At College the subject I most enjoyed was Applied Physics – I felt seen by the teacher which was something I feel I struggled with a lot at the time. Everything got harder and I wasn’t a massive fan of exams. I worried I didn’t know what to do with my life and struggled a bit socially being an introvert.
However, I had my “a-ha” moment after Get Ahead Day where I picked up prospectuses from a few universities and went through them course by course with my dad until I found the environmental sciences. It was then that I realised that my interests and hobbies could actually be a job.
I look back on this nervous time and realise that I was stressing too much, and not taking the time to just enjoy myself. So, I would say if you don’t know what you want to do just look for what makes you happy and give yourself the time to find it. Everyone else doesn’t know what they’re doing most of them are faking it just like you!
During university I knew I’d chosen the right subject and field for my future – every day was fun and interesting. However, during my second-year winter exams my dad passed away very suddenly and I couldn’t carry on like normal. My lecturers were all so understanding, and I was able to pause my studies until the following year. I was also able to pause my student finance after talking to them. I really felt like I was needed at home to hold everyone else together and that was all right – sometimes the path you think you’ll go down just diverts.
When I completed my degree in 2022, I knew that I wanted to be an ecologist. But after a year of applying and not getting interviews while I worked the same job I’d had at 18, I felt myself losing hope. I decided that perhaps this was a sign that I needed to do something else and applied for a teacher training course: that’s what my Dad had done and did it so well. I taught for a year, and I was unbelievably unhappy, but the job just wasn’t for me. I respected all the friends I made while working there but just couldn’t find the same joy in the work.
So, one rainy lunchtime I applied for a volunteer placement in nature reserve belonging to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in Somerset and got it. I worked full-time for them and they supplied me with a house to live in which was great!
I learnt how to drive tractors, 4x4s, pick-up trucks and trailers. I did some carpentry, building wingways (a type of fencing that stops cows from escaping their fields and getting trapped in ditches!) and fixing fencing on the reserve. I coppiced and I brush cut, but most of all I had fun – I would go out to pubs and see new places in the West Country with the other volunteers.
When I finished my placement in April 2024 I found a job with aLyne Ecology – a Surrey-based consultancy – and am so happy doing exactly what I wanted. It may have taken me two years since graduating, but I’d learnt so much and had become this new version of me, with so much confidence and experience. So don’t be afraid to try new things and step off the timeline that you may have set yourself!
My job was made permanent six months later and I am now working to achieve licences in protected species, so I’m learning everything I can about dormice and different species of bats! So in my free time, I’m volunteering with my local Bat Group and Dormouse Group. What I am most proud of is that I know I could have crumbled completely, and I really don’t think anyone would have blamed me. But I found my way to do this career and think that’s all anyone should be aiming for.
If you’re keen to be an ecologist I would start getting your experience as soon as you can. There are local groups and charities that could always do with an extra set of hands. Like Surrey Bat Group or the Surrey Amphibian and Reptile Group. Just have a search and you are bound to find one by your new university or at home that will work.
First and foremost, I’d say enjoy what you do, let that shine through and be yourself always (even in interviews) and I am sure you will find the perfect role for you!
Here’s my take on how College students can prepare for a career in ecology:
- Get some hands-on experience: Volunteer within the industry, search for internships or seasonal jobs like bat surveying. I know you need the money, but even two hours on a Saturday at a local wildlife site will help! Dormice checks take roughly three hours out of your weekend and bat surveys take two to four hours depending on the survey that you sign up for.
- Get into species Identification: Plants, birds, insects are good places to start
- Be outdoorsy: You’ll be outside a lot so definitely invest in comfortable waterproof walking boots, decent raincoat and over trousers.
- Live your enthusiasm: You can deal with some grumpy people in this job – they seem to be nicer if you’re very positive and smiley!
- Learn to drive if you possibly can: this really helped when I was volunteering for the RSPB as I drove lots of their vehicles. Also, lots of jobs are in the middle of nowhere and my bat surveying duties end when the trains aren’t running!
Megan Beard
Reigate College: 2016-2018
Higher education: BSc Ecology, Canterbury Christ Church University then PGCE Secondary Education Geography, University of Sussex
Currently: Assistant Ecologist, aLyne Ecology
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