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David's Open Road

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  • INTERVIEWED BY:

    Roadtrip Nation Staff

  • INTERVIEW LOCATION:

    Costa Mesa, CA

  • AIRED ON:

    Live: Season 1

DAVID BADER

Director of Education
Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific

“I think too many times people are doing things because they think they should be doing them. You know, they're going to go into biology because they think they should be a doctor, or that being a doctor or a lawyer is a way to make lots of money…That's a motivation, but it's the wrong motivation. Find the thing that you love doing, and then…find a job that helps you to do those things. Because no one likes to work. So don't work, do something that you love.”

INTERESTS:

Environment & Nature Science

THEMES DISCUSSED:

Education Exploration Passion

TAGS:

biology, career, degree, giant squid, Jacques Cousteau, job, marine biology, motivation, nature, ocean, people

BIOGRAPHY:

Mention a giant squid, and David Bader freaks out. Not with panic like most people would—but with wide-eyed excitement. The sea-creature-enthusiast has wanted to be a marine biologist for as long as he can remember, and it’s that child-like enthusiasm for the ocean’s wonders that keeps him happy every day at work. As the Director of Education at the Long Beach Aquarium, David’s days consist of hanging out with fascinating animals in mystifying aquatic habitats. But he doesn’t just silently analyze things with microscopes—instead, David gets to interact with the aquarium's visitors, share his knowledge, and get people excited about the sea. That’s not to say that he doesn’t enjoy handling petri dishes every now and then, but he just never felt he’d be happy stuck in a lab all day. So he combined his interests in teaching and marine biology to create a livelihood that truly fulfills him. Ultimately, he's found an avenue that perfectly encapsulates what he's good at--and before landing this job, he was already educating anyone who would listen about this stuff anyway. Now he just gets paid!

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