The Failure of Universities to Produce Conservation Biologists

Ten years ago, like most students finishing their PhDs, I was eagerly shipping off applications to scores of universities , hoping to settle in soon to a lifetime in academia. The only difference between me and most of my fellow students was that, prior to beginning PhD work, I had been gainfully employed for several years after completing my Masters degree, first in a state agency and then by The Nature Conservancy. This was in addition to a couple years of professional work (mostly teaching) before my Masters education. I had hoped my professional experience would be seen as at least equivalent to a multi-year, postdoctoral appointment and would aid my search for academic jobs. I assumed my diverse teaching background prepared me well for a job in higher education. I also believed my multidisciplinary training in animal and plant ecology, as opposed to narrow specialization, would come in handy for educating students in the increasingly broad fields of applied ecology and conservation biology. I was wrong on all counts. I never landed an academic job. In those cases where I found out why, it appears that I was seen as too much of a generalist and hence not capable of focusing intensively on a narrowly-defined research topic. What came as a real surprise was that my job experience in government agencies, outdoor schools, and NGOs, far from being an asset, was a liability. This was my first conscious exposure to the prejudice of many academics that non-university scientists are second-rate scholars not bright enough to enter the ivory tower. It was also the first time I realized that being a generalist and a naturalist—and even worse, a conservation activist !—does not win points in academic job competitions. In my case, things turned out all right. My non-academic experience paid off for landing contracts and grants as a self-employed consultant, and perhaps even for being named editor of this journal and president-elect of this society. But I worry that other graduates may not be faring so well. What happens to those narrowly trained PhDs who lack experience outside the university and are faced with an increasingly tight academic job market? What happens to all those students who enter graduate school wanting to devote their careers to applied work in conservation biology? What steps have the universities taken to train graduate students for professional jobs outside academia? Are students given plenty …