Becoming an Ecologist is an engaging and immersive insight into the life of a professional Ecologist. Instead of providing a "how to" guide outlining the steps to achieve the educational qualifications to become a scientist publishing papers, Wiens delves into his personal experiences as a young curious boy navigating his love for the natural sciences and how that led him to becoming an ecologist. Through his "Episodes" he illustrates that life and research are just as unpredictable as each other and that nothing in scientific discovery is linear or expected.

As someone currently pursuing a career in the natural sciences myself, I've found this book both entertaining and helpful. My own path hasn't gone as expected and like Wiens, my work has moved to a specialisation that I didn't expect to be in. This book would be a great read to anyone who, like me, is pursuing a career in the natural sciences or even just someone with an interest in Ecology,

This was a fascinating narration of the emergence of landscape ecology and changing in paradigms from the point of view of one scientist. Dr. Wiens has had an impressive career filled with lots of interesting research. As an aspiring ecologist, I found it really useful for thinking about where my career might go and how many unexpected opportunities might come up in the future. However, I was lucky enough to go to a school that really emphasized DEI and ethical conduct in the life sciences, and there was very little addressing current social issues in ecology in this book. Like, this guy married his grad student...and then barely addressed the ethical questions and power dynamics inherent in that relationship. I recommend reading this book, but with a critical eye.