I will never understand why ecology is found in the last chapters of most biology textbooks; I like to begin with the big, exciting picture. For example, my school year often starts with one very small Blanding's turtle. It is uncanny to most, but nearly every school year, on the first day of school, the turtle's eggs hatch. My high-school students and I have been working for over 20 years to protect the nests of this threatened species (Figure 1). Together we weigh them and measure carapace length, count fingers and toes, inspect yolk sacs, and look for the caruncle, a keratinous structure on the snout that breaks through the eggshell. I think to myself, right here, on the first day of school, is all of biology. After school, many students join me to release the hatchlings into the wetlands behind the school, which most students are surprised to find exists right in our backyard. I love the look on the students’ faces and the squeals of wonder when they experience the water pressure on their waders. I love watching a year of chemistry and a unit including Boyle's law come to life while studying ecology in a local wetland. My students cup a turtle hatchling gently in their hands, place it down in the mud, and watch as it zig-zags its way over twigs and mounds of duckweed and then sinks into the mud for the long winter. This stays with the students all year, and for some much longer. The circle of life and my school year will start over again next year, with the excitement of ecology at the forefront. – MP While many things motivate ecology educators, as the story above indicates, the chance to continue to discover things about the environment and experience the joy of understanding those things through the eyes of their students is paramount. While many ecological careers (eg professorships) involve a teaching component (WebFigure 1), here we focus on jobs where teaching is the focus, specifically K–12 and informal ecology education. Hopefully, everyone reading this article has had the pleasure of learning from an educator with the “spark” – that gift of brilliance and infectious enthusiasm that engages, inspires, and instructs all at once. If you think you may be interested in ecology education, cultivate your “spark”, and always let your excitement shine through! Ultimately, the more you love what you're teaching and who you're teaching, the better you'll be at it. As an ecology educator, learning and doing ecology will be a major component of your career so you'll need to stay current with new developments in the field. All careers in ecology education involve (1) knowing your audience: what they know and care about, and how they learn; (2) using science to set audience-driven goals; (3) creatively designing and implementing lessons, activities, or resources; and (4) assessing your successes and modifying your teaching practices accordingly. Opportunities in primary and secondary ecology education can be divided into two broad categories: formal and informal. Formal education entails working directly with K–12 students in schools. In the US, there are approximately four times as many formal K–12 education jobs as post-secondary educator jobs (US Department of Labor 2018). We can further break down formal education by student age group. Working with elementary students gives you the ability to do project-based teaching across all disciplines, and work with kids at an age when they are still enchanted by the world around them. Some elementary schools have specialists that focus entirely on science, but in most cases you will teach all subjects. Middle schools usually have positions for science teachers, sometimes specializing in physical or biological disciplines, while high-school teaching positions are usually single or closely aligned subjects such as biology or Earth science. A high-school teacher might have a research class, instruct an ecology elective, or be part of an honors program like Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate. There are even high schools that provide students with mentored research experiences and extended field learning opportunities, led by dedicated science teachers. Informal education can involve reaching students, teachers, or the public in out-of-school settings such as museums, nature centers, and parks, or through the media (as described by Lowman and Kress [2017] and other articles in this series). Informal educators may work directly with visitors, or indirectly by developing and sharing educational resources. Many such educators provide professional development opportunities for classroom teachers or other informal educators. Working with community education programs through citizen science and other initiatives is also an option. As mentioned above, staying current with ecology and educational research is an important part of a career in K–12 ecology education. There are many great professional groups that help educators stay up-to-date at all career stages. Most states have science teacher organizations, and many have environmental- or biology-focused subgroups, too. At the national level, the National Science Teaching Association, National Association of Biology Teachers, and North American Association for Environmental Education have wonderful national and regional conferences, publications, and resources. Within professional associations like the Ecological Society of America (ESA) or the American Geophysical Union, there are education groups that can help you connect to other educators. Finally, there are a number of science education research groups, including the North American Association for Research in Science Teaching, the Association for Science Teacher Education, and the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research. More information and websites for these organizations are provided in WebTable 1. To get the training and experience you need to be a successful ecology educator, a major or minor in science is recommended. Sixty-eight percent of high-school natural science teachers received a bachelor's or a master's degree in a science field and then moved into education, although alternative pathways do exist (Snyder et al. 2016). With the current emphasis on teaching both big ideas and science practices, having genuine experience doing science will prove valuable in the classroom, nature center, curriculum development job, or any educator path you follow. In your studies, it is important to get tangible skills in scientific research, data analysis and modeling, spatial analysis, and fieldwork. Building your knowledge and skills in both pedagogy and understanding how students learn is also important and can be done through coursework, internships, or entry-level teaching positions. If you think you might be interested in teaching, be sure to take advantage of teaching opportunities that come your way! Teaching Assistantships (TAs) during your undergraduate studies or in graduate school can give you valuable experience supported by faculty and fellow TAs, and could unlock or confirm your passion for teaching students of all ages, including K–12. Once in the profession, you will grapple with a complex education landscape. A savvy teacher should learn how to navigate the social dynamics among students, parents, administrators, and teachers in the school, and understand district, state, and national learning standards and how to meet them. Perhaps the most useful piece of advice is to try your best to become a reflective practitioner. Start by reflecting on your own experience as a learner, and then as a teacher, ideally guided by your developing understanding of theories about how students learn. These theories should give you a useful lens to view yourself and your students, and a language for analyzing, synthesizing, and sharing your observations and insights. It's also essential to be as clear as possible about what you want your students to get out of your class, nature work, exhibit, or curriculum. This might be ecological literacy or environmental citizenship (Berkowitz et al. 2005), the ESA's new 4-Dimensional Ecology Education Framework (4DEE; Klemow et al. 2019), awareness and caring about organisms, or behavior change; the first goals are more common in science education settings, the latter in many environmental education jobs. If you love sharing the joy of discovery and understanding with others, a career that involves teaching in K–12 schools or informal settings might be perfect for you. Even a quiet educator can inspire learners through genuine engagement. If this is you, make sure you find ways to show prospective employers what you can accomplish. There are many opportunities for ecologists at each career level, from undergraduate to postdoctoral, and many rewarding ways to gain the required experience. Many K–12 ecology educators have career paths that take them to different ecosystems, and that blend the intellectual satisfaction of teaching the best science with the interpersonal satisfaction of touching young people's lives. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. Rhea M M Esposito National Ecological Observatory Network, Boulder, CO Cornelia Harris SUNY at Albany, Albany, NY Alan R Berkowitz Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY Maribel Pregnall Arlington High School, Poughkeepsie, NY