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Jobs in birding? (1 Viewer)

matt green

matt green

Norfolkman gone walkabout
Who wouldn't want to combine their interest in birding/wildlife with a career?

...anyone here lucky enough to have a job that combines work with a love of birding/wildife/outdoors etc?

Matt
 
In the past I have worked for both the BTO and the RSPB and throughly enjoyed my time with both.

However now I'm even luckier. I only work one day a week (in an optics shop) and spend the rest of the time looking after my kids (1,3 & 11). Thankfully they are very tolerant of birding so we spend plenty of time out and about.
 
Depending where you live, most jobs in birding simply do not pay enough to live on in the long term ...I did once upon a time, but now work to bird ...plus pay loan repayments on my land! Better you get a stonking good job, with good salary as well, then bird to your heart's content and, to put something back, either do some voluntary work or join all the conservation groups to plough back a little of that dosh. My view only, full credit to those who are working in the field.
 
Last edited:
matt green said:
Who wouldn't want to combine their interest in birding/wildlife with a career?

...anyone here lucky enough to have a job that combines work with a love of birding/wildife/outdoors etc?
Click to expand...

I think it very much depends on the job. The grass isn't always greener. I know people who work in all types of conservation work, from wardens to wildlife consultants, and whilst some are very happy, others are not so keen.

For example, one guy works as a warden on a local nature reserve, and often comes across gangs of drug addicts and all kinds of unsavoury people who use the reserve (such as birders 3:) ) who he has to remove in one way or another. He's also poorly paid and has had the odd brick lobbed through his window as retribution for reporting various members of the public to the police.

I also know a warden who had his life threatened, and insults sprayed all over his house for opposing a local development alongside his nature reserve (it wasn't actually him who opposed it, he was speaking on behalf of the organisation he worked for).

On the otherhand I also know others who are delighted with their careers in conservation, and wouldn't have it any other way. I've sometimes thought about it myself, but poor wages have always put me off. The one job I applied for and was offered, was a third of the salary I was on at the time. Maybe one day, when I go into semi-retirement it might be a nice little income, but with two kids to put through university in the next few years, it's unlikely in the short term.
 
Jos Stratford said:
Depending where you live, most jobs in birding simply do not pay enough to live on in the long term ...I did once upon a time, but now work to bird ...plus pay loan repayments on my land! Better you get a stonking good job, with good salary as well, then bird to your heart's content and, to put something back, either do some voluntary work or join all the conservation groups to plough back a little of that dosh. My view only, full credit to those who are working in the field.
Click to expand...

That's my view as well at the moment Jos,
 
I will be going to graduate school in 2008 for a degree in Ecology, so hopefully after that I will be working in some type of conservation/ornithology related job!
 
Jos Stratford said:
Depending where you live, most jobs in birding simply do not pay enough to live on in the long term
Click to expand...


Awww yes, the begetting of money!!

I've read how quite a lot of jobs in conservation/birding have relatively little financial reward for the not inconsiderable amount of effort (and luck) that goes into finding such employment.

'Work to bird' is definately a wise move, I guess there are many here with well paid and rewarding jobs who wouldn't take up a job in ornothology even if offered...also agree about your point about volunteering, I regularly speak with a couple of the volunteers who man the reserve visitor centre near Norwich and they always seem to get a great deal of enjoyment out of it.

Matt
 
I might be completely wrong, but I would have thought your best bet might be as a tour guide. There seems to be an ever-increasing number of people taking up birding, particularly amongst retirees which has created more openings in this area, coupled with the boom in low-cost flights. You'd need a good knowledge of birds, or preferably all forms of natural history, as well as a lot of organisational ability. It wouldn't be my cup of tea but it might be worth a try. Is there anyone working in this field who can comment further?
 
Hi Clive.

You are absolutely right about he increasing number of birders who are using professional bird guides, of which I am one, working in Donana, Spain.

