So I have finished college...

Well it is official my degree has posted and I am currently done with college unless I decide to go back for a masters or PHD. I got my BS in Anthropology with a minor in Geology. I completed my thesis a few weeks ago doing research in the use of detection dogs for locating ancient remains (both human and non human). I basically made myself stay away from all of my internet forums for the last few months so I could wrap things up.

Anyway I get a call this morning from a professor up at the school that I took classes with my first year at the university. I was actually working in a fossil lab for him when I came up with the idea of using the dogs for locating fossils. Well turns out he has been following up on the idea with some local officials in the BLM. I guess he now has two BLM guys that think they know of some undisturbed sites that we can run final field tests at. They each said basically if I can prove the concept to them I will more than likely have a job with BLM for the rest of my life . So that is kind of exciting.

Another benefit of finishing up school is now I can focus more on the Olds and FINALLY finishing it up and drive the damn thing. I am hoping to have the engine out by the end of this month and have the 403 ready to go in.

Sounds like a drink is in order, congrats!

Congrats! I'll have a beer for you tonight

Whoa...dogs for locating ancient remains? I'd like to read that.

I'm just a layman, but my mom was a professional (although she only ever got to work contract), I'm sure that with a half-decent dictionary on my desk, I could get through it.

Oh, and congrats!

Since you have your degree that means you are also qualified to work at McDonalds. Congrats

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/there-go-my-dreams-of-manning-the-fryer/62564/page1/

Congrats!

friedgreencorrado wrote: Whoa...dogs for locating **ancient** remains? I'd like to read that. I'm just a layman, but my mom was a professional (although she only ever got to work contract), I'm sure that with a half-decent dictionary on my desk, I could get through it. Oh, and congrats!

The thesis is actually written in fairly plain English with the things that require definition defined in the paper. My prof wants me to rewrite it as a paper to present for publishing after I get these BLM locations under my belt.

The dogs have been tested with 2-3 million year old turtle fossils and 15,000 yo mammoth remains. For the human remains we had to use modern human teeth as we did not have access to ancient human remains at the university. I also ran into an issue with the ground being frozen during some tests. My campus actually has known grave locations from frontier days. I have also been asked to speak at a Geoforensics course this term.

I was very excited that I am now qualified to flip burgers at McDonalds

You've got an impressive resume for just a Bachelors. Your thesis could get you a research position if you decided to stay in academia.

In reply to PHeller

Guess that could be the benefit of starting college later in life. I have thought about staying in the academic world and I am looking at other schools to further my education. In any event I do plan on working full time for the next year to get some bills paid down before I jump back in. However I am going to try and keep up with the research as much as I can and keep developing the methodology and get some solid field work done. I am also lucky that I have multiple professors that would write me letters of recommendation and will continue to help me with my research as things progress.

This is really inspiring, Congrats!

Well done. That sounds very interesting.

Does your thesis account for the costs of using dogs? Training, equipment, handlers, transportation etc? Like, could the BLM see hard number of how much you'd cost them?

The thesis mainly covers training concepts and adaptationfrom other research venues. It also covers dog and handler selction and the basic equipment used. It did not cover any pricing info as really it never was intended to be seen outside the university. However I actually do have those numbers because of my affiliation with Packleader and they do dog research teams all over the world, mostly for biological research.

Congratulations on the graduation, and good luck with the job hunt! I'm in the process of both as well.

Congratulations and good luck. Set a goal and don't take you eye off of it!

Congratulations on the degree and avoiding internet forums! They're a dangerous place when you need to get stuff done

It's really fascinating the things dogs can be trained to do. I imagine the training for this is similar to the search and rescue stuff i.e. avalance/earthquake/etc.

Congrats and good luck with that BLM thing. If it doesn't work out welcome to the world of trying to find a job and working somewhere that doesn't relate to your degree . No really congrats and go have a brewski.

Thanks all. DirtyBird yeah I am still applying for other positions. Heck today I put in for a decent job with the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Congrats!

Hope the transition to working stiff goes well.

Congrats! That's fantastic; a real innovation in your field. I remember you talking about this in another thread, some time ago. Keep us updated!

In reply to Secretariata: It is actually a retransition as I am one of those fools that started working first then ten years later said hey I know I will go back to school! I have actually been working on this research since my first year on campus and actually was asked to present at the spring science symposium as a freshman because of it. I also have been a guest lecturer in multiple classes at the university and have gone several surrounding schools to talk to younger kids about fossils and my work finding them. I am really lucky to have the backing of my friends company Packleader as without that doing my research and proving it with multiple dogs would have been much more difficult.

I figure I am going to still hunt up a solid "day job" in case the work with BLM is just a when they need me kind of thing. Not putting all my eggs in one basket. I am also talking to my university about the possibility of starting a program there to further the research and to get new handlers and dogs trained in my methods eventually. The only other school I am aware that does any detection dog work is UW and that is strictly scat. This could turn into something big for the school (and me) if played right.

In reply to rebelgtp: Sounds like you've put a good bit of thought into things and are well prepared for your reintroduction.

You took a path that was the one you needed to take. It will work out and get you to the right place at the right time.