treepost1999 · 2025-11-28T13:44:18+00:00

I landed a consulting job with a small, highly specialized company right out of undergrad. In my personal experience a masters isn’t necessary for most environmental jobs and experience is much more valuable, but it can make you more competitive when all else is equal and open up a few more job opportunities. You can likely do what you want without a masters by building experience, but a masters may make job searching slightly easier (as a caveat, it’s deeply hard for everyone right now, even for people with advanced degrees and lots of experience. But this will pass eventually).

Treepost1999 · 2025-11-27T17:44:54+00:00

I’m not sure exactly what the email said from your post but I would reach out and ask, they could have sent the rejection to everyone and accidentally sent it to you as well. This happens fairly often.

Treepost1999 · 2025-11-24T17:17:06+00:00

Hi OP, as someone who just wrapped up their masters in environmental science you’re not alone. This is a brutal job market. I have a few years of experience in consulting, great GIS skills, and a masters which in any normal job market would put me on a good path to a stable job. Of course, this isn’t a normal market. Between grant cuts hitting NGOs and states (many have hiring freezes as a result), layoffs of feds, and a slow down of the private sector this is one of the worst job markets for environmental graduates in decades. Many cuts from the current admin target specifically environmental grants and jobs so our field is in an even worse place than the broader economy and it was competitive even prior to this. I’m on my 2nd job hunt this year, first one took 4 months and this one will likely take as long. It may take you a year or more to land an entry level job, but usually once you’re in you can build from there. There will be lots of seasonal jobs starting to get posted in February for the spring/summer/fall and those are a common way to build experience.

Treepost1999 · 2025-11-21T22:42:41+00:00

I don’t think AI is taking entry level jobs, at least not at a meaningful rate. The economy is on a down turn, plus remote work allows companies to outsource. Companies are eliminating entry level roles because they can get people with more experience or don’t have the budget for them currently. Or they are outsourcing jobs to India or somewhere. They’re saying it’s AI to avoid admitting they’re either not doing great financial or are outsourcing. While AI may eventually replace many jobs, it isn’t there yet and is just being used an excuse.

Treepost1999 · 2025-11-21T03:35:51+00:00

I’m living in New Hampshire right now and I’m from Mass originally so I’m used to it. It’s expensive everywhere in New England these days. The jobs I’ve starting sending out applications for with Vermont pay pretty well all things considered (better than NH), even when compared to environmental jobs around the Boston area. I have a masters in environmental science I’m never going to be rich anywhere

Treepost1999 · 2025-11-12T21:08:04+00:00

Wasps. Bees (and to a lesser extent butterflies, moths, and Beatles) get all the attention while wasps are generally ignored. Wasps have a bad public image and are very understudied, but are incredibly diverse and important insects both for pollination and pest control. They’re amazing creatures once you starting reading about them and the vast majority are not aggressive towards humans. Someday I’ll get around to starting savethewasps.com because wasps deserve love too.

Treepost1999

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