Combining my love of birds and birding with guiding has given me the happiest 8 years of my life and it is not just about the money. I could earn a lot more in other fields, but would I get the same job-satisfaction? No.

The pleasure in meeting new people on a daily/weekly basis and the pleasure derived from being able to show people new birds/sites and to see the look of pleasure on their faces makes it all worthwhile.

Regards.

John
 
Straight conservation (eg wardenning) is badly paid and hard graft. The better-paid jobs are in consultancy and research, eg with universities, Natural England, SNH, CCW and private sector consultancies that undertake eg Phase 1 & 2 habitat surveys. Naturally there is a boom in consultancy work due to the building boom in the SE (which has no end in sight), as most projects need an environmental impact assessment and ecological survey. Also public sector organisations like British Antarctic Survey, CEFAS, CEH and EA have research jobs, and they tend to be top of the bracket for pay. BUT, getting a decent job just through identifying things is a myth. While field skills are a valuable commodity, fieldworkers are also often ten-a-penny. What REALLY makes someone an attractive candidate is having technical and analytical skills too - especially stats, modelling, spatial analysis. You need as many strings to your bow as possible, to make yourself as flexible as possible. Good analysis skills are scarce in ecology jobs, as computer scientists and statisticians can often earn more in other careers. However, if you are mainly interested in the ecology aspect, then those kinds of skills are your most guaranteed way in. With field skills, excellent botany skills are valuable, and also butterflies, bees, bats, amphibians. Sadly for those trying to find jobs, people with brid skills are very common, and the RSPB and BTO have whole armies of people who will do it for nothing (their huge volunteer base), which means that employers don't see why they should pay for it. Charity (eg RSPB) jobs, incidently, tend to be lower paid than the public sector, and often short contracts.
 
John Butler said:
Hi Clive.

You are absolutely right about he increasing number of birders who are using professional bird guides, of which I am one, working in Donana, Spain.

Combining my love of birds and birding with guiding has given me the happiest 8 years of my life and it is not just about the money. I could earn a lot more in other fields, but would I get the same job-satisfaction? No.

The pleasure in meeting new people on a daily/weekly basis and the pleasure derived from being able to show people new birds/sites and to see the look of pleasure on their faces makes it all worthwhile.

Regards.

John
Click to expand...

Local Uk guides are also springing up all over the place. Bill Oddie and co have generated a bit of a market for led groups visiting local sites.
 
I have an interesting combination - doing pretty well-paid part-time policy/advocacy work for an environmental NGO, plus occassional freelance guiding in Hong Kong and China.

Provided you know your birds reasonably well the two other skills you need are the ability to get on with all kinds of people (clients and ground agents) and the ability to manage expectations. Speaking Chinese is also a big asset, but not essential, as most tour companies use foreign guides with an English-speaking ground agent.

In reality this combination has been a wonderful job for a single guy, but I'll be going full time on the policy since I'm about to get married and the pay from the occasional guiding is just not regular enough.

However, within my policy work that I do have the opportunity for numerous site visits and a lot of my work is to protect important bird habitats. Its good to see great birds at a site you've helped to save (but also miserable drawing a line through a site that has been trashed beyond redemption).
 
With a Masters degree in Ecology and many hours of conservation voluntary work under my belt, it still took me over two years to gain an offer of employment in the conservation sector.

Eventually, I was offered two jobs at the same time, one for the RSPB and a second for the Environment Agency. Both were positions below the actual vacency I applied for.

After much consideration I turned down both jobs, mostly because the pay was so poor.

I now work for myself and I have no regrets about not taking up the positions in the conservation sector.
 
