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Originally Posted by NJ  Hi there,
I could use a little help. Like many people on this forum I'd really like to work with wildlife but I've got a few problems and I was hoping that I may find some help here.
I'm looking at doing an Open University degree in Life Sciences (link to the page if it's any help: B28 - BSc (Honours) Life Sciences - Open University qualification ) but would this hold me back in getting a wildlife career? It's not viable for me to go to a traditional university or college at this point in my life for a variety of reasons so this is really my only option to get a degree but I'm rather concerned about it.
What jobs could this degree lead to and would it be a disadvantage?
Thank you very much for any replies.  |
For the last twenty years I've helped run some of the OU residential schools and have always been impressed by the dedication needed to get a degree this way. I'm guessing it would take you up to six years to get the various points needed to get a degree and doing this whilst balancing jobs/life etc shows real determination and I think employers would recognise this.
Unfortunately a degree is only the starting point in getting a wildlife job these days. You would also need to get some real experience perhaps by volunteering with a local Wildlife Trust or Country Park or maybe doing some stuff with people like BTCV. If you could get a portfolio of other experience to go with the degree then that would be a real plus for you. The other thing that always concerns me a little is the lack of basic ID skills that a lot of environmental graduates from conventional universities seem to come out with. Maybe getting some specific ID qualifications might also be useful - a number of Universities run extra mural courses in Identification of various groups. The other qualifications that may help would be things like some of the statutory licences eg Bat Handling. A lot depends which type of wildlife work you want to go into.
Anyway good luck in whatever you choose to do.