From Passive to Proactive: Making Your Wildlife Career Happen When You Feel Stuck: Interview with Makeela Mogomolla

How do you actually make your wildlife career happen when you feel like you’ve missed your window? You got the degree, maybe even got some temporary jobs here and there, but you felt like you weren’t getting traction. Or couldn’t see how it could all come together. And time just keeps ticking away…That’s exactly how my former Successful Wildlife Professional student, Makeela Magomolla, was feeling before she joined my group mentoring program. Even though she was young at 25, the world was taken over by a pandemic, halting opportunities for young wildlife professionals left and right, and she felt powerless to move forward in her wildlife career and contribute to making a difference in the world. But in this week’s episode of the Fancy Scientist podcast, you’ll discover how we turned that around for her!After graduating in 2020 in the midst of the COVID pandemic, when the world shut down, Makeela found herself in a lab job, feeling like she had missed her chance and questioning if she was “too old” for a wildlife career. Today, she is a Master’s student leading acoustic surveys and collaborating directly with state DNR biologists on the animals she is most passionate about: bats.Through our conversation, you’ll learn how Makeela moved out of a “dark space” by taking the advice to be intentional. She didn’t just wait for luck; she went on a “rampage” to find opportunities. You’ll learn how she started to make things happen for her: she volunteered in wildlife rehabilitation and reached out to a campus group called the “Bat Brigade” that had been dormant since the pandemic. She even took the preemptive step of paying for her own rabies vaccinations, an expensive and painful preventative needed for bat work, to ensure she was ready for any hands-on opportunity that came her way.You’ll hear how Makeela mastered networking through cold emailing professionals she wanted to work with and learn from. Despite being shy using the methods and templates provided in the Successful Wildlife Professional program, she reached out to graduate students, professors, and other researchers.She even connected with a former podcast guest of mine, Dr. Seth Magle, which led to an introduction that helped her find a graduate advisor and a project she truly cared about.The results of her networking were so effective, that when she was invited to an important meeting with bat specialists in the area, she realized that she already had met everyone in the room prior! Her dedication even led to a generous donation from a sponsor, allowing her to start her first semester of graduate school while she applied for teaching assistantships.Makeela shares the details of her Master’s research, which includes analyzing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources data sets, tracking rehabilitated bats post-release, and studying the effectiveness of community science as a tool in wildlife research, as well as the importance of science communication and getting the community involved in nature right where they live.You’ll walk away from Makeela’s story excited about what is possible when you decide to be intentional about your career path. Makeela proves that even when you are at your “wits’ end,” small shifts in mindset, strategy, and more led her to incredible results!Finally, after the interview, I break down the main points Makeela covered and how you can apply them to your own career, including the importance of mindset, why you should lead with the job you want rather than the degree, and how to build a community in this field, no matter your background.Specifically, we talk about:Makeela’s detailed journey from a 2020 pandemic graduate to her first week as a Master’s studentHow she handled the “quarter-life crisis” and the feeling of powerlessness when job opportunities were unavailableWhy she chose to be intentional about specializing in bats after a senior project and an experience in RwandaHow she revitalized the “Bat Brigade” on campus and transitioned from a volunteer to a leader of the program – even after she graduated from college and was no longer a student!How a cold email to a podcast guest resulted in an introduction to her current graduate advisorThe way her networking efforts connected her with state DNR biologists and the local wildlife rehabilitation communityThe story of how a sponsor provided a donation that let her start her Master’s research.The elements of her research, including acoustic data analysis, post-rehab tagging, the social science of community science, and moreHer perspective on being a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) professional in the field and the value of groups like BIPOC birding organizationsHow she integrated her interests by joining working groups and following labs on social media to find opportunitiesWhy she shifted from wanting to work abroad to finding value in investing in the community and wildlife of the MidwestAnd MORE!Jump links:01:13 Meet Mikayla And Big Lessons04:34 Early Passion For Wildlife05:55 Pandemic Graduation Detour09:23 Quarter Life Crisis11:05 Choosing Bats On Purpose14:30 Bat Brigade Leadership17:22 Networking Into Grad School23:40 Funding And TA Path25:59 Masters Project Overview29:45 Citizen Science Impact30:36 Career Goals and Tanzania32:08 Local Nature Appreciation36:19 Gorillas and Wildlife Highlights40:20 Being BIPOC Outdoors44:29 Networking and Cold Emails48:23 Host Recap and ResourcesDream of being a wildlife biologist, zoologist, conservation biologist, or ecologist? Ready to turn your love of animals into a thriving career?🌿🐘 Then…✍️ SIGN UP for my next FREE training: https://fancyscientist.com/3-pillars-to-success/🗺️ Get my FREE wildlife career guide: https://fancyscientist.com/wildlife-career-success-guide/📚 Read Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Job-Wildlife-Biology-What/dp/B08JDYXS4G/🚀 Work with me! Programs: https://stephanieschuttler.com/work-with-me/I’m Dr. Stephanie Manka (formerly Schuttler), a wildlife biologist of 20 yrs who is on a mission to empower wildlife professionals and break stereotypes of scientists so they can get jobs, live out their life’s purpose and make a difference in this world.🎥 How I became a wildlife biologist: https://youtu.be/zBvHRDO7gIg Full show notes:👉https://stephanieschuttler.com/fancy-scientist-podcast-151-makeela-magomolla/Let’s connect! 🤝✨Website: https://fancyscientist.com/Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiologyYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FancyScientistInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sgschuttler/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientistThreads: https://www.threads.net/@fancy_scientistBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fancyscientist.bsky.socialPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/