Charlotte Hacker Interview: Elephants, Snow Leopards, and Being Persistent

In this episode of the Fancy Scientist podcast, I interview scientist and blogger Charlotte Hacker. Charlotte is a Ph.D. candidate who uses non-invasive genetics through scat (poop) to study snow leopard populations in China. We talk all about her snow leopard research and journey to become a scientist.This is a fantastic episode to listen to if you are an aspiring wildlife biologist or scientist! Charlotte talks about all of the pivots she had to make on her way to become a scientist. Learn how she bounced back from failing in her college courses and what she did when her Master’s research was cancelled THE moment she started graduate school. This is a fantastic episode to listen to if you are an aspiring wildlife biologist or scientist! Charlotte talks about all of the pivots she had to make on her way to become a scientist. Learn how she bounced back from failing in her college courses and what she did when her Master’s research was cancelled THE moment she started graduate school. Charlotte’s snow leopard research: What she is studying and how she uses scat to study snow leopardsWhat snow leopards are eating and human-wildlife conflictCharlotte’s journey to become a scientist – what inspired her and how she bounced back from almost failing out of collegeThe lack of role models for female scientists when we were growing up)How Charlotte was determined to study elephants, but ended up with research on snow leopardsHow Charlotte approached studying elephants for graduate school and her experience contacting professorsWhat happened when Charlotte’s Master’s research immediately was taken away from her when she just arrived to start!Why Charlotte started blogging and that most of us scientists are more artsy than people thinkWhat Charlotte does as a side hustleWords of wisdom from Charlotte for aspiring wildlife biologistsGet the full show notes here: https://stephanieschuttler.com/charlotte-hacker/Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” here: 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/ I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientistInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/I go live in my Facebook group every Wednesday at 12 PM EST to answer a wildlife biology question. Join me! https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/ Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology