Subject: Career questions
n.patenaude@auckland.ac.nz
Wed, 19 Mar 1997 12:08:11 GMT+1200
My name is Jamie Myers and I live in Slidell, La. I am in the tenth
grade and am working on a research paper for my Honors Biology class. I
would like to ask you a few questions about your career in the field of
whales:
1. What led you to the choice of this profession?
Funny enough it doesn't have much to do with whales. As an undergraduate I was interested
in conservation issues. My special interest was the population genetics of endangered
species. I started working on birds first but then a project on white whales came up which
encompassed what I was interested in: a small, isolated population which had been depleted
and was struggling to recover. I couldn't resist and made the jump to whales. I haven't
looked back since then.
2. What are the pros and cons of you job?
Pros: The intellectual challenge, the discovery of new information, the flexibility of the
hours, the traveling, basically work is play.
Cons: The lack of job security, the generally low pay, the mass of paperwork and the
continued struggle for funding.
3. Did anyone encourage you to take on the study of whales? If so, who?
No one encouraged me to study whales but there was one lecturer during my undergraduate
years who strongly encouraged me to pursue a career in research. His name is Jean-Francois
Robitaille, he is now a lecturer at Laurien University in Northern Ontario and works on
stoats.
4. What university did you attend and how many years were you there?
I attended the Univeristy of Montreal for one year and obtained a certificat in
Anthropology. Then I returned to the same University to do a Bachelor's of Science degree
for 3 years. I then went to McMaster University in Ontario to do a Master's degree for two
years. I am now working and studying at the University of Auckland. I have been here for
about 2 years.
5. How do you feel about the work you are doing now? Do you enjoy
everything you do?
I love the work I do although I woulkd like to spend more time in the field. The bit I
don't enjoy is having to write the never ending grant proposal. It takes up a lot of time,
but without it we couldn't do our research. Apart from that, it's pretty good.
6. How often do you go out into the ocean to do field work?
It varies a great deal from year to year. A few years back I spent about half the year
out in the field. Last year I was out in the field on two different projects for about 3
months.
7. Where are some places you have traveled to study whales?
I have been lucky enough to spend a fair amount of time in the Arctic. I have worked in
Alaska, in the Northwest and Yukon Territories. I have also been to the Subantarctic
Islands south of New Zealand and Tonga.
8. How do you spend a typical day?
These days most of my days are spent in the lab, doing molecular genetic analysis.
Typically I am in the office by 8 am, take care of paperwork, email collegues, and attend to
the most pressing things like answering Whalenet! Then I spend most of the day working in
the lab. Early afternoon we often have meetings, or seminars. Then late afternoon I do a
bit of data analysis, working on the computer. My evenings are usually spent reading
scientific articles, writing proposals or reports. Of course when I am in the field it is
completely different as most of the time is spent on the water collecting data.
9. Do you have any advice for a young person that is interested in this
field?
You need determination and perseverance because many people want to be in this field. I
recommend you start as early as possible getting involved in projects as a volunteer. I
think you should gear your studies towards a fairly broad background in Biology but try to
become really good at something like statistics or genetics.
Thank you for your time,
Jamie Myers
You're welcome
9.
Your answers will be greatly appreciated.
Nathalie Patenaude