Ecologist

You'll need:

• maths knowledge
• analytical thinking skills
• the ability to read English
• thinking and reasoning skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• ambition and a desire to succeed
• the ability to use your initiative
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Your day-to-day duties could include:

• carrying out fieldwork - surveying and recording information on plants, animals, environmental conditions and biodiversity
• researching the impact of human activity, like housing and intensive agriculture, on the environment
• building computer models to predict the effects of development or climate change monitoring pollution
• managing wildlife conservation areas, woodland and meadows

You could work in the countryside, at a university, in an office or in a laboratory.

Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers.

Volunteering is a great way to get experience and may improve your chances of finding work. You can also build up contacts within conservation, which will be useful when looking for jobs.

You can find volunteering opportunities with:

• The Conservation Volunteers
• National Trust
• The Wildlife Trusts

Professional and industry bodies

You can join the British Ecological Society, which offers mentoring from experienced ecologists, research news, and education and job search support.

Further information

You can find more details about careers in ecology through the British Ecological Society and the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.