i would like to be a pro entomologist

[whaleomeloette]

where on earth would i start?
couldnt go straight to uni due to the lack of Alevels and science gcses (lonnng story but not my fault, teachers fired,crappy collages blah blah!)

open uni?? anyone know where i should start?

i want to do this because of the love of it, not for moneys (just incase anyone says the money may be less than amazing)

i own my house outright (well will do shortly) so money isnt an issue, i have low councill tax, dont drink, smoke, etc

thanks in advance

[Miss Caretaker]

I was looking at the OU not too long ago and they do loads of 'foundation' courses for people who don't have the 'normal' qualifications for Uni. If you have a look thru their website you'll see plenty of cience bases courses, though I don't think they do a speific Entomology course.
Good luck, Jo

[whaleomeloette]

Originally Posted by Miss Caretaker

I was looking at the OU not too long ago and they do loads of 'foundation' courses for people who don't have the 'normal' qualifications for Uni. If you have a look thru their website you'll see plenty of cience bases courses, though I don't think they do a speific Entomology course.
Good luck, Jo

thank you! i think you can put part of your OU courses toward a degree too

[Miss Caretaker]

Another place to look, although they don't necessarily result in a qualification, is the Field Studies Council. They do residential courses and if I had the cash I'd love to go on one of them!

[Matt Smith]

Look on the iSpot website (iSpot | your place to share nature), the OU run a course called "Neighbourhood Nature" (Open University Course | iSpot) which might be a useful point to start looking. The British Entomological and Natural History Society also run a series of workshops each year on various entomological subjects.

As to being a professional entomologist, no, the money is not wonderful, but it is possible to make a living, I have been working as a Consultant Entomologist for the last 14 years or so. You will find there area lot of people with "paper" qualifications, but what a lot of recent graduates lack is any practical experience or the ability to provide any specific areas of expertise.

Most of the people I know in this line of work do have a bit of paper from a University somewhere, but their expertise has been gained on their own time and because of their interest in the subject. I am not sure of your own current interests and experience with any insect groups, but if you really want to follow a career in this area then I would suggest you pick a group which has some good ID literature behind it (hoverflies / soldierflies / ground beetles) and start making a collection and trying out ID's to help gain some practical experience. The more you do like this, the faster and more confident your ID's will become and you will find it easier to get to grips with other insect groups too.

[whaleomeloette]

Originally Posted by Matt Smith

Look on the iSpot website (iSpot | your place to share nature), the OU run a course called "Neighbourhood Nature" (Open University Course | iSpot) which might be a useful point to start looking. The British Entomological and Natural History Society also run a series of workshops each year on various entomological subjects.

As to being a professional entomologist, no, the money is not wonderful, but it is possible to make a living, I have been working as a Consultant Entomologist for the last 14 years or so. You will find there area lot of people with "paper" qualifications, but what a lot of recent graduates lack is any practical experience or the ability to provide any specific areas of expertise.

Most of the people I know in this line of work do have a bit of paper from a University somewhere, but their expertise has been gained on their own time and because of their interest in the subject. I am not sure of your own current interests and experience with any insect groups, but if you really want to follow a career in this area then I would suggest you pick a group which has some good ID literature behind it (hoverflies / soldierflies / ground beetles) and start making a collection and trying out ID's to help gain some practical experience. The more you do like this, the faster and more confident your ID's will become and you will find it easier to get to grips with other insect groups too.

a couple of different places (a zoo and a national trust place) have asked me to help out in the past because i have some knowlage (pails in comparison to peoples on here though) im mean im only just 21 so i have plenty of time to sort my career out

thanks muchly for the advice ill have to buy more books when i have the dosh.
when i move house.... and cities... and ends of the country(lol!) il lbe getting out more, its abit rubbish where i live and hard to get out there hands on

[Harry Eales]

Originally Posted by whaleomeloette

where on earth would i start?
couldnt go straight to uni due to the lack of Alevels and science gcses (lonnng story but not my fault, teachers fired,crappy collages blah blah!)

open uni?? anyone know where i should start?

i want to do this because of the love of it, not for moneys (just incase anyone says the money may be less than amazing)

i own my house outright (well will do shortly) so money isnt an issue, i have low councill tax, dont drink, smoke, etc

thanks in advance

Hello whaleomeloette,

There's some good advice on this thread:-

Getting a permanent job in Ecology is so hard for a budding ecologist, please help!

Harry Eales

[whaleomeloette]

Originally Posted by Harry Eales

Hello whaleomeloette,

There's some good advice on this thread:-

Getting a permanent job in Ecology is so hard for a budding ecologist, please help!

Harry Eales

thank you!
x

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by whaleomeloette

a couple of different places (a zoo and a national trust place) have asked me to help out in the past because i have some knowlage (pails in comparison to peoples on here though) im mean im only just 21 so i have plenty of time to sort my career out

thanks muchly for the advice ill have to buy more books when i have the dosh.
when i move house.... and cities... and ends of the country(lol!) il lbe getting out more, its abit rubbish where i live and hard to get out there hands on

Nowhere in the country is rubbish for invertebrates, every single square of concrete, garden flowerbed, allotment, damp ditch or manky old shrub supports loads of invertebrates. Get out there and get Iding/ taking samples/ consulting others for help with ID absolutely nothing beats good field skills especially in relation to a subject area as difficult as entomology.

In addition if you can prove you're keen to exisiting specialists (mainly by repeatedly going to them for ids) they are likely to give you keys and things to help you and you may not need to shell out on expensive books.

[RKB]

Originally Posted by Matt Smith

You will find there area lot of people with "paper" qualifications, but what a lot of recent graduates lack is any practical experience or the ability to provide any specific areas of expertise.

Most of the people I know in this line of work do have a bit of paper from a University somewhere, but their expertise has been gained on their own time and because of their interest in the subject.

I think you're being very disingenuous there. Field experience is something you cannot be taught, true, and you have to make the effort yourself or be trained (although some courses can give you the opportunity/access to new areas). But the "paper qualification" you seem to be dismissing teach you to interpret what you are seeing, think critically, understand the wider area of zoology/ecology, be able to record and report it properly and, at the most basic level, they show that you can actually count and spell. Without all that, knowing one type of hoverfly from another isn't much use.

Whaleomelette, why not go to evening classes or OU to get the science GCSEs and A Levels, and then apply for university.