EPR Minisode 19: Environmental Forecasts

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Transcript

Hello everyone. Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio. Today's episode is a minisode!

It's that time of year when schedule shifts, plans change, and sometimes weather decides to throw everything off. The Arctic blast currently moving through the country got me thinking about how much the environmental careers. Mirror the weather. They're unpredictable, seasonal, and often shaped by things outside of our control. Policy shifts, funding cycles, and climate related disruptions all affect how our work unfolds. So today, we wanted to spend a little time reflecting on how we navigate those changes and moments professionally. Your environmental career will always have a forecast. I, I think that's kind of the, uh, and, and really shout out to Marley for pulling these together for us, but. Um, there's career uncertainty that feels stressful at any moment, uh, but most of the time you at least have some visibility on where you're going and what you're trying to accomplish, uh, but, you know, funding cycles, policy shifts all effect that, um, and, and shape how you go. I mean, you know, my career path is a perfect example of that, you know, coming out of college, uh, grad school in A recession really shaped how I could get a job and where, um, so how do you help people recognize and prepare for forecasted slowdowns or disruptions or, or, you know, even surprise storms, so to speak, in their careers. This is a great, I like this thought of a forecast for your career planning. Uh, you can have a forecast and then sometimes it's wrong. It was supposed to rain today. No, we thought it would rain today. It was not supposed to universally rain today, um. Yeah, you know, I think it's actually great that you point that out because sometimes you can have a forecast that you think is going to be bad that turns out to be great. Uh, that's, that's a good one. That's really good. Yeah, and so, you know, you, you, the reason for a forecast is planning, right? Like, you can say, OK, I'm, like, for me, the snow is supposed to come tomorrow, it's Negatives today. 

Yesterday I went and got all the groceries I need for the next couple days, as did everyone else, as did everyone else. Oh my gosh, it was so empty. It was so empty in the grocery store. Right, so you forecast your career plan, you, you do the best you can with the knowledge that you have, and you say, OK, you know, I, I think I'm gonna apply for 6 months, and I'll have a job by this time and whatever, and you plan for this, your savings and how you spend your time, but then you have to be prepared, emergency planning for. What happens if I don't have it by then, or what if I get it sooner, or what if it's a different job than I thought, you know, so it's all. Take the forecast, so to say, and then use that for effective planning on how you should manage things. I mean, I was, this is the first time I'm living in a building that has a boiler, and they're telling us the power is gonna go out in the whole city, and I'm like, uh, how fast does it take to freeze to death? Like I don't, what, what do I do living in an apartment building that if, if for some reason it stopped heating, you know, and I don't like, do I go somewhere or do I stay home? Like you go out in a blizzard to find a warmer place. I don't know what you do. Do you go ask your neighbor for a hug? Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so cuddle for warmth, oh my gosh, right? So like, um, in your forecasted for your career, you know, you just, it's really just about planning ahead, like, write it down, dial it out as best you can so you can plan for different scenarios. Yeah, and it's like it's a great like to tie it to, you know, real world examples, you know, it's like. Uh, when someone, you have a team, someone decides to leave that team, right? That is a surprise, that is your, you know, does the boiler still work if the power is out, and then what do we do, you know, kind of thing. Um, there are moments like that in your career where, where people that you have, um, you trust and rely on are, are not there anymore, and that's really a challenge, and it's, it's like, how do we navigate this? 

What do we do? Um, and if you think about it beforehand, right, like you're not thinking about it tomorrow, you're thinking about it right now. And you know that helps you kind of mitigate some of those challenges. It's like, OK, well these are the things I can do if something like that happens, because inevitably it will, right? The, the biggest constant in your career is that it's gonna change, um, you know, just like the weather, it's never going to be the same thing, and uh I also love the phrase like what is it like uh if you don't like the weather, just wait. Um, and sometimes that's how you have to handle your career too. Yeah, I think it relates mostly to my career as in like, when I was working in government for 10 years, if I had done better forecasting, I would have recognized that I was going to outgrow government and would have had been making better plans to go somewhere else sooner. Yeah. Yeah, that's, yeah, and it's hard to do, you know, it's a, it's a challenge. So, OK, well, we have another, we have, uh, I think was it 3 or 4 of these prompts, this is great. Uh, so the next one is the storm, right? And so you think about it, every environmental Careerist, I love that term, will, uh, find themselves in a storm. That is absolutely true. I know you and I have both been through many of those things, um, and you don't see those things coming, you know, we sort of alluded to it in the last question, but, um, sometimes it's, it's, uh, you know, I've had, I've had entire million dollar projects get paused, uh, or canceled outright. 

