[Steve S]

Martin,

This is how it went for my wife…

She studied what was probably the one of the first Environmental Science degree courses available in the UK, (as you may gather, this was a while ago now). On completion she couldn’t get a job in conservation - “What, a woman working outdoors? Don’t be stupid!”

Needing some sort of employment she trained as a nurse. After eleven years the NHS was becoming an awful place to work and the call to the outdoors was as strong as ever. She began volunteering at a local, council owned nature reserve. This put her into a position of knowing when an opportunity for employment came along. She trained, she studied and she built up an enviable reputation for quality work. Because of this opportunities began to come her way and at the first chance for a career change, she took it.

Now she is part of a national team of specialists working in a field that she loves, and earning a lot less than she would have done if she had remained a nurse.

Things have moved on…

Getting a job in conservation is difficult because it is now a popular career choice. Pay remains low because of market forces (supply and demand), and the historical unwillingness to pay a decent wage to highly qualified staff for doing what is misguidedly seen as a vocation rather than a profession.

Basically, I think that you can do it if you really want to, but have to really want to.

Best endeavours.

Steve.