Translating my college experience into employer-desired experiences

example 1: Hands down the first choice of transferrable skills would be the ability to work within a group or with a partner. Class projects or working with a partner to complete a task, even working with people you don't necessarily mesh well with. I had a partner I was assigned to complete scientific papers with for an entire semester of an ecology lab. We practiced writing different portions of the papers creating data figures together, and collecting field data together as well. That in itself is a desired skill especially within the conservation field. Being able to successfully collaborate makes tasks all the more manageable and can provide for better quality work. It helps keep you open to the idea that someone may have better insight or just a different approach that you may not have considered before. That in itself can help someone be open to criticism and be able to handle and adjust their performance from critiques.

example 2: The ability to conduct field work would be a huge asset to my career field. My current ornithology course requires us to take several birding field trips were we can practice successfully identifying bird species via sight or listening to their songs. We also had to take note and keep track of what we saw and how many we saw in order to input it into a data base that contributes to animal censusing. This kind of work is common in conservation and wildlife management, especially in national parks. It also prepares you for extreme weather conditions, hiking, crawling, and any other types of manual work involved in a somewhat dirty job.

example 3: The last thing I would consider a desirable skill is the idea of critical thinking. I know it may seem like a generic, standard listing to any resume, but it really is a skill. Anytime I have had questions or concerns about things in class, the first stop is google. It really is an incredibly useful tool and cuts out an unbelievable about of "middle man time". I think being able to utilize any tools like this makes for a proactive and capable person. Don't quite know how something works? google it. Don't know what a certain animals diet should be? Google it. Don't really know how to fix a broken gate in an animal enclosure? watch a YouTube video on it. There are things that do need to be asked of co-workers because there is still knowledge that can't be searched on the internet. But to all the teachers that allowed open note or open book testing, they really helped students know how and where to find answers rather than having to memorize everything. Knowing HOW to look for an answer will always be far more valuable than trying to remember everything.