Finally Successful

I finally had a completely successful day collecting data! I fully charged the batteries before heading out. I didn’t forget my badge at home, so I was able to access the lab. I made it to all three roofs without succumbing to heat exhaustion. I remembered to adjust settings on the equipment for each collar before starting the sample. I got an entire, usable data set!

I got home, showered the sweat crust off of myself and crawled in bed. From under my quilt, I called the vet about my elderly, sick dog, barely managed to stay awake long enough for them to call me back, and napped. I drank a lot of water, and even remembered to sunscreen my face and cover most of my body with protective clothing. I forgot my forearms, but the day was such a shocking success that I can’t feel too bad about that.

I had a professor last semester who really believes that masters degrees should not take more than two years except under rare, dire circumstances. His focus is in GIS. I’m not saying he’s wrong. Being in school is expensive, and burnout is a real concern. I just don’t see how I could possibly plan my thesis, learn to use my equipment, collect an entire growing season of data, process that data, and write a thesis and take all the right classes in that time. I started working on this in November. In that time, I’ve:

• Done a ton of background research
• Hunted down roofs I can study
• Formed my thesis committee
• Done a research proposal
• Spent a bunch of time doing mock data collection with the equipment
• Installed collars
• Made a bunch of mistakes and learned how to actually use the equipment
• Finally gotten one whole day of useful data!

All while also taking classes and homeschooling kids. Now, it’s late July and I’ve missed all of spring and half of summer, so I’ll need to collect that data next year. Since this fall will be the beginning of my second year, it’s impossible for me to be ready to finish my master’s on a two-year timeline. My research advisor says this is perfectly normal. I’ve been panicking about a timeline emphasized by a professor who does most of his work on a computer, not in the field. Field work is time-consuming.

I’m on track to graduate at the end of my second year, academically. But taking a little extra time will be nice for reasons other than data collection. My entire master’s degree program has taken place under pandemic conditions so far. I’ve had online and remote classes only. I’ve met a couple of other students a few times for projects, but I definitely don’t feel like I’ve gotten the networking opportunities that a graduate degree is supposed to afford. I don’t mind sticking around a little longer for that. I’m thankful I can afford it.