As Poecile says -"Straight conservation (eg wardenning) is badly paid and hard graft. The better-paid jobs are in consultancy and research, eg with universities, Natural England, SNH, CCW and private sector consultancies that undertake eg Phase 1 & 2 habitat surveys. Naturally there is a boom in consultancy work due to the building boom in the SE (which has no end in sight), as most projects need an environmental impact assessment and ecological survey. Also public sector organisations like British Antarctic Survey, CEFAS, CEH and EA have research jobs, and they tend to be top of the bracket for pay. BUT, getting a decent job just through identifying things is a myth. While field skills are a valuable commodity, fieldworkers are also often ten-a-penny. What REALLY makes someone an attractive candidate is having technical and analytical skills too - especially stats, modelling, spatial analysis. You need as many strings to your bow as possible, to make yourself as flexible as possible."

This was advertised on the Orientalbirding Yahoo Group - "Hi All

A reputable conservation NGO has asked me to help them
find highly competent ornithologists/birders that are available at
short notice for autumn survey work in northern Afghanistan.

You
will have to commit for between 5 and 8 weeks from early September
onwards. You will have to be able to handle rough conditions at high
altitude and design a sensible survey (taking conservation
considerations into account) and report competently and clearly on it.
The NGO will pay a decent salary and provide logistical support
(translator, donkeys etc.)

I'm told the security situation in the area is good."

You would have to sign-up to the group to get the full details but I think it demonstrates Poecile's point quite well. eg, survey design and reporting are skills in their own right (that's aside from the challenge of working in pretty extreme conditions!!!) BUT, sounds like a fantastic opportunity to be able to really contribute something worthwhile.

cheers
Gordon
 
Gordon said:
As Poecile says -"Straight conservation (eg wardenning) is badly paid and hard graft. The better-paid jobs are in consultancy and research, eg with universities, Natural England, SNH, CCW and private sector consultancies that undertake eg Phase 1 & 2 habitat surveys. Naturally there is a boom in consultancy work due to the building boom in the SE (which has no end in sight), as most projects need an environmental impact assessment and ecological survey. Also public sector organisations like British Antarctic Survey, CEFAS, CEH and EA have research jobs, and they tend to be top of the bracket for pay. BUT, getting a decent job just through identifying things is a myth. While field skills are a valuable commodity, fieldworkers are also often ten-a-penny. What REALLY makes someone an attractive candidate is having technical and analytical skills too - especially stats, modelling, spatial analysis. You need as many strings to your bow as possible, to make yourself as flexible as possible."

This was advertised on the Orientalbirding Yahoo Group - "Hi All

A reputable conservation NGO has asked me to help them
find highly competent ornithologists/birders that are available at
short notice for autumn survey work in northern Afghanistan.

You
will have to commit for between 5 and 8 weeks from early September
onwards. You will have to be able to handle rough conditions at high
altitude and design a sensible survey (taking conservation
considerations into account) and report competently and clearly on it.
The NGO will pay a decent salary and provide logistical support
(translator, donkeys etc.)

I'm told the security situation in the area is good."

You would have to sign-up to the group to get the full details but I think it demonstrates Poecile's point quite well. eg, survey design and reporting are skills in their own right (that's aside from the challenge of working in pretty extreme conditions!!!) BUT, sounds like a fantastic opportunity to be able to really contribute something worthwhile.

cheers
Gordon
Click to expand...


Crikey, and to think how the Environment Agency staff moan about conditions! I wonder what your ammo ration is on a gig like that?!
 
Don't knock it - any job that comes with a company donkey can't be bad - much more tax efficient than, say, a 3 series BMW.


Adrian
 
Hi guys,
a related post noted that the security situation was good and the person saying that had been in Afghanistan for a year with no problems!
 
Paid birding gigs are for the young. :-C Those of us that are old, jaded, and have mortgage payments can look forward to the docent jobs at the local wildlife museum or state park.:egghead: For those of us that are hopeless, we keep trucking along hoping to win the lotto.:smoke:
 
I think academic research is maybe a good way to go. The pay isn't great but it's better than conservation. I seem to have swung a research project that will involve a certain amount of birding even though I'm not a biