Rona McCann

"From my quiz results, the three personality types which I matched with were Communicator, Coordinator & Influencer. I feel that everyone will have attributes of all personality types, however I do feel that my personal strengths within each personality type I matched with are:Communicator- lots of experience simplifying complex information & good listener.Coordinator- organised, patient & compassionate. Influencer- diplomatic, polite & thinking outside the box/creative thinking.Being a communicator is key when you are working in a team as I do, we need to communicate to make sure we are all understanding the tasks and completing them efficiently. It is so important to support each other and it builds great working relationships.Coordination is very important when you are multitasking. Things can seem so stressful until you write it all down and make a plan. Even the most challenging task can be made easier if you organise and plan it out well, when I am more organised I am more focused. Having influencer qualities is useful when supporting and lifting up those around you. I am very passionate about women in science careers so I can only hope that I can use this passion to support my fellow mermaids and inspire young women to have the confidence that they will make fantastic scientists one day."

"I work for an environmental consultancy and in summary, this means that I help companies (renewable energy, drinking water & other infrastructure) to build necessary structures in an environmentally sustainable way. I do this by collecting environmental data in the field (sometimes in the ocean, sometimes in a river), analysing it (sometimes in a lab) and then writing a report that helps the client build what they need while preventing harm to the environment. The outcome of my work means that economic growth of our society is supported in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way, protecting the environment & the wildlife it supports. I love the variety of my job and how I am always learning new things, there is so much to discover in marine & freshwater biology. I love that I get to spend so much time outdoors learning about cool animals and ecosystems.Starting salary in the environmental science sector is generally £20,000 a year. "

"I always knew I loved science at school and the more I learned, the more I was drawn to biology and the environment. I have always been inspired by nature and have felt happiest when out amongst it. When I learned that I could do Marine & Freshwater Biology at university and work in this field, I couldn't think of another career I would want more. Volunteering for nature organisations is very important if you want to be a Zoologist or Marine & Freshwater/ Aquatic Biologist. Volunteering is a good way of meeting people in the sector and building your CV. Getting a job in Marine Biology/Zoology is highly competitive so it is important to build your experience as this is just as important as your grades. Over the years, I have volunteered for these nature charities: RSPB, Marine Conservation Society, Scottish Shark Tagging Programme, Glasgow University Environmental Sustainability Team & the Clyde River Foundation. There are many more you can choose from and they do not demand a lot of your time.. no more than 1 day a week and although I have listed a few charities I usually volunteered for only 1 or 2 maximum at a time. I worked on wildlife watching boats for 5 years when I finished uni and volunteered then got short term contracts from environmental consultancies. I was offered a job with the Clyde River Foundation (one of the charities I volunteered with at uni) and worked for them for 3 years before I was offered a position as an Aquatic Ecologist at SLR Consulting."

"I love to be creative, I think it is very therapeutic! I like sketching and playing guitar. I also love sports like snowboarding, surfing, badminton and basketball. I love to go to gigs and meet up with friends, but I also love to relax with a book and spend time on my own #selfcare."

"It is difficult to describe a typical day because there is so much variety in what I do and because I work outside, a typical day in winter is very different to a typical day in summer. In the spring/summer/autumn I do lots of field work, getting my waders on and collecting samples from the river or getting on a boat and rescuing fish from the water. In the winter, I analyse data and write reports from samples collected during the earlier months. This can either be in a laboratory or office setting. I spend lots of time doing training courses in the winter so I can continue to learn and grow and be best prepared for the following fieldwork season. At the moment, I am looking at field sheets and inputting data from a marine mammal and bird survey for an offshore windfarm project. "

"School:Advanced Higher- BiologyHighers- Biology, Maths, English, Physics, Psychology, Graph CommIntermediate 2- ChemistryUni:Marine & Freshwater Biology (BSc) University of Glasgow Aquatic System Science (MSc) University of Glasgow "