I am a quantitative ecologist. As such, there is no problem requiring a quantitative solution that is, potentially, not of interest to me.
The Greek poet Archilochus once said, “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” I’ve always viewed myself more as a fox than a hedgehog. My PhD research largely focused on methods for performing population viability analysis. I then worked for 2 & 1/2 years at the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission in Olympia, WA providing quantitative support for salmon management, followed by 10 years as a Wildlife biometrician with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. A common theme throughout my research has been the use of quantitative methods to make conclusions from what often tends to be messy data.
I am fortunate to be able to work on a wide variety of problems, something I enjoy. In the words of John Tukey, “the best thing about being a statistician [or quantitative ecologist] is that you get to work in everyone’s backyard.”