Where are all the jobs?

[RKB]

NE HQ is in Peterborough, isn't it?

All public sector conservation orgs have had a job freeze since May, although people are still being taken on in order to meet pressing committments. Most jobs now will come through the charities and consultancies linked to big developments (windfarms etc).

Sheltering in academia is fine as long as you're one of the ones on a funded place. Cuts in funding funding just means there are less of them, not that the existing ones get harder.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by RKB

NE HQ is in Peterborough, isn't it?

All public sector conservation orgs have had a job freeze since May, although people are still being taken on in order to meet pressing committments. Most jobs now will come through the charities and consultancies linked to big developments (windfarms etc).

Sheltering in academia is fine as long as you're one of the ones on a funded place. Cuts in funding funding just means there are less of them, not that the existing ones get harder.

There is a big NE office at peterborough (its where gill works i thunk) but headquarters used to be at john dower house in cheltenham. However they have closed that office and moved Hq elsewhere as part of their cost cutting(so it may be at peterborough, i dunno)

With regard to the cuts in research funding, surely if there are fewer funded places available, common sense would dictate that there will be more competition for the places that remain, and thus they will in fact be "harder" to get

[RKB]

Originally Posted by eeyore

With regard to the cuts in research funding, surely if there are fewer funded places available, common sense would dictate that there will be more competition for the places that remain, and thus they will in fact be "harder" to get

That's what I said! But if you're good (really good), then you'll get in and you'll be fine. Selection's always been fairly tough, but I don't think it do much harm to make it a bit tougher. Te best will still get in, and it's the best we want.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by RKB

but I don't think it do much harm to make it a bit tougher. Te best will still get in, and it's the best we want.

I quite agree, but it does mean that if you are good but not "the best" then sheltering in academia may not be an option for graduates confronting the harsh jobs market.

Under normal circumstances I would say go out on your own as either a contractor or a consultant (the former is what I did initially), however the cuts are also going to mean less money to pay third parties for services so that isnt looking too rosy either

My advice to a new graduate in that position is to take the best job they can get in any feild (assuming the bank of mum and dad cant support them) , and try to volunteer as much as possible in their spare time, also try and get vocational qualifications - e.g chainsaw for a practical conservationist - some volunteer places will provide these, tho the ability to that is also being squeeezed by the cuts, and make sure they get a driving licence.

Also learn as much as they can about your chosen feild - I know they probably cant afford to do formal quals, but they can still read up on the subject - join a library for acess to journals, text books etc (this never really stops - I am currently self teaching for an MBA)

The lean times wont last forerver, so the best one can do is to be prepared as possible for when the job you want does come up.

[RKB]

Originally Posted by eeyore

Under normal circumstances I would say go out on your own as either a contractor or a consultant (the former is what I did initially), however the cuts are also going to mean less money to pay third parties for services so that isnt looking too rosy either

Could actually work the other way. With a job freeze and redundancies, the use of outside contractors could be going up - often the people who have just left with a redundancy pay-off or retired! I know of a couple of places that are using outside contractors to fill skills gaps due to a lack of staff. When there is a contract to fulfill, there is often no other way around it.

[Paul mabbott]

The lean times may last for ever as far as most of this generation is concerned.
I'm afraid that my solution is not a pleasant one. Sell your soul, get a job in the City, make enough money to take a low-paid job in ten years time. The only young scientists I know getting jobs at the moment are the ones who have gone into the financial industry. It seems beyond irony that the only people getting 55% payrises at present are the very people who caused the financial collapse in the first place.

Originally Posted by eeyore

The lean times wont last forerver, so the best one can do is to be prepared as possible for when the job you want does come up.
.............
Under normal circumstances I would say go out on your own as either a contractor or a consultant (the former is what I did initially), however the cuts are also going to mean less money to pay third parties for services so that isnt looking too rosy either

My advice to a new graduate in that position is to take the best job they can get in any feild (assuming the bank of mum and dad cant support them) , and try to volunteer as much as possible in their spare time, also try and get vocational qualifications - e.g chainsaw for a practical conservationist - some volunteer places will provide these, tho the ability to that is also being squeeezed by the cuts, and make sure they get a driving licence.

Also learn as much as they can about your chosen feild - I know they probably cant afford to do formal quals, but they can still read up on the subject - join a library for acess to journals, text books etc (this never really stops - I am currently self teaching for an MBA)

[Matt Smith]

I was out on site the other day with a couple of the ecologists from one of my clients. Talking to one of them, she said she had done here "volunteering" while at Uni with the consultancy she was now working for.