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You spend a quarter of your life at work - you deserve to find a career you love!
Hosts Katy and Emma talk with guests from across industries about their careers: what they love, what they've learned, and how they got there.
Plus, you'll get actionable advice to help you succeed at work, like how to feel confident in job interviews, what to do to avoid burnout and more. Explore career options and meet your goals with Work It.
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Work It podcast. This is season three of our UVic career exploration show. And this season, we're speaking with really inspiring UVic alumni who are making a big difference in their communities and the career decisions that led them to where they are today. They're here to share those with you.
Emma Ulveland:We're also connecting with our really fantastic team of career educators for guidance on really big topics like, what do I even do with my degree anyway? And how do I change career paths? I'm Emma, your host. A little bit about me today is that I always wanted to be a podcast host as soon as podcasts became a thing, so I'm pretty much living my dream right now with this show. It's really fun.
Emma Ulveland:Today, we're recording at the University of Victoria, which is located on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen, Songhees, and Kosapsum peoples. We want to extend our gratitude for being here on this land as uninvited guests and respect the ongoing historical relationships of the Lekwungen and WSANEC peoples. We are really privileged to be here and do this work. So on today's episode, we're gonna tackle a really common question. What can I do with my degree?
Emma Ulveland:Whether you're considering what program to pursue or are about to graduate with a degree, it can be kinda hard to know what's coming next. Fortunately, we're joined today by Joy Andrews, who is one of UVic's amazing career educators. Students and alumni can book appointments with Joy and her team who can walk you through what steps to take. Today, we're gonna try something a little bit different on this show. We're gonna explore what you can expect when you meet with your career educator.
Emma Ulveland:So thanks for being here today, Joy. It's great to have you.
Joy Andrews:Thanks, Emma.
Emma Ulveland:So let's set the stage a little bit. I'm gonna be playing the role of student, which is perfect because that's exactly what I'm doing right now. And if I were booking an appointment with you, Joy, about what I can even do with my degree, where would we start?
Joy Andrews:Great question, Emma. When you book an appointment, you can book an in person at our offices beside the bookstore in Career Services or a virtual appointment. We'd meet up, and I'd ask you some questions to get us started to find out what you're hoping to get out of the appointment. And we'd talk about what you're studying, what your interests are, some of your experience and your goals, and take it from there.
Emma Ulveland:Great. Let's actually try this out. Right now, I'm doing my degree in restoration of natural systems at UVic, and I'm getting close to the end of this degree. So I'm really excited to find out what it is I can do now that I'm almost done. So can you help me?
Joy Andrews:I sure can. The approach that we take is getting the student to tell their particular career story because you're the person that knows you the best. I'll start by asking you, what is it that made you want to do the degree that you chose to do?
Emma Ulveland:So I really wanted to do restoration of natural systems because I've always loved the outdoors. I've really been invested in conservation. And my previous job before I came back to school was working at a nonprofit where we were trying to do some conservation work, but it takes so long and you can't always see the direct results of what you're doing. It can take years or decades to actually see any change. And for me, I needed to feel like I could see the work I was doing on the ground, so that's why I wanted to get more hands on outdoors.
Joy Andrews:That sounds great. It can be really helpful to know what are your strengths that would help you move into a career area that works well for you. So I'm gonna ask you to tell me a little story. Can you think of something that you've done? It might be in the course of your degree, or it might be something you've been doing while you've been working on it.
Joy Andrews:What did you do that you feel proud of, or a project that you did that you feel made a difference?
Emma Ulveland:One of the projects that I'm really pleased about was we were doing a forestry course, and I knew nothing about the makeup of forest stands. I didn't know much about fire on landscapes, and that was a really big portion of that course. I had to go out into a forested area and do ecosystem decoding, look at what the story of the landscape was based on what I could see with my eyes, and then trace back through historical records what had been going on as far back as possible to then try to decide what's the best course for that forest management in the future. And that was completely new to me. But after a lot of hours of walking around and digging soil pits and doing hours of research, I finally felt like I came to a good conclusion, was able to connect with the CRD, Capital Regional District, and see what their management plan was, and we kind of aligned.
Emma Ulveland:So I felt really good about the work that I was able to accomplish.
Joy Andrews:In that story, what are some of the strengths that you used to accomplish what you did?
Emma Ulveland:Oh, perseverance is the first thing that comes to my mind. There were so many moments where I thought, oh, this was way too big for me. I should not have chosen this. You know, there was no going back. I want to really push through this.
Emma Ulveland:So that was part of it. And part of it was knowing when to ask for help. I had really amazing students in my courses who have actually been in this sector working. So they were some really great contacts. And I felt finally confident after many years of my life to reach out and ask for help when I needed it.
Emma Ulveland:Even just getting out there and doing the physical work of it, there was a lot that changed from me sitting in an office all day, which was my previous work history, to getting out on the land, and it's hot. There's bugs. You're carrying tons of gear, and you just get out there and you have fun.
Joy Andrews:That's awesome. So one of the things I heard in there is, like you say, perseverance, but also the knowledge that it took to figure it out. I think you also used some critical thinking and problem solving skills in order to figure out how you were going to solve this and get the result that you did. So then what I've been doing is taking note of these strengths, and we're gonna carry on and do further strengths assessment to help you see what you bring to your future career areas. And then we could also work on what are your greatest interests, what are some of the values that you bring to the workplace.
Joy Andrews:You can then form that into a way that you can talk to potential employers, but also evaluate whether different types of careers are useful for you.
Emma Ulveland:Wow. That sounds great.
Joy Andrews:I love it. Okay. Super. And so in front of you, I've put a list of potential careers that students who've graduated from your program might do. It's just a small sample.
Joy Andrews:It's not all possible. But if you look at that list, Emma, are there any that stand out for you as interesting?
Emma Ulveland:Great question. And just for the listeners here, so they know a couple of the things on this list, I'll just read maybe the first five. So environmental restoration practitioner, natural resource manager, naturalist education specialist, land reserve manager, restoration ecologist, shoreline naturalization technician, habitat restoration technician. So these are all really cool different jobs that are on this list. And some of the ones that are instantly jumping out to me are the landscape restoration technician and also the watershed planning technician.
Emma Ulveland:The conservation biologist is really good too. And even just field technician, I love just being out on the land, so that's definitely a good choice too. I mean, all of these sound interesting, so hard to choose a couple.
Joy Andrews:Absolutely. What we would do from there, Emma, is look at what next steps you'd like to take as a result of having identified some areas that you're interested in and that might fit with your strengths. And so are there next steps that you think you'd be interested in taking from here?
Emma Ulveland:Yeah. I think one of the next steps for me is involving myself in ongoing restoration work that's happening around Victoria, because there's actually more of it than I ever imagined before doing this program. And now every time I go outside and I'm walking my dog, I see signs everywhere. So getting involved with organizations like Peninsula Stream Society or Friends of Boca Creek Society or volunteering at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary. They're even just working directly with the City of Sanich or the City of Oak Bay, which is where I'm located, to see what work they're doing and how I can get involved.
Joy Andrews:Super. That sounds like a great plan. Thank you. So I'm also going to send you an email, and I'm going to put in there some resources that you can look at to learn more about these occupations, figure out where do people do this work, what kinds of organizations, so that you can choose maybe two or three that you might like to go talk to somebody about and learn more about how you get there and how your strengths apply. How does that sound?
Emma Ulveland:That sounds fantastic. Thank you.
Joy Andrews:You're very welcome. Do you have any other questions for me today?
Emma Ulveland:Actually, I do have a question for you because lucky for me, I kind of have an idea already of at least the sector, the field. I have a direction of where I'm hoping to go, and that's been laid out clearly now in our conversation. But I'm wondering for students who maybe they're graduating with a degree and they have tons of options, some that they don't even know about, that they don't even know exist, How do you help students who really don't have any clue when
Joy Andrews:they come see you? Great question, Emma. Much like what we started with with the strengths. So asking you about something you've done and then pulling out the strengths. Because what I find in my work is that students, they often discount the things they're really good at because it's just part of who they are.
Joy Andrews:And so helping them to identify what are the things that I'm really good at. And then doing a questionnaire about what are their career motivators. What are the things that really get them excited? Like, you know that you wanna be outdoors and making a difference in that area. So tuning into those kinds of things, and then helping them identify a couple of options that match with those strengths and interests and values so that it's a little easier to then take some next steps.
Joy Andrews:It's not so overwhelming.
Emma Ulveland:That's great. How do you help students decide who or which companies they might be interested in working for? Is there a process to you based on students' values or what they say to you while we're having these types of conversations that point you in a direction of who to recommend to your students?
Joy Andrews:Absolutely. Through our conversation, it might become clear that someone's values would really fit with working with a not for profit organization, where they can really make a difference on the ground. And so then I could provide some guidance about where to start, connect with this organization or this organization to find out more or look for opportunities. Or there might be students that wanna make a difference, say, at a government level so they can really see the impact they're making as a policy analyst or a communications specialist so that they're making a difference within the province or the city.
Emma Ulveland:So a little birdie told me that career educators can also help when it comes to interviews. Once students have decided, Okay, I'm actually going to go for this opportunity, but I don't know how to describe all my skills, or don't I know how to put my best foot forward in an interview. What kind of work can we do there in terms of maybe an elevator pitch?
