Life Decisions - Job Hunting & Fishing

[Schaefer406]

Good morning,

I have done some thinking over the weekend, and I am looking to make a move to State College again to increase my access to my favorite trout streams. I am getting tired of not being able to trout fish in the evenings to unwind, and I am tired of driving 1 hour 30 minutes minimum to get to good sized trout water (I like smallies too, but not as much). I graduated from PSU College of Agriculture in 2021 (environmental resource management - minor in watersheds and water resources: deans list 7/8 semesters) and moved to Lancaster City where I work as an EH&S Specialist. Now, I have already had an opportunity for a tuition free master's at PSU; however, I had to turn down the offer since the stipend wouldn't be enough to cover my rent/student loans/car payment etc. I am searching for positions in State College under titles ranging from environmental scientist, environmental compliance specialist, water quality specialist, EH&S specialist, etc. I am posting in here because I know there are tons of bright minds in the forum, and I am seeing if anyone may be able to point me in the direction of some great firms or companies they know of that hire individuals from an environmental background near State College. Thanks, and enjoy the rain we are getting today.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

There are a number of environmental consulting firms, not to mention county conservation districts and state positions. DEP regional office in Williamsport may be worth keeping an eye out for entry level positions. If I may also suggest looking to get outside of the State College market could save you substantially in rent. Any direction you go has excellent angling opportunities.

 

[Schaefer406]

There are a number of environmental consulting firms, not to mention county conservation districts and state positions. DEP regional office in Williamsport may be worth keeping an eye out for entry level positions. If I may also suggest looking to get outside of the State College market could save you substantially in rent. Any direction you go has excellent angling opportunities.

My ideal location is Bellefonte - I spent a lot of free time in college there and love it. I was selected for interviews for three DEP positions but unfortunately they are slow as as a snail and took over 4 months to respond . . . I will keep investigating. It has been a life goal of mine to live in the true Central PA area and I won't stop till it happens. My only issue with county conservation district/state positions is that I will take a significant cut to my salary if this happens; however, there are tradeoffs to everything.

 

[foxfire]

No Pain, No Gain. Your reasons are honorable and enviable, but IMHO, see if you can still get the Masters scholarship. “Money Can’t Buy Happiness” but it sure can buy much future freedom to work, live, and fish the world over. Most Masters programs are also a great network of like-minded individuals for future career opportunities as well.

 

[wgmiller]

Now, I have already had an opportunity for a tuition free master's at PSU; however, I had to turn down the offer since the stipend wouldn't be enough to cover my rent/student loans/car payment etc.

This is an incredible opportunity and one that I would REALLY try to make work. Are there strings attached to the free tuition upon graduation? I get it that you still need to pay your bills, etc., but with grad tuition rates being over $1K/credit hour (PSU UP), being able to walk away with no student loans for a grad degree would be pretty nice! If you go fulltime with your MS, you may be able to defer repayment on your undergard student loans, which would lighten your financial load a bit.

 

[Schaefer406]

I wis

This is an incredible opportunity and one that I would REALLY try to make work. Are there strings attached to the free tuition upon graduation? I get it that you still need to pay your bills, etc., but with grad tuition rates being over $1K/credit hour (PSU UP), being able to walk away with no student loans for a grad degree would be pretty nice! If you go fulltime with your MS, you may be able to defer repayment on your undergard student loans, which would lighten your financial load a bit.

There are no strings attached to the free tuition. I would be there under an assistantship with a set salary per month while working with the college 20-30 hours/week with classes. I am pretty close with a professor I got to know during undergrad and I want to make it work very badly. I can't defer a truck payment and I can't defer consolidated undergraduate private loans unfortunately, so it will not work until these are slimmed down.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

Couldnt endorse moving here strong enough.

What would you get your MS in?
What enhanced job opportunities would it bring that more experience won't?
What increase in income would result?

Getting a position at PSU and taking classes is worth considering. 75% tuition discount. PSU has a short term hiring freeze, EXCEPT for compliance and safety positions. Look at PSUjobs. EHS has had some difficulties filling positions and because these jobs require on-site work they can't hire remote workers.
There are three environmental eng/hydrology labs that I know of

 

[Schaefer406]

Couldnt endorse moving here strong enough.

What would you get your MS in?
What enhanced job opportunities would it bring that more experience won't?
What increase in income would result?

