I came into Natural Resource Management my sophomore year of college. I absolutely love my major and everything I do in it. Over the years, I have heard many different things from my non-natural resource management friends that are not true about NRM. Just to clear things up, here is what not to say to us.
1. Natural Resource Management? That sounds really easy.
Ha ha ha, I wish this statement was even a little bit true. Even though our labs consist of being in the fresh mountain air, we still have to take pretty hard classes that consist of a lot of biology, chemistry, and math. Not to mention all of the lab reports that we write every week that also require countless amounts of research and scholarly or peer-reviewed articles. So don't think we are just another major that gets to play outside.
2. Oh so you hate it when people cut down trees.
Yes, and no. As a natural resource management major my concentration is in forestry. My job is learning how to manage a forest system. Sometimes that means cutting or even burning trees. Sometimes people cut or burn too much and it destroys a forest system and that is what I do not like.
3. You want to be a park ranger right?
Under my profession I could indeed be a park ranger but not all of us want to be that. Some of us go on to be Ecologists, Botanists, and even Naturalists. In NRM we have a pretty wide range of opportunities waiting for us. Whether its in a National Park or with a timber company.
4. There is no jobs and no money in NRM.
Unlike what people think and as what I have said before there is a wide range of jobs for NRM majors, you just have to find what you like. A for the no money part. Why would I want to spend the rest of my life in a job that I am no where near interested in if it means more money? Believe it or not I am not in NRM to make a lot of money, I am in it because its my passion and I love everything about it. I want to wake up everyday excited to go to work.
5. Oh your in a science major, you must be super smart and have a 4.0.
Yes there are really smart people in my major, but I believe there are smart people in every major. You don't have to be a scientist or have a 4.0 to be smart.
