BES Facebook pageIMPROVING YOUR CHANCES: How to get a career in ecology
The world of ecology is vast, encompassing many different areas.
Competition for jobs within the sector is fierce and employers can and do choose the very best candidates for vacancies.
Your time as an undergraduate is an excellent opportunity to gain experience and take advantage of reduced costs for skills based courses. The greater and more diverse the experience you can gain during this time, the greater your chance of finding employment in the sector you are most interested in.
There are very simple things that you can do to gain extra experience that could give you the upper hand and start you on the ecology ladder…
During your time at university you might consider:
- Joining the Conservation Committee/Society of your university. These will offer experience working on a variety of projects.
- Taking as many field work and practical modules as possible
- Joining a Professional Body such as the Institute of Ecology and Environment Management (IEEM) but there are others such as the Institute of Biology. Even as a student member you will be building up your standing and many offer Career Development Programmes.
Volunteering
Many short/long courses can be found on environment and conservation websites. They also advertise for volunteer positions for field work. These are a very useful way to show commitment, improve or learn new techniques. It is also a good way to make contacts for later in your career.
Whatever volunteering opportunties you decide to take on, remember your time is still valuable, and it's the quality of the experience you get that counts not the volume of experience you have. Before committing to any volunteering find out what skills you can expect to develop, any survey skills you might learn and if they can offer you any additional training, support towards gaining licenses etc.
Extra Qualifications
Gaining extra qualifications during university is a great option, usually because the courses are far cheaper with student discounts and they also add to your CV.
Each year the BES funds students to attend skills based courses which usually take place at the various Field Studies Centres. These courses will be delivered by relevant bodies such as the Mammal Society, the Bat Conservarion Trust etc. and are open to any BES member providing the course taken is not part of Univeristy modules/programmes etc
Link to Grants page
The Institute of Ecology and Environment Management (IEEM) run workshops throughout the year. Again you get significant discount if a member or applying for membership.
The Natural History Museum offers qualifications known as IdQ's. These are accreditations in taxonomic identification. As a student there is a 50% discount.
The Field Studies Council run short and long courses ranging from habitat management to identification courses.
The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment offer training courses in environmental management and are approved.
Who to contact?
To give you a head start here are some useful websites for the main animal groups. There are many more not listed below that can be found on the links sections of these sites. Volunteering with the local animal groups is one of the best ways to gain experience. Many offer to train you in field and survey techniques in exchange for your time and participation in projects.
Amphibians & Reptiles
The British Herpetological Society
Froglife: This page contains vast amounts of links to many local amphibians and reptiles groups. There are links to nearly all animal groups on this site.
Bats
The Bat Conservation Trust: Many local bat groups can be contacted through this page. Some offer training programs in conjunction with volunteering to gain licenses. You can check for local bat groups on this site or you can search on the web.
Mammals
Birds
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): The RSPB offer volunteer positions at reserves which could give you good experience in reserve management, animal care or surveys.
The British Trust for Ornithology: The BTO run training days in almost every type of bird surveying, identification and ringing techniques.
Research
Earthwatch: Site that contains many links to research projects abroad and at home.
