Ecologists help to protect and restore the natural environment by providing important information about how human activity affects individual species and ecosystems.

Taken from Prospects

Competition can be fierce in this sector, so gaining as much experience in ecological surveying as you can is essential.

A range of organisations employ ecologists, including:

Nature conservation agencies:

• Natural England

• Natural Resources Wales

• Northern Ireland Environment Agency

• Scottish Natural Heritage

Other governmental and statutory bodies include:

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

• Environment Agency (EA)

• Forestry England

• Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

You can also find opportunities with your local government, national park authorities and water authorities.

Scientific bodies include:

• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and its research centres, including the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the British Antarctic Survey, and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC).

• The Marine Biological Association (MBA)

• Freshwater Biological Association

Conservation and ecology NGOs and voluntary organisations also hire ecologists. For example:

• Friends of the Earth

• Greenpeace UK

• National Trust

• Plantlife

• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

• Scottish Wildlife Trust

• The Conservation Volunteers (TCV)

• The Wildlife Trusts

• Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT)

Other employers include the media and public relations, educational institutions and businesses and industry. Biological survey work is also carried out by consultancies working for any of the organisations above or for commercial concerns, such as construction firms, including highway construction, landfill companies and renewable energy companies developing wind farms.

Environmental consultancies are listed in the ENDS Environmental Consultancy Directory.

Look for job vacancies at:

• CIEEM Jobs

• ENDS jobsearch

• Environmentjob.co.uk

• GreenJobs

• GreenRoles

Applying speculatively to organisations to enquire about jobs or voluntary work can be effective.

Try to build up a network of contacts from any work activities you get involved in. LinkedIn is also a useful tool for connecting you with professionals in the field and for searching for work opportunities.