Episode 2 - Should I be an artist or a scientist?
- May 17, 2020
- 2 min read
This week, my guest is my long time friend Jake Cecala. He is a PhD student of entomology at the University of California, Riverside, where he is in his last year of studies. That means, in 2021 I will officially have to call him Dr. Cecala. It also formalizes what I refer to him now, which is “The Bee Doctor”.
During this episode, Jake thinks back to High School, where he remembers asking himself the question, “should a be a scientist or an artist?”.
I can personally attest to his artistic prowess. I still have several of his drawings today: even the ones that he has made in jest are fantastic displays of competency. Perhaps this is due to his very talented mother passing down her artistic abilities, or perhaps it’s the perfectionism that Jake references during our conversation. Either way, it seems he chose wisely to go into the field of science, as it has allowed him to work with relative autonomy and enjoy the experience of having no two days be exactly the same.
During our conversation, Jake reveals that he did not know what he was going to do. He knew he liked science, but it wasn’t until he was in a notoriously difficult class, did well, and didn’t feel like he was working, that he figured he may be on to something. Because of this experience, he took a chance and asked the professor about volunteer opportunities for undergraduates in her lab. By taking that chance, it led to his first paying job in the sciences, exposure to his eventual field of study, and his master’s degree advisor.
We cover a lot during this podcast including the general field of Entomology, academic publications, and community outreach. I think Jake offers great information for high schoolers, college students, and adults who are thinking or worrying about what they may want to do for a career. Mainly, don’t panic. Be open to new experiences. Try things. If you can do that, you’ll likely find your path.
There is a lot of nature noise on the audio, but the birds chirping reminded me of a time about 9 or ten years ago Jake took me on an ornithology field trip. I didn’t know anything about birds and I certainly didn’t know what to expect. But It basically turned out to be bird watching for eight hours, starting in the early morning. But I got some cool photos and learned a thing or two. So Jake showed me then and continues to remind me now to be open to new experiences. You might find a career out of it or just have some fun.
If you want to see what Jake is up to, find him on Twitter @Beesonearth.
Thank you again for tuning in. As always if you like the show please leave a review and subscribe so you know when the latest episode gets posted. If you have a show idea or would like to reach out to me, you can find me on twitter @the jobindetail. Stay safe everyone and see you next episode.
Comments