Employment success and satisfaction among graduates of Tennessee Technological University's Master of Science program in fisheries management

Journal of Instructional Psychology, June, 2004 by Peter L. Kranz, Richard A. Steele, Nick L. Lund, S. Bradford Cook

   I found the actual development of a thesis
   from start to finish the most helpful.
   Book learning is fine, but I would not
   have been nearly as prepared to enter the
   work world without what I learned from
   conducting the actual thesis project. It
   provides you with much-needed real life
   training where you need to rethink your
   position and make real decisions.

Another importance aspect of the program was the extensive field based experience that took place outside the classroom. Students were actually afforded "many opportunities to experience a wide variety of fisheries related field work." One important benefit resulting from this field experience was the professional networking among other fisheries personnel in the U.S. The following student comment describes the advantages of this professional exposure: "The courses, trips to professional meetings, preparation for and experience in giving professional presentations, and relationships all benefited me in my current position." Another agreed, stating that, "Attending professional meetings and getting to know colleagues helped." And one suggested that, "Exposure to new ideas in a different part of the country was also important. Experience giving presentations and interacting with others at the Tennessee and American chapters of the Fisheries Society were also important." One graduate summed up well why the variety of field experience was so helpful:

   The travel to professional meetings was
   great. The opportunity to be exposed to
   a wide variety of field equipment and
   the working knowledge of its use was
   very important. The ability to work with
   the cooperating agency involved with
   our project for the summer was also an
   excellent way to gain knowledge on the
   ground in our field.

Excellent preparation for finding and performing in related employment positions

For most graduate students, finding a job related to their degree is paramount after graduation. In the case of fisheries biologists, this usually means employment within a government agency of one type or another. Only one of the graduates surveyed was unable to find such employment. Although he highly praised the TTU program and the faculty there, he offered the following lament:

   The difficulty of finding a position in this
   field was unexpected. Not only is the
   government red tape ridiculous, the jobs
   available did not provide an adequate salary
   to support a family. This is the one
   area that could be improved upon, not
   only warning students of the difficulty
   that lies ahead in finding a job, but also
   assisting the students in getting jobs.

All the other graduates, however, did manage to find satisfactory related positions, and felt strongly that their educational experience had been a major contributor to their success. Various respondents commented that the program at TTU prepared them "to be competitive in searching for an entry-level fisheries/biologist position," "prepared the fisheries management biologist very well, possibly better than the higher standard schools," "prepared me for employment," "made me very competitive," "was instrumental in me getting this job," and that it had covered coursework material "that was specifically asked in my interview." These arguments are supported by the fact that the respondents had been working in their current agency for an average of 3.8 years--a fairly clear indicator of job stability in today's changing economy.