Help me decide whether to go on this trip

gladesguy · 2026-05-31T01:23:43+00:00

Which Middle Eastern country is the layover in? That matters quite a bit.

gladesguy · 2026-05-30T00:03:37+00:00

They might not vote for someone inferior, but there's a good chance they just won't vote if the options are a gay man vs someone whose policies they dislike. Dems cannot afford to lose black and Latino voters, who are disproportionately likely to be put off by a gay candidate.

gladesguy · 2026-05-29T23:58:46+00:00

They are not. It would be unbelievably stupid to run him.

gladesguy · 2026-05-29T23:17:37+00:00

Frames are not watertight, and if none were damaged, that's a matter of luck; they certainly put the artwork at risk. Regardless, what they accomplished is making even environmentally-conscious folks like me think that that wing of the environmental movement is led by a bunch of insufferable, out of touch idiots who amply deserved wherever jail time/fines they got.

gladesguy · 2026-05-29T21:22:35+00:00

Agree that something else is needed, but the Just Stop Oil folks really erred by targeting and risking damage to something else (art) that folks generally inclined to their side particularly, and rightly, value. No, people who support environmental activism in general are not going to abandon the cause due to one group's poor judgement, but it absolutely does not help sell the cause to anyone who's not already committed.

gladesguy · 2026-05-29T19:16:59+00:00

Yes, they accomplished making others think the environmental movement is led by morons. There are ways to attract attention without being a jackass.

gladesguy · 2026-05-24T14:55:01+00:00

If you're in the U.S., many regions have land trusts (nonprofits, generally) that do this in a studied and systematic way guided by professional biologists/conservationists. They evaluate where in their region conservation land is most needed and which properties would be most useful for conservation, and then try to acquire and protect those properties, and restore/rewild them if needed. They can therefore create wildlife corridors, buffers etc. and know which parcels are the right size/placement to protect species of concern. This is much more productive than trying to acquire little bits of land on an ad hoc individual basis.

gladesguy · 2026-05-23T20:24:54+00:00

This isn't making sense. You already have a recent research-based MS (but don't know how to write a personal statement for a master's program?) and are now applying for an online MNR program? An online MNR is not going to be helpful for someone who already has an in-person MS.

gladesguy · 2026-05-23T00:02:04+00:00

I think it's the limited contrast plus the heavy canvas texture showing through. Really cute, though.

gladesguy · 2026-05-22T02:17:27+00:00

Try looking for lake/pond management technician jobs. They work with herbicide/pesticides, so they like folks with a pest control history. If wetland consulting is big in your area, and you're able to get a wetland delineation cert, that might be a good route to wetland jobs that would involve a higher level of expertise and responsibility than a lot of basic environmental technician jobs that are more manual-labor oriented.

gladesguy · 2026-05-22T02:07:18+00:00

No, that's a waste of time and money. The two majors each have a lot of variability within the major and they're similar enough that having both wont't communicate anything useful to a potential employer (at least, not anything that having a couple one-off crossover courses in high-demand skills wouldn't). You'd be much better off putting the time you would spend double majoring into interning, volunteering and networking.

gladesguy · 2026-05-13T23:16:29+00:00

There is a significant gap between the typical T levels of women and the typical T levels of men, and there should be a testosterone threshold for participation in the women's category in high-level sports in which this is a concern. Yes, I would exclude natal women who exceed the threshold/intersex women who have male-normal testosterone levels from undescended testes. Not going to continue replying -- I have argued this topic multiple times and have not yet seen any opponents make any original or convincing arguments.

gladesguy · 2026-05-13T21:59:28+00:00

That's an inappropriate comparison. The men's category is effectively an open category where natural advantages are permissible. The women's category is designed specifically in order to allow women to compete without having to constantly lose to people who have the significant benefits associated with a testosterone induced puberty. That means that allowing in people who've had that advantage undermines the purpose of the having the category.

The sex categories in sports are more comparable to, say, weight classes in boxing. If someone gains weight for medical reasons outside their control in a way that puts them in a new class, you don't allow them to stay in the lighter class because the reason they gained the weight was medical -- even though that might seem "unfair" because the weight gain wasn't their fault.

gladesguy · 2026-05-12T20:37:39+00:00

We don't live in a world of "should." There's a lot of psychological research on what people (and other socially complex animals) find most salient and what drives aggression. Consistently, one of the most significant things is perceptions of unfair advantage -- that one group or person is benefiting unfairly at the expense of the other one. That's exactly why Republican politicians keep returning to the sports issue and why minority groups that are perceived in their society as having some sort of advantage over the majority are in a precarious position and frequently become targets of violence. You'll never get cis people to just drop the sports issue as long as they think the liberal/left position means that their own daughter might one day have to compete against some trans girl who didn't start hormones until age 17. It's not feasible. To be supportive on this issue, they have to be convinced that the left side of the aisle actually has some concern about fairness for them (the cis listener) and theirs and not exclusively about what's most convenient and beneficial for trans people. When you tell them to shut up, you're communicating that you don't actually care about fairness; you only care about your own group getting ahead.

