"Butterfly Counters". Love it. Our department was full of those. Spent their days writing thesis on bat migratory patterns, but showed up for a woodland assessment wearing shorts and sandals... How do ya like that buckthorn, sweetie? Spent tons of budget money on building owl and bat structures instead of habitat reclamation/restoration/management, mostly because it provided better photo ops for them... They're not really about the flora & fauna, they're about self-promotion and padding their resumes so they can move on...
And that inexperience remains with you, because they lack the judgement/knowledge/practical experience to move on to a private sector job. With these types now becoming entrenched in their positions, they naturally hire/promote others like themselves, so their own shortcomings don't become glaringly apparent by comparison. Now it becomes self-perpetuating, with unqualified people, many of whom haven't spent a single day in the field, managing entire departments and huge budgets. And they wonder why they can't retain qualified field personnel.
