What it’s like working for the African Snakebite Institute

My blog has been silent for far too long. So, here’s a quick look into what’s kept me so busy for the last year and a bit.

When people hear where I work now, their eyes grow big in surprise, they frown and then I get a string of interesting questions…. Here’s the answers to some the most frequent ones…

What it’s like working for the African Snakebite Institute

I started this job just over a year ago, after a dead end stint in the hospitality industry. My new title; “Admin Manager”. Little did I know at that time, what this role would encompass. There I thought I’d be doing a bit of course coordination, invoicing and quoting. Ha! That was just the beginning.

As with all new jobs you go through that initial phase of sink or swim. Everything is new and unfamiliar, and you’ve gotta keep your eyes, ears and mind open. Luckily I’m not really a fan of the whole sinking thing, and slowly got better at swimming – albeit in circle and doing doggy paddle.

I am lucky enough to have an unusual boss, who doesn’t sweat the petty things, and a right hand man who’s the constant in an ever fluctuating sea of busyness overload. And this made the first few scary weeks, when you feel you can do nothing right, bearable.

Who is the ‘’ASI” and what do we do?

The African Snakebite Institute is the largest snake awareness and venomous snake handling training provider in Africa. We teach thousands of delegates a year, about snake awareness, identification, behaviour, biology, myths, superstitions, and first aid for snakebite, as well as teaching them how to safely remove and relocate venomous snakes. ASI is also the largest distributor of quality snake handling equipment on the continent.

What’s been my biggest challenge?

I’d say my biggest growth point has been learning to ‘’just do it’’. This is thanks to the boss, Johan Marais – one of his best attributes is the “just do it” attitude. For someone like me, who always liked to plan everything meticulously, letting that go and just running with whatever was thrown my way was a challenge. Just a year later and I now routinely tackle things I know nothing about and haven’t planned and plotted and procrastinated about.

Best part of the job?

Has to be the team I work with. There’s no drama, hidden agendas, or backstabbing. We’re all just out to do the best we can, and to pick up the slack when we see it’s needed. No better feeling than running with a team that wants to run.

I get to work with some really cool people. Both the regular ASI team and our volunteers (and a few slithery animals).

Travelling more has been an added bonus for me. It’s not something I did a lot of growing up, and I’ve got to see some pretty cool places in the last year. Although you don’t get to experience much when you’re working, it’s still cool to see something besides boring office walls and the incessant glare of a computer screen.

Worst part of the job?

Expo’s are great, and we get to interact with and share knowledge with so many people, but packing up an expo stand on the Monday after a four day long expo – is never fun.

The question I’m asked most often?

“Do you have snakes with you now?” This one comes up from just about every petrol attendant, car park attendant, security guard or random kid in a car park, who sees the snake stickers and logo on the ASI vehicle.  And this is closely followed by “Aren’t you scared of snakes?” – Which is asked by a whole spectrum of people. Dealing with snakes is a completely random concept to a huge part of our population, and actually doing it for a living even more so.  It’s certainly not a run of the mill job.

Of course my Instagram is now awash with pics of our slithery friends.

We meet some really interesting people on the courses and at expos, people from all walks of life and all corners of the earth (still not sure how the earth has corners when it is, in fact, round) and it’s great to watch people’s perceptions about snakes changing and the myths they’ve believed in for years being busted, the more knowledge they are armed with.

 

Sunday evenings used to be painful, they were spent wasted in dread of the work week to follow – this is no way to live a life. I’m grateful to have woken up to that fact, and taken steps to change it. I have more than double the workload at ASI than I did at any of my previous jobs, yet with the support of the right team, the work week is not nearly as intimidating.

I’ve learned an incredible amount during the last year and a bit, about snakes, and people (and people who act like snakes) and a whole lot in between. And I’ve have had the great opportunity to constantly improve and refine my business management skills. I’m looking forward to seeing what growth the future holds.