When you were little, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Did you want to be a fireman, an astronaut, or a professional baseball player? Most likely your current career is very different from your childhood dream job, but that doesn’t mean dream jobs don’t exist. This is the first part of a series exploring the concept of the dream job via interviews with people who have interesting and unconventional careers. Learn about their career paths and get their perspective on whether or not the dream job is a real thing. This episode features an interview with Matze, a fisherman and fisheries ecologist in the German state of Bavaria. Special thanks to Ordovich (@theordovichian) and to the (Young) Pioneers for the music. For contact information visit immersoexperience.com.

Listening Comprehension Questions:

1. There is a law in Germany that if you catch a fish, you have to __________?

2. Matze gave two examples of situations in which he might have to give his expert opinion and “speak for the fish.” Can you name at least one?

3. For what reason does he do electrofishing while on the job?

4. Why did he quit his job at the ecology bureau?

Responses:

1. take it home

2. when there is a proposal to build a hydropower plant and when there is a request for permission to allow runoff into a river

3. to gather data on the fishery from which he can base his expert opinion

4. because they didn’t have any projects involving fish, which is what he wanted to do