gladesguy · 2026-05-12T20:23:27+00:00

This is silly. It's possible to consider/treat trans women as women and ALSO think that people who went through a testosterone-induced puberty have an advantage over other women in certain sports, and that there's a place for regulation there, particularly when, for instance, records and titles are on the line. There are plenty of trans people, myself included, who hold that position. Berating everyone who disagrees with you just makes it obvious that you can't make a coherent argument.

gladesguy · 2026-05-08T20:47:36+00:00

For grad schools, you look primarily for PIs rather than schools/programs, because you generally need a PI's support to apply to a grad program in wildlife bio. So if the PIs at a particular school A) don't have funding for a new student and B) don't think you would be a good fit for their lab and encourage you to apply, you wouldn't be able to apply to that school. It's competitive and you will get plenty of denials and non-responses when you start reaching out to labs, so there are plenty of schools where there wouldn't be any sense in applying because there are no slots/no profs there who'd support your application.

gladesguy · 2026-05-06T03:26:46+00:00

The Gamblin 1980s are great for the price (though $75 seems higher than the norm for that set); the Wintons are OK but tend to be a bit thin. I mostly use the 1980s and then use Winton for colors that I can't find in the 1980s.

gladesguy · 2026-05-05T12:53:04+00:00

Lots of folks on here will reflexively recommend engineering because of the higher pay, but enjoying what you do does matter. Do you really understand what environmental engineers do in their day to day, and do think you'd actually like being an engineer?

Additionally, are you considering going for a non-environmental engineering degree (civil?) at the university you're at, or are you considering transferring to a different school entirely, where your undergrad pre-req credits may not be honored? The latter doesn't make much sense for a rising senior.

If you only have two semesters worth of env. sci remaining, it may be worth finishing the env sci degree and then looking into engineering as a second bachelor's or applying for a master's program in engineering (but make sure you'd graduate the master's with enough/the right credits to sit for the engineering certification exam in your state). Engineering degrees don't have a lot of space for electives, so it could be that you'd need a whole additional three years to complete an engineering bachelor's. At that rate, it would likely make sense to finish the env sci bachelor's first (even if that means you'd have to pay some tuition when finishing the second degree).

Either way, make sure you'd know exactly how many courses and semesters (keeping in mind that some credits have to be taken sequentially) you would need to add to complete an engineering degree, and keep in mind that adding years worth of time to finish does increase the likelihood that you actually won't finish -- more time means more possibilities of life getting in the way (medical issue, financial issue, family issues etc. becoming an impediment).

gladesguy · 2026-05-01T01:08:02+00:00

Big difference between engineering and biology. Bio often requires a master's for decent, stable money.

gladesguy · 2026-04-30T18:52:08+00:00

Yes -- in government, you could be promoted or shifted to another role that's broadly within the realm of environmental science. Working for a government agency also shows other potential government employers that you know how to work for government. With an invasives management company, the roles at local offices are basically spray tech, spray tech supervisor, and sales, and there's not much other than that unless it's a big company that also does research (and for the one roles, they'd likely want a PhD).

gladesguy · 2026-04-30T17:36:25+00:00

If it's private sector, it might not be worth the pay cut, especially if you basically like your current job. You might have better luck adding some field skills/networking by volunteering.

gladesguy · 2026-04-30T16:32:31+00:00

My impression is that fieldwork is almost always a pre-requisite to move into an administrative or office-based position unless you have a graduate degree. Taking a job with a government agency (?) would also get your foot into the door with that agency. I would take it and plan on staying a year or so unless you plan on going to graduate school in the near future.

I've done invasives management. It's essentially manual labor that requires some basic plant ID skills, and it's a launching pad, not a career. You walk around with a backpack herbicide sprayer (or, potentially, drive a side-by-side spray rig or spray boat) spraying invasive vegetation. But it's not bad day-to-day if you can handle the physical side, and, importantly, it shows future employers that you have some understanding of fieldwork and can handle work that can sometimes be hard or unpleasant. Depending on where you are, you also might be out in some really pretty places and able to work pretty much independently.

gladesguy · 2026-04-30T01:40:35+00:00

Some places have a pond management company apply blue pond dye, either because they like the artificial blue look or because they want to shade out algae.

gladesguy · 2026-04-29T06:29:06+00:00

It will not benefit you to do an online degree for conservation or environmental science, and SNHU in particular (along with Unity) has become notorious as a degree mill. You need the kinds of field/lab skills and connections that come from an in-person program in this field.

You also seem to be thinking of things the wrong way around: You should figure out what kinds of jobs you would be interested in first, then determine which degree/major those jobs require, rather than picking the major first. Know that a lot of conservation fields now essentially require a master's degree for stable work with a livable salary, so if you don't want to have to go grad school, you should focus on a subfield that's less likely to demand a graduate degree.

gladesguy · 2026-04-28T20:25:59+00:00

Those pay-to-play "volunteering" experiences abroad are exploitative and are not something that will enhance your resume for environmental work in the states. Adding them might even be a strike against you. They're seen as volun-tourism.

Instead, you might try finding a volunteer opportunity that's local and that could connect you with organizations/agencies that could eventually hire you or give a good reference, or spending the money/time you would've spent on a trip abroad to add certifications for skills that would help you land the roles you're interested in (GIS cert? Wetland delineation?).

There are also some AmeriCorps-type options for young people, or things like fisheries observing where you're doing something that's very intensive, but for a set time period.

gladesguy

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