TL;DR - The job market is not ideal, unemployment has upsides, check out the links and people below for resources working in climate.

Welcome to the first blog post made on the site! I will make an attempt to offer a variety of topics and subjects, all of which I will be passionately interested in. For me, this is an opportunity to talk more at length about some of the things I've observed, learned, and am curious about in our world. I have spent a lot of time tailoring my interests into specific groups so that I can refine the amount of sheer information that we all receive on a daily basis, and decide whether I can even handle it. Without further ado, let's get into our first topic of the site: How Summer 2024 has treated me (spoiler alert - it's a mixed bag).

I'm not shy when I talk about my departure from my previous job earlier this year. In-situ is a great company, with wonderful purpose, and wonderful people! They, however, are still subject to the woes of an unpredictable market. Side note: my technical contribution at In-Situ is on the Projects page. *ahem* So I was out on the job market once again, and with this unforeseen event, I decided to dedicate my time to things I felt really mattered, and the ultimate direction for my career going forward. I learned a lot, and even more about the challenges in the market today. My search for a company in need of a passionate and environmentally conscious developer has not yet been rewarded. Perhaps, this piece is a story for another day...

During my search for a role in the world's most influential environmental company I met some really wonderful people. It was so uplifting to feel that people want to help you in your search, because finding a job can feel absolutely fruitless. Our system feels broken. Applying to jobs quickly isn't how anyone should be to begin with, yet the system encourages us to do so. That's why talking to a human being, eager to know how they can help, has been an important piece in my process to finding my dream role. For those who are still looking like myself; find some people in your network, or make some new connections in the areas you're interested in, and strike up conversations. I've learned of so many different resources in doing so, and that, plus talking to a friendly face, makes it worthwhile.

So it wasn't all bad. Being let go gave me some time to travel with my partner, determine the best path for additional schooling, and work on projects that I find truly fascinating. I also worked at a vegan restaurant in Fort Collins Colorado called Tasty Harmony that I always dreamed of working at. It was such a trip, and the employees and owners are doing a wonderful job. So wonderful, that I've volunteered to come back if I they would like help (we all need food). I plan to share more of what I'm passionate about: food, climate, tech, sci fi, environment, and cats (obviously) in the near future.

Links:

Learning more about an array of Climate related things: https://www.terra.do/

Finding jobs in climate and tech: https://www.climatetechlist.com/

Climate Jobs: https://www.inclimate.com/jobs

NonProfit Jobs: https://www.idealist.org/en

People:

• Roxy Koll @rocksea

• Zeke Hausfather @hausfath

• Chip Fletcher @fletcher_chip

• Jacquelyn Gill @JacquelynGill

• Glen Peters @Peters_Glen

• Gavin Schmidt @ClimateOfGavin

• Pierre Friedlingstein @PFriedling