InsectNet forum

Got this in an email.

If you're looking for a research position in Costa Rica (sounds awesome!). Pay your own way there and back. $500/month pay.

https://mailchi.mp/7e71818412d6/final-d ... 17f1d1610a


I'd guess you'd better be either very young, and or very rich to be able to afford to work this job. But FYI.

I saw that announcement too.
With this kind of month pay, they should better hire locals... even if the mission itself can be interesting.

wollastoni wrote: ↑Mon Jan 08, 2024 11:35 am I saw that announcement too.
With this kind of month pay, they should better hire locals... even if the mission itself can be interesting.

I don’t think locals can afford to work for $500 per month anymore. Costa Rica is one of the most advanced country in that region and it is also not cheap anymore.
Maybe part time job for teenagers

Retired folks can. Plus it's $500 bar money. Imagine, study butterflies in the tropics and enjoy the pub at night for free!

Yes! Indeed, it sounds wonderful as long as we will have enough energy and good health. It could be a great way to finish the journey here.

This is a "typical" research position looking to hire recent collage grads that are hoping to get real experience. Basically - room and board are free - so the $500 a month is "spending money".

Getting a solid job in conservation and ecology is a brutal task lately. So, we now have a class of itinerate interns that bounce between short term positions as they gain experience and prove they are dedicated enough to be considered for a real job. It's the sad truth - and some employers are pretty exploitative - and this would be one of them.

Whenever we have an open entry level field position we typically get a handful of these types that apply. And more often than not, we hire one of them. And man - are they grateful to have a real salary and a permanent position. We just snagged a great one that was in exile in western Nebraska for a year working on prairie restoration along the Platte River.

John

Sad that ecology- and science- aren't more important.

I'm all for paying graduates what they are (not) worth- journalists, political science, media studies. I mean come on, the bar is pretty low to graduate from these, so they're a dime a dozen. I have no pity for them screaming that they can't pay student loans of $100,000 because they went to school for fields that pay $25k and paid $25k before they started school.

A thousand years ago I told my father that I wanted to go to school for entomology. He said NO - engineering. And thus I did. And I have to admit, that got me to places most entomologists can't go- and a good chunk of it was paid for.

But there aren't that many ecology grads, so how can the job market and pay be THAT low? OK, so NY isn't exactly environment friendly, but Florida has loads of econ/ecol type employees- is FL simply saturated? Or are most of these recent grads that take such low pay simply the bottom of the barrel?

Well, there is a glut of graduates with ecological backgrounds that want to become "tree huggers" (work with wildlife, habitats, endangered species and so on). Conservation biology is a hot topic. Then you have all the botany, zoology, wildlife management, forestry and environmental science programs churning out grads every year. Seriously - they are producing too many field ecologists for the job market to absorb. If you want to work with pollution and environmental contamination - well there are lots of those jobs out there and they pay pretty well. But the softer tree-hugging positions are harder to find.

Once people get their tree hugging job, they tend to stay put, so openings are not all that frequent. For one thing, after a few years, you really get sucked into what you are getting paid to do. I am paid to do what ever I think I need to do at some of the coolest natural areas in Indiana. I worked in Brazil and Belize every now and then. The people I work with love snakes, frogs, birds, plants and fish - they live their passion and they never seem to leave even though the pay is marginal relative to many other similarly skilled positions. For example, when I joined TNC it took about five years for my salary to equal what I was making as an ecological consultant in the private sector dealing with water pollution. But instead of working in the most polluted areas in the eastern US, now I restore prairies, protect forests, play with butterflies. I've been in my job for over 31 years now, and it will be a couple more years before it opens up for someone else to think about.

Anyway - that is why positions like the one in Costa Rica exist. If I was 22, single, and looking for my first job, I'd probably apply.

But I'm not,
John

I don't see how this is worth it unless you get a collecting permit while you are under their employment, and CR is one of the toughest countries around.

papiliotheona wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 9:55 pm I don't see how this is worth it unless you get a collecting permit while you are under their employment, and CR is one of the toughest countries around.

In most of the developing world, and indeed anywhere, a permit is most easily obtained in person. If one were to be in CR for six months or a year, any half-intelligent, reasonable person would be able to get a permit. It's not what you know, it's who you know...and how many beers you've enjoyed together.

As far as "worth it", well I have spent the better part of 40 summers in an office. Kinda like the corrections officers at prisons- the inmates are out in three years, the COs spend 20 years in eight hour segments. Who does more time?

papiliotheona wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 9:55 pm I don't see how this is worth it unless you get a collecting permit while you are under their employment, and CR is one of the toughest countries around.

I just got back two days ago from a 5 month collecting trip in Costa Rica. Permits are very easy to get and they take about a month from start to finish. I even spent time within some well known national parks collecting. Permits involve filling out a form, getting a support letter, and emailing that along with your project proposal to the individual in charge of your collecting area. there are several conservation areas that the country is divided into. You can also just send it to the director and they can help you get permits from multiple areas if you don't want to apply to each area individually. They really are pro research so it was a breeze getting my permits for multiple areas. Now for export permits that's a little more involved but still 100% possible if you apply at least 30 days before you export.

Man, that's great! You survived a foreign country.

Would love to see some photos from CR.

EdTomologist wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2024 5:24 am

papiliotheona wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 9:55 pm I don't see how this is worth it unless you get a collecting permit while you are under their employment, and CR is one of the toughest countries around.

I just got back two days ago from a 5 month collecting trip in Costa Rica. Permits are very easy to get and they take about a month from start to finish. I even spent time within some well known national parks collecting. Permits involve filling out a form, getting a support letter, and emailing that along with your project proposal to the individual in charge of your collecting area. there are several conservation areas that the country is divided into. You can also just send it to the director and they can help you get permits from multiple areas if you don't want to apply to each area individually. They really are pro research so it was a breeze getting my permits for multiple areas. Now for export permits that's a little more involved but still 100% possible if you apply at least 30 days before you export.

You're the man, Ed!

Chuck wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2024 1:58 pm Man, that's great! You survived a foreign country.

Would love to see some photos from CR.

For sure! Spent 50 days in Brazil, ca,e back to the US just long enough to spread them before I left for CR.
Currently I'm in the process of building some 100 drawers. Pictures of my finds can be seen on my instagram @ed_tomologist

I may make a proper thread in the future