Um, there's a, like if somebody leaves a job, uh, grant doesn't come through, there are disruptions like that all the time. Uh, and you know, right now the government threatens or does shut down your entire organization. Yeah, yeah, government shutdown is a big thing. This past year has been quite uh, quite a challenge. The federal government was typically extremely stable. It's one of the reasons people worked there because it was stable. That's not quite the case anymore, um, you know, the consulting field has been like that for forever. It's never, never consistent. It's always a little volatile, right? Um, and sometimes it's as easy as, you know, rescheduling things, but generally it can be really, really powerful, impactful change that has to occur. So, when you've experienced, when you've experienced those disruptions at work. How do you, how have you navigated those moments? When you feel like you don't have control over your career. Yeah, this is one of the things where it's just like, you don't know till you know a lot of the times, you don't gain the experience of. Getting vigorously punched in the face and having to figure out how to get back up and face people at work, you know, um, until it happens, and then the next time it happens you're better prepared, but you can, uh, read books, you can, you know, I think if I had done anything differently in my career, it would be reading more books on communication and confidence, um, standing up for myself better. And also, just recognizing there's a bazillion other jobs out there. If you are being brutalized at work by your boss or your coworkers or your clients, find something else. Yeah, 100%, 100%, and like there's a couple of things that happen, right? Like I think when there are those storms that you either through, right, the end result of the storm um can go different ways, and I think sometimes we forget like I remember early in my career there was a downsizing, I think it was like 4 years in. 

Half the team was fired, half, something like that, like uh or like a third. Um, that's a lot of people gone just like that, right? Uh, some of them were people that needed to be fired, uh, some of them weren't. And I was left kind of wondering why I was still there, right, kind of survivor's guilt, so to speak, um, so there's challenges for those kinds of things and it was. You know, kind of was my, my first experience realizing that, you know, uh, careers change. Sometimes you don't have a choice in that, and it's, it's like flying a plane in a storm, right? Um, I can't fly. I hope they know what they're doing, um, but if they don't, there's nothing I can do about it, and, and there's, uh, sometimes that's. It's scary and it's not a fun thing to think about, but it happens, and you know, I could have been somebody that was let go, but I wasn't, and you know, then you're left with why and does that mean I'm, I'm good or good enough and What about my friends, you know, um, it's really hard, and you can't just, uh, expect things to always be sunshine and roses, always changes. Yeah, I, you know, I had been laid off. And then subsequently saved and didn't get actually laid off. I've been, you know, up for positions that should have been mine, but then had to fight for, and then I've had to, you know, there’s been a lot of things that happened and during your career cause, you know, that your first goal is to get the job. Yeah, you got it, got the job, and then you have to still navigate, you know, a boss leaving, turnover, changes, a new project that you didn't expect to work on. Oh, here's more work on top of everything else you already had to do. But as far as like relating it to the storm, yeah. You know, I, I don't wanna have this episode doomsday or scare anybody. Like, it's just, it's part of life, you know, it's, um, the shakeups happen, so things can move forward. And so, you know, you're the people who left your company, they probably were pissed, they probably were all kinds of things, and then they're all probably in better places now. Right, exactly, um, not that you have to be happy about it, but you have to recognize that that the only thing that's in your control is making the best of it. So similar to like this storm situation, it's going to snow for a couple of days or a day or whatever, get some puzzles, you know, like, get your favorite movies out, if the power is gonna go out, think of something else you could do, like, um, you know, just be prepared for, for that moment, um. And then make the most of it, I think. Yeah, and like it's, it's such a great uh thought because it's like um.

I like to think of like, you know, careers is like, you know, interstates, right? You're you have pathways to get on the interstate, right, and then there's always exit ramps off and sometimes you take them on your own and sometimes a snowstorm comes through, and you have to take it and being aware of where they are and how, how to navigate around that. Is the best way to kind of frame your career, right? Like you know that nothing is permanent, uh, so, you know, be, you know, keep your eyes and ears open. Always be ready to take the off ramp if you have to, and, um, you know. That's, that's pretty good sound advice. If I do say so myself, yeah, yeah, about having the same brain all the time. I was gonna literally say like, unless Nick says it's so himself, yeah. Goodness gracious, yeah, yeah, and that's how you know how long we've been recording, um. But, you know, we, we also have um Our, our last prompt here, um. And I like this because this is especially true in environmental careers. We talk about the slow season, right? The season of, of a career and environment, in the environment, and it does depend on the job, right? Like my, there is no such thing as a slow season for me, uh, where I am. In my career, um, but when I started and When I, uh, you know, I was working in the field, um, more often, you know, there's a very clear, pretty obvious slow season generally, you know, where it's, there's just not as much work in the winter, and Uh, that, that is the main thing, you know, April to, or, you know, March to October is the, is the main season where everyone's really busy, but, um, you know, that's kind of a unique thing, I think, to some of the environmental spheres, so. How do you handle that? Like it can be really frustrating, can be really tiring, really, really, um, draining every year. To have to deal with that kind of thing. 

