[Holly Tree]

Thanks neldadog, I think your advice is very useful. It seems some people don't realise how business minded you have to be to work in the commercial side of ecology. As well as ecology surveys you are also a salesperson and are very client focused, aiding developers with their projects. Lots of people start off in consultancy hoping they can eventually get into conservation, so they might not be in the business mind set for it. The lack of report writing skills from a consultancy is what I thought was holding me back but I couldn't get the experience without a job. Funnily enough the job I have wasn't put off by that, so now I can get that experience.

Does anyone else have any stories about gaining employment in such a competitive environmental sector? It certainly seems to be a challenge when you're starting out!