Getting a position at PSU and taking classes is worth considering. 75% tuition discount. PSU has a short term hiring freeze, EXCEPT for compliance and safety positions. Look at PSUjobs. EHS has had some difficulties filling positions and because these jobs require on-site work they can't hire remote workers.
There are three environmental eng/hydrology labs that I know of

My MS would be in Biorenewable Systems and this would lead to more environmentally focused jobs for me and it would likely handsomely increase my salary. I REALLY want a job with Penn State as an Environmental Halth & Safety Specialist, but I have applied two times and nobody from their office has responded to me. I am intelligent, literally managed a company's EHS program with 700 employees as a 22 year old, etc. I just can't see how someone young, intelligent, and driven like me is not getting any response.

 

[salmonoid]

My MS would be in Biorenewable Systems and this would lead to more environmentally focused jobs for me and it would likely handsomely increase my salary. I REALLY want a job with Penn State as an Environmental Halth & Safety Specialist, but I have applied two times and nobody from their office has responded to me. I am intelligent, literally managed a company's EHS program with 700 employees as a 22 year old, etc. I just can't see how someone young, intelligent, and driven like me is not getting any response.

I'm not sure when you contacted the EHS office, but we (PSU) are in a hiring freeze right now, through the end of the fiscal year at least (June 2023). And regardless of which positions might be exempt from the freeze, we move slow as molasses or slower when we aren't in a freeze. There's glacial movement and then there's PSU glacial movement. One is much faster than the other, even in the absence of global warming. Many people that work at my campus I think only work here for the 75% tuition discount. Once they get their degree, they often move on to somewhere else.

Take a look at one of the Commonwealth Campuses near you. You may be able to get connected to faculty there who are running joint programs with faculty at UP. Or could work something out with one of the Ag Extension offices. Credits are cheaper at Commonwealth Campuses and if you're already somewhat established in the Lancaster area, rent would be cheaper than the greater State College area. You might be closer to fishing short-term by moving to State College, but you'll gain yourself some financial mobility if you're able to get a Master's degree without adding too much to your debt, and then you'll be able to fish where ever you want and move there too if a job materializes.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Anything related to the state hr system can involve incredible wait times before candidates are selected for interviews or applicants are informed of hiring decision post interview. With the hiring freeze at Penn State, I would imagine there is a lot of scrutiny involved with getting positions through the red tape.

While moving may be tempting, it sounds like you must have a pretty decent job from your post above. Perhaps getting a few years of experience there will put you in a better place career wise to seek other opportunities than going into significant debt for a masters degree. Outside of sharing apartments, the State College real estate market for home buying and renting is one of the more expensive markets in the state.

 

[HopBack]

Everyone has their own priorities but if I was 22 and in your situation, I would look for a job in your target area. You don’t want to ever wonder “what if I did this or that.” You are not going to have time for these things as life progresses. However, if your intention is to obtain a masters degree anyway, I would find a way to do it while you can get it for free.
Sell the truck, it’s probably worth more now then when you initially purchased it.

A masters degree will certainly help you in the EHS field. It may open more doors in the beginning but experience along with a portfolio consisting of successful cost saving projects are what you are going to need to get the salary you desire.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

positions related to safety, compliance, student success and those paid on external funds (grants) are exempt from the hiring freeze. However, there is another layer of approval that would slow things may be a week to get approval to post the position. It would have no little to no effect on selecting a candidate and making an offer. People are a little hesitant to grow much until the trustees approve the budget.

Lycoff gives good advice about sticking it out to gain more experience. Living in Pleasant gap or even as far as Tyrone provides a reasonable commute with much lower housing costs.

 

[poopdeck]

I can only tell you what I would say to my child, You move where the work is in your field of study. Trucks and Trout fishing should not factor in even a little bit to your current life decisions.

to anybody else’s kid I would want to garner as many internet likes as i could by regurgitating memes and other such nonsense saying to follow your dreams so you don’t ever have to work a day in your life and life is short so live for today and worry about tomorrow if and when it actually comes.

times they are a changing.

 

[foxfire]

I can only tell you what I would say to my child, You move where the work is in your field of study. Trucks and Trout fishing should not factor in even a little bit to your current life decisions.

to anybody else’s kid I would want to garner as many internet likes as i could by regurgitating memes and other such nonsense saying to follow your dreams so you don’t ever have to work a day in your life and life is short so live for today and worry about tomorrow if and when it actually comes.

times they are a changing.

Sort of what I was saying above, Poop. Get educated, WORK (god forbid), be successful, make MONEY$$. The rest will follow….At the OP’s age, fishing needs to be a hobby, not a lifestyle choice.

