#73 – Have you ever wanted to collect data on wild jaguars or help rehabilitate a monkey with a broken arm? Well then let me introduce you to Hailee Hallas. Along with tree-planting in northern Ontario, studying these animals was some of the first employment opportunities she received in her young career after completing an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from Carleton University.

Despite how amazing these jobs may seem they were not without their drawbacks. Little pay and massive competition made that industry incredibly difficult to break into beyond short-term contract roles. Given that, Hailee decided that a more specific education would help her in the future, so she headed off to Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland to obtain her Master of Science.

With her new degree in hand, Hailee obtained a job as a Field biologist studying bird and bat mortality on wind farms. As an outsider looking in, it would seem that her further education had paid off and her career in conservation was well underway. How then, did Hailee come to enter an entirely new career as a Police Officer just three years later? That is a long story and you’ll have to listen to the interview for the details.

Also discussed in our conversation is how Hailee has been able to balance employment opportunities with another passion of hers – travel. Having visited more than 30 countries by her 30th birthday, Hailee tells me about how the flexibility of her first career allowed her to enjoy her life, even if that career didn’t provide the financial stability she eventually sought.

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