Midlife career change into conservation or land management, any advice?

[SlB09]

Would really appreciate some advice from people who work within these roles/industries and how you got into them, qualification etc. I am quite high in my current career path but it just doesn't feed my soul. I grew up on a farm, have nature and the land in my blood, I love anything botany, habitats, conservation, physical work, the land etc and feel like this is where I belong. My concerns are salaries seem to be quite low for levels of qualification etc, a lot of work is contractual (I guess owing to funding pots) etc or a lot of office work still emg ecology input for planning etc.

I havnt got a set career in mind, I'd love to hear any of your stories and paths towards what you do. I live on the edge of a national park and I'd love to be part of preserving and managing this, this type of work maybe?

My current career is absolutely the opposite (healthcare) although at my level lots of transferrable skills in terms of engagement/stakeholders/partnerships/audits/research/public relations etc. As much as my heart doesn't care re salaries, my head does worry re how much of a knack to my salary I'd need to take and if we could manage. I worry about going back to the start etc so experiences of midlife changes would also be very much appreciated.

No specific advice - but you may well find helpful threads on the Mature Study and Retraining board:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

Volunteering is the best way in if you want contacts and experience. All the wildlife trusts and national parks have volunteers. The money is low and jobs thin on the ground even with experience. If you need an income you maybe better getting qualified in a skill set your interested in that linked in, So ecological surveying for developers / builders or be a tree surgeons or landscaping/ gardening.

Forest school leaders course is another if you want to work with kids.

my first degree was ecology, many moons ago. From friends that still work in the sector not much has changed: paid jobs are in short supply relative to the number of enthusiastic young ecology / environmental science / wildlife management / planning / conservation graduates still being churned out. Volunteering is a must to get experience, the more the better. Friends with children who’ve graduated recently tell me they are jumping through all kinds of hoops, mostly volunteering either in the UK or overseas funded by the bank of mum and dad, and it’s taking years to secure a permanent role. It’s a sector where - unfortunately- a lot of people are willing to work for free / peanuts.

Potential employers:

Big charities - National trust, RSPB, wildlife trusts, etc.
Smaller local organisations - local wildlife trusts, forest / woodland / wetland restoration and management projects.
Local authorities - conservation and planning departments
Consultancy work - basically writing EIAs and other reports.

There will be some kind of ‘friends of the national park’ group near you: join this, get to know the professionals who are running the show, get on the website and familiarise with the management plans etc that have been written for it. These will give you an insight into the kinds of jobs / work / different organisations that go into running these places.

Thanks @TheLivelyAzureHedgehog just from my own research I had kind of gathered that it was a sector where 'internships' and 'this will be good experience' type opportunities were quite the norm which is such a shame. A lot of adverts pay peanuts for graduate work (which I think is a travesty for the amount of knowledge at that level) but for an adult that's a real consideration. I just can't afford to do lots of things for free, and actually at my age nor would I want to!!! And I don't think the next generation should either but I suppose supply/demand/funding etc.

There's not a lot volunteering round here ATM but I do keep an eye out, the main opportunities are within the attached shops or welcoming people and that's just not for me tbh.

@FrostySunRun @ScoutOfTheSoftHeartsClub thanks for your advice too. We're pretty saturated with forest school here, well that and I'm not patient enough to cope with children!!!

Another avenue is Environment Agency, Natural England or DEFRA, or even Water Companies who do nature based solutions work but the money is in the desk jobs not the field jobs I’m afraid. I did a linked degree 30yrs ago and two years volunteering to get my foot in the door but quickly realised the money was in desk jobs not field based sadly. There are always groups of volunteers often retired folk in day time or weekends they don’t need to advertise as constant stream. You won’t make good money I’m afraid. National Trust used to give free accommodation in bunk house style set ups in return for a year volunteering and training. So great for sandwich years and graduates but not older folk with bills to pay. I saw Lundy island advertising for seasonal volunteers/ jobs in Feb looked fab if you had no life commitments.

@FrostySunRun thanks, I've I've seen quite a few fantastic opportunities like that and love that there are these things for younger people, there's some fab experiences out there if you can move around/up and go!

Money doesn't have to be wild, but I'd need more than low-mid 20k. I'm going to have a proper think as to how I maybe incorporate this into life perhaps, rather than a total shift. May have to get inventive!!

I'll post what I've said on similar threads before...

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. Lots of the fun stuff is done by volunteers so volunteer management is a pretty key skill regardless of role. Paid staff are all grossly underpaid for the skill and experience of their roles!

For career changers i would always reccomend using existing experience to make a sideways move rather than a complete change, if possible, as this is the most realistic way to move into the sector without a huge paycut. It's not the same as becoming a ranger of course, but a step into the sector does still have lots of the benefits you might be looking for. Theres a real variety of roles e.g. need for comms, finance, hr skillsets etc where you don't need a conservation background, but would still be in that world.

For the more direct delivery jobs there's lots of information and job listing available on
Environment jobs and The conservation jobs service.

@Cluelessasacucumber that is so so helpful thank you, and kind of affirms what I suspected!