 

[Schaefer406]

Sort of what I was saying above, Poop. Get educated, WORK (god forbid), be successful, make MONEY$$. The rest will follow….At the OP’s age, fishing needs to be a hobby, not a lifestyle choice.

I am fine financially. I work plenty and make plenty. I already hold two certifications and test for my ASP in December + have a bachelors. I wouldn't really describe my desire as a lifestyle choice, rather a well being choice. And its not like I bought some souped up truck . . . my car's transmission went out so I bought something used and sturdy that will last. Why wait till I'm older? I have mobility now and literally no ties to anyone other than family. Seems like now is the time. I'm not gonna move when I am (hopefully) 35 married with kids.

 

[chadm]

I would try to find a work from home job. That way you can live anywhere. You may need to travel which if you do don’t spend your down time in bars go fishing where ever you are. Also traveling gets flyer miles and hotel points which you can use for fishing trips.

 

[Schaefer406]

I would try to find a work from home job. That way you can live anywhere. You may need to travel which if you do don’t spend your down time in bars go fishing where ever you are. Also traveling gets flyer miles and hotel points which you can use for fishing trips.

Work from home would be so sweet. I’d bring my “high speed internet setup” and take some zoom calls from my office aka riverside

 

[Sharknado5]

life is short so live for today and worry about tomorrow if and when it actually comes.

times they are a changing.

Seems like they're changing back to the 60's...

 

[hooker-of-men]

Asking for life advice on the internet is hellish. Luckily, one of the best parts of being 22 was being certain everyone else is an idiot. I hope you bring a healthy dose of that to these responses, mine included.

A funded masters is a rarity, but a funded doctoral program is not. And it looks like Penn State offers both degrees. This means, even if you can't take advantage of that masters now, you should have relatively easy access to that free degree at whatever future point you are ready so long as you keep in contact with those folks you got along with (and even if you don't want a PhD, you can almost always decide to quit your funded PhD program, submit some qualifying research project, and walk with the masters; I've done it).

This means your priority should ABSOLUTELY be fishing, living where you want, getting drunk, generally dicking off, etc. The program will still be there. Those degree programs and the jobs you'll have after those programs are also not going to give a crap about where you work now, so if you have to work some less than optimal job to live the trout bum dream, why not? There is no point when you're going to look back and wish you worked more. I don't care what anyone here says.

One last word of bad advice - stop thinking like this: "I just can't see how someone young, intelligent, and driven like me is not getting any response."' I'm 40 and I'm now very happy with a career in higher ed, but I've applied to literally thousands of jobs and gotten maybe 5 of them. The system is designed for you to be disposable and interchangeable. Almost everyone except real rock stars in their field are a dime a dozen. Shaking off that entitlement and realizing that the game is rigged is also important for prioritizing the **** that matters, which actually is family, friends, fishing or whatever brings you joy, etc.

 

[Swattie87]

Do you like your current job? If so, I’d be reticent about giving it up given that you seem to be successful at it and it seems to pay well, and therefore likely to continue to pay well and allow for financial growth in the future. (If you want a family, etc, as you say.)

If you don’t like it, and you wanna make a change from it anyway, then yeah, you might as well look for something in the area you WANT to live, just understand you may need to make compromises on the job, or salary, or other aspects of life to do it.

As it seems you’re finding out, it’s not easy to land a job cold, out of the blue. I’ve been employed for 15 years in the insurance industry. Pretty much everyone who gets hired has an internal connection of some kind to get their resume on the radar of the hiring folks. I imagine this is common everywhere. I’m not doubting that you’re qualified, motivated, and successful, but if you don’t know someone where you’re applying, and just submitting resumes cold, you’re going to find yourself swimming upstream more often than not. Just the way it is.

You’ve gotten responses all over the map in this thread so far. That ought to tell you there is no clear, obvious right choice here. Everything has its pros and cons and trade offs.

If you want to Trout fish in the evenings to unwind, and live in Lancaster, look harder. The Trout are closer than you think. And Lancaster to State College area is an easy doable day trip drive for weekends. Again, assuming you like your current job, and its salary.

Edit: Also, I’ve been working from home, for two different companies, since the pandemic started. You’ll find that in most corporate cultures, when working from home, taking a conference call anywhere other than your home office space is generally frowned upon, and illustrates, right or wrong, a lack of priority on your work. Yeah, from the car, or a vacation rental if you have to take an important call once in a while on vacation, fine. But taking a video conference call (most calls are video calls these days) from a Trout stream won’t get you very far at best, and at worst will earn you a meeting with the HR folks about “company time.”