Joy Andrews:Mhmm. An elevator pitch is a great thing to have in your back pocket. And what we mean by that is when you run into somebody, are you able to, in about thirty seconds, say what you bring to an organization, what your interests are, your strengths, and what kind of opportunities are you looking for? Helping the person pull those things together into a quick summary. It can also help when you're writing a resume to have that in your back pocket or when you are running into somebody in a social situation that might help connect you with someone that could be doing the kind of work that you're interested in.
Emma Ulveland:Maybe we should try one. I'm scared to even do that. Might as well give it my best shot. So let me go through your main points again here. So what I bring to the organization, what type of opportunities I'm looking for, and One of your motivations.
Emma Ulveland:Oh, my motivations.
Joy Andrews:What what is it that really motivates you be looking for this type of thing?
Emma Ulveland:Okay. So my name is Emma, and I'm looking for opportunities in the field of restoration and restoration ecology. I'm really motivated by seeing habitat flourishing, seeing natural areas being enjoyed by community members and wildlife alike. And I'd really like to add my knowledge of riparian planting and riparian zone importance to watershed bodies. I could add my knowledge about shorelines and naturalized shorelines versus hardscaped shorelines.
Emma Ulveland:And I could add my knowledge about fire in forested landscapes. So maybe that would help.
Joy Andrews:Excellent. Thank you. You're welcome. Well, well done. You did it.
Joy Andrews:And now what you could do is put that together in a little bulleted outline for yourself in the way that you want to present it, and then it will be ready.
Emma Ulveland:This is great. And you know what? It's things that you almost don't want to think about until you're in that moment, but if you've done that pre planning work like we've done here today, I think it could help a lot of folks share the best parts of the experiences they have or the knowledge they have. So I'm glad we did this. I'm glad we tried it out.
Joy Andrews:When somebody is working on an elevator pitch or when they're preparing for a job interview, they can meet with their career educator to get some coaching on their job interview. And when they're preparing for a particular job that they're applying for, they can even do a practice or mock interview with their career educator that's targeted towards that job.
Emma Ulveland:Thank you for sharing that. Here's another question for you, Joy. The economy is always changing. The way that we work is changing. AI is a thing.
Emma Ulveland:People are starting to wonder how that's going to change our work landscape. So when you get a student in your office saying, what sectors are hiring? Like, where should I look to actually land a job with my interest, but also where I can make a career for myself?
Joy Andrews:What do you tell them? What I tell them is that, like you mentioned, the labor market is always changing. And right now, it feels quite extreme, like you say, with AI and with political uncertainties. But the labor market does change. And so when it's in a situation where you're not sure, it's great to do more research, and I can support students in doing that kind of research to find out, okay, where are most of the jobs at this time?
Joy Andrews:But what it really comes bound to is those strengths and interests and what you find most important to be working on. Because if you suddenly chase something that you're not interested in because there's a lot of jobs there, you could end up going down a dead end road. So it might take a little more effort and a little more time to do the activities to find work in your area of interest, but with some guidance, you can do it.
Emma Ulveland:That is so encouraging. Thank you so much for saying that. So, Joy, at this point, is there anything else that happens in those one on one appointments that we haven't already practiced or touched on here today?
Joy Andrews:Thanks, Emma. Yes. When I have talked with somebody, they often say at the end, I feel less stressed now. And so when a student leaves and they feel like, okay, I'm gonna take this action and I feel more at ease, I feel more confident. I think that's something that's really important as an outcome from our work.
Emma Ulveland:Oh, I'm so happy to hear that. And I can already tell just from our little practice here today, I feel less stressed. And I don't know if alumni who are listening are aware that they also can come and talk to you. Is that right?
Joy Andrews:Absolutely. So we have a team of six career educators, and we have a career educator that works specifically with alumni.
Emma Ulveland:Oh, that is awesome.
Joy Andrews:Yeah. We're really pleased about that.
Emma Ulveland:That's great. So for students of UVic, alumni of UVic, if you're interested in booking an appointment with a career educator, which I would highly recommend after this lovely experience, you can do so by visiting the website uvic.cacareerservices and get set up for a one on one appointment. So thank you so much, Joy, for spending time with us today. We are so, so lucky to have your expertise on our our team. Thank you for your time.
Emma Ulveland:We were really happy to have you on the show.
Joy Andrews:Thank you so much, Emma. It was a delight to work with you.
Emma Ulveland:Work It is developed and distributed by Co op and Career Services at the University of Victoria. It is hosted by Emma Ovaland and produced by Joy Polliquin. Today's guest was UVic career educator Joy Andrews. Our theme music and art were created by Emma Ovaland with audio editing by Emma Ovaland. To learn more about career possibilities and resources from UVic, visit uvic/career-services, and don't forget to like and subscribe to our podcast anywhere you can listen to podcasts.