Anyone work in environment/conservation?

[Custardapples]

If you work in conservation what do you do and do you like it? I need a career change and I would love to do species surveys and things like that. I have higher degrees but in arts rather than sciences and have worked in education and the charity sector in comms (but not an environment charity).

Any tips on getting into this field? I can’t afford to go back to uni for a long time. Thank you!

I've worked in conservation my entire career, moved around between ecology, ranger work and community work. It is absolutely my vocation and I wouldn't do anything else but what I always tell the career changes (and there's A LOT of people wanting to move into conservation) is a job is still a job even if you love it. Burn out is actually pretty high in this sector, so don't expect it to be chilling out in fields with butterflies. Be prepared for lots of unsociable hours when you're starting out. The pay and progression is crap, even compared to other charities and lots of roles are fixed term.

If you're not in a position to retrain and you need to maintain an income then I would forget the idea of surveying. That's an ecologist role for which you'd have to retrain if you want to actually get paid, or lots of species monitoring is actually done by volunteers. In fact lots of the fun stuff is done by volunteers so volunteer management is a pretty key skill regardless of role.

If you've got experience in education or comms then I would reccomend you use this and make a sideways move rather than a complete change. Theres a real variety of roles and comms is a desirable skill, so you should be able to find something that matches your skillset. None of our comms team have a conservation background, but they all demonstrated a passion for the sector through volunteering and/or nature content on their own channels.

There's lots of information and job listing available on
Environment jobs and
Conservation jobs service

Good luck!

https://www.countryside-jobs.com/

https://www.environmentjob.co.uk/jobs

Thank you so much. I need the reality check I guess. I already volunteer with the local wildlife trust. I suppose it’s that approaching midlife thing of feeling that if you don’t do it now you never will. But it’s also the peak time for responsibilities and lack of flexibility with income and location!

@Cluelessasacucumber - If I just indulge my dream for a second, what’s it like as in an ecology role assuming I could take the time to retrain?

So you don't necessarily need a degree, but you'll be competing with people who have them. The most important thing is the experience, which you can get through volunteering if youre prepared to put in the hours. For some species you need a license, which takes time and experience and you can access specific courses.

Ecologist work in various sectors but the main employers are councils, charity and consultancy. The actual surveying bit is very seasonal and can involve early mornings (birds) and late nights (bats). The majority of work and best pay is with the consultancys and most surveys are done by assistant, junior and seasonal roles or "subbies" (freelance ecologists). As you move up you'll spend more time on things like writing the reports.

Best source of info if you're serious about a career in ecology is CIEEM: https://cieem.net/i-want-to-be/how-to-become-an-eem/

It can be done and it's a fantastic sector if it's what you want to do! I don't want to put you off, I just think it's worth doing your research before investing your time and money. Good luck x