Jobs in Ecology

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Jobs in Ecology

• What jobs am I qualified for ?
• Types of jobs pros and cons.
• Listing and improving qualifications.
• Where do I find job / volunteer postings?

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What am I qualified for?
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With a BSc. in ecology (etc.)

• Fisheries technician (monitor populations,
  catches)
• Staff member - NGO (write reports etc).
• Public outreach officer - aquaria, parks, etc.
• Wildlife officer - local government
• Staff - environmental consultant
• Water quality technician (identify algae, etc.)
• Forest entomology technician (monitor
  populations)
• Agriculture inspector (search for introduced
  species)
• Policy Intern - NGO, Public Service

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Technician government/university/private
BSc.
Staff member NGO, environ. consult.
experience
Scientist Environmental consulting
firm Researcher NGO/ Government College teacher
MSc.
experience
Research scientist Government/NGO University
professor College teacher Independent consultant
PhD.
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Complementary degrees
BSc.
MA journalism (1 year) Environment/science
journalist LLB (law 3 years) Environmental
lawyer B.Ed. (1-2 years) Science teacher
BSc Comp. Sci. (20 months, UBC) Ecological
modeller (may need MSc ecology too). Film
school Documentary maker
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Examples
WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST Fort St John 50,904.14 -
58,329.41 BSc 4 years experience or MSc. 2
years experience Technician Applied Ecology Bird
Banding Monitoring Salary From 40 951 to 49 821
College degree experience doing ecological
fieldwork, particularly bird surveys and computer
analysis Carbon Cycling Modeler/Analyst Salary
50,069 to 64,769 per annum. MSc. in Forestry,
Forest Ecology, Natural Resources Management,
Soil Science or Agriculture
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Research grants and permits
Can you apply if not associated with university?
With just BSc.? Generally not (grants).
Definitely not (permits). Exceptions NGOs, long
publication record. Find university
collaborator. See Community of Science website
for grants.
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Types of jobs pros and cons
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Pros and cons Government
Job security Good until Government cutbacks /
restructuring. Jobs Research, management,
administration, policy. Independence Variable
(depends on level). Can rise through experience,
but education most impt. Red tape, red tape. End
use No control (esp. in Fisheries!).
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Pros and cons NGOs
Job security Poor, except for more established
NGOs. Charity culture can lead to long hours,
burn out, and low pay (but not necc.). Jobs
Policy, writing reports, literature reviews,
basic field research, grant writer, volunteer
co-ordinator, project manager, public outreach.
Independence Within aims of organization, but
you may be able to set these aims. End use High
control, high impact.
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Pros and cons Private
Job security Poor, but many opportunities.
Contracts are feast or famine, but flexible.
Staff appointments. Jobs Environmental Impact
Assessments, ecological monitoring for govt.,
reports for govt./First Nations. Independence
Only free to refuse contract. Can set up own
private firm eventually. End use Often high
impact (e.g. EIA), but some firms may be more
pro-environment than others. Choose carefully. No
control over how govt. reports used.
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Pros and cons University/College
Job security V high, but few openings (yet
everyone good gets a job eventually). Cant pick
location. Jobs Professor (40 research, 40
teaching, 20 administration). Workload very high
(50-60 hours/week). Lecturer (60 teaching, 40
admin). Independence High. But publication
rate critical to maintaining grants. End use
Variable. Often only high impact to other
academics (system set up this way). Can work on
highly applied areas if publish results in
journals. Scientific credibility useful in
political impact.
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Qualifications
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Free qualifications

• Registered Professional Biologist BSc 3 years
  work exp. 1 publication
• College of Applied Biology, B.C.
• Registered Professional Ecologist BSc 1 year
  work exp.
• Ecological Society of America
• Society membership. Often cheap for students
  (40-80). Ecological Society of America, British
  Ecological Society, Canadian Society of
  Zoologists..

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Resumes
General Make it short. Forget fancy Cant make
up for lack of content! Resumes for jobs
Emphasize skills, previous employment. Resumes
for grad school Emphasize independent research
experience, reference letters, specific
interests, grades. This class List computer
programs learnt, statistical analyses learnt,
field techniques learnt.
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Resumes - What else?

• Experience, experience, experience (even if
  volunteer).
• Volunteer history may be particularly impt. for
  NGOs.
• Specific high-value skills (1) Statistics.
• (2) Computer programming.
• (3) Mathematical modeling.
• (4) GIS.
• (5) Field experience.
• (6) Publications.

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Grad school
1. MSc or PhD? Can go directly to PhD, but only
save a year or two (shorter cv in the end). 2.
Where? Should move institutions between degrees
for academic career, experience outside Canada
valuable. Choose best institution you can. Choose
a supervisor carefully, and interview them. Apply
widely, apply months before deadlines. 3.
Funding? Best if you bring your own (e.g. NSERC,
deadline Sept.), but most do not. 4. In What?
Anything, you will pick up skills as you go.
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Where do I look?
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Where do I look? General postings

• http//www.ejobs.org/ US-based but has Canadian
  subsite
• http//www.esa.org/opportunities/ Ecological
  Society of America general info on jobs, links
• Puget Sound Society for Conservation Biology
  List-Serve
• Email Listproc_at_u.washington.edu with
• subscribe PSSCBJOBS YourName in message text
• Ecological Society of America List-Serve
• Email listserv_at_umdd.umd.edu
• SUB ECOLOG-L ltYourNamegt in message text

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Where do I look? Govt.
Government Jobs Federal http//jobs.gc.ca/jobs/
index_all_e.htm, then click on
computer/technical/scientific B.C. Govt.
http//postings.gov.bc.ca/index.html, go to
science and technical
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Where do I look? University

• Job postings on noticeboards (esp. summer jobs)
• Word of mouth/direct contact.
• Create opportunity (e.g. NSERC if have B or
  higher)
• www.nature.com/naturejobs good, but frustrating
  search engine
• www.findaphd.com - good for UK and European
• positions
• www.higheredjobs.com - US based

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Volunteer opportunities
Natural Resources Volunteer program http//www.fo
restry.ubc.ca/cons/cvphome.htm UBC students
only, local agencies and overseas Tuition credit
volunteer 100hrs, get 800 tuition credit Coral
Cay, Operation Wallacea, Greenpeace. Literally
directly contact the person you want to workwith