So when it's slower. How do you use that time? Well, I mean, you want to use the time to uh advance your career, really, like, and maybe reflect also, am I where I want to be? Is this, you know, time to maybe do something else, get a new hobby for myself, I got a 2nd degree in dietetics that I went after. Um, that was in the period, I think after I got laid off, but then got hired and stayed in a different position, but it was like, I was able to reflect, do you want to get a master's degree? Do you wanna, like, get, do you wanna get advanced education in this field, you know, while you have the time or whatever, and then I was like, I don't actually. I didn't see for myself. I don't look like, if you love school, I always tell people, if you love school, go back. Um, it wasn't that I don't love school, it's just I didn't. I had already graduated later in life than most people, and I just thought I don't, I don't want to go back for that, and I hadn't really been seeing for examples of the types of roles I wanted to do where that was going to help me very much as far as because I had gotten so much experience already and so, you know, I, I reflected, and then I took some action and, and I did take classes. It just was in a different, you know, area. And I feel like that's, that's really what you would do. I mean, if you feel burnt out, take, take some time off, you know, by all means or whatever, or just, you know, if you're still working and it's just kind of a slower season, then, you know, enjoy your free time. It's fine if you, if you have reflected and you decide this is where I am, it's where I want to be, it's great, do it. Yeah, yeah, and it's so hard, it's so hard sometimes to do that cause it feels like, you know, there's pressure, um, if you're working as a consultant, you have a utilization goal most of the time and you wanna make sure you're hitting that and. 

That's a stress that, um, you know, it, it feels constant no matter how busy or slow the season is, um, but yeah, I always totally different if you're clocking hours for a project yeah find a way to fill that, yeah, yeah, yeah, 888. I'm just gonna say that every day, uh, for the same project, yeah, um. You know, I mean, gosh, there's horror stories. I, I remember there was a, there was a project at a previous, uh, a long time ago where somebody was just charging hours but not doing anything, and it happened all the time, um, and it's the, you know, it's the power of having two people be in charge, uh, you know. Uh, cause that stops that kind of stuff from happening, but, you know, um, it's kind of wild, uh, to think about those kinds of things. Um, I don't know. Yeah, I think, you know, just for all of these questions and just career planning in general, itself , it's awareness, you know, like paying attention. For me in my career, there's just the times where I'm just like, I wish I had more control over the actions I was taking, more um of my own. Reflection and, you know, ideas into what the next step I was taking, it was just felt really random, and I think a lot of people I coach with, that's kind of how it feels. They're just, they're doing stuff, but they don't know if it's the right stuff or the right direction and so, you know. I think like to that end, like self-awareness is one of the most powerful things that you can have early in your career. Um, some people will say like, oh I know I don't want to do and that's not what I mean because knowing what you want to do and what you're good at are two different things. Um, you know, we've talked about that many times here, you know, I'm a good writer, don't like to write, so it's not my favorite thing, even if I'm good at it, I shouldn't try to do that because it's just, it's not gonna make me happy. Uh, and I think, uh, I wish I had better self-awareness of what I was good at. 

And what I actually liked more than that, you know, um. And you know you think about like your career moments, I remember, I mean going to an engineering school cause I was good at math, but I don't like math. I don't like math at all. Um, there's only one right answer and it always frustrated me. Um, this is what I hate about technical aptitude tests. They tell you what you're good at, they don't tell you what you want to do. Yes, exactly, and it's hard to know that, especially at like 18 or 24 or 22, whatever it is like you. You don't, you don't have to know, and I think that's the other thing, it's like sometimes I, I, I was giving advice to someone recently or I'm like, you're so early in your career, you don't have to make a decision right now on what you do forever. So try not to think of it that way. Don't, don't, don't say, well, I want to do this, and this is the only thing I want to do. Don't, don't, don't say the second part, just say I want to do this and keep yourself open to other things. Yes, yes, exactly. But you know, like taking it back to the weather and the storm, I'll tell you what, I'm not gonna try. Yeah, walking outside for more than like 5 minutes. Right, right, yeah, sometimes there, sometimes you have to understand that you need to weather that storm. You need to, you know, sit through something that's uncomfortable and unpleasant, and it will clear up. You know, when you have those moments, when, when people, when there are layoffs, when there are changes and challenges like that, you have to, you have to be able to weather that and be prepared, you know, have that security blanket if you can, if you're able to give yourself a financial security blanket, do it.

If you're not, have good friends, you know, um, there's always ways around those kinds of things, but yeah, be prepared for it. I have good friends that have open available couches. Yeah. Exactly, yeah, yeah, be nice, right, like the storm, right? Like if I had, I think I asked, I asked Jim and I, I don't talk to Chat GBT anymore, we, uh, Jim and I asked like what should, you know, what am I supposed to do if I lose power? Well, if you have a friend you could go to, there you go, yeah, exactly, exactly. So, I, I think that's a great spot to end. Um, again, thank you, Marley, for pulling this together for us, and uh that's it for our mini episode this week. Thanks for listening. Hope everyone makes it through the storm. Yes, and by the time this comes out, we'll know if you did or not. I hope everyone made it through the storm. How about that? Right. And with that, uh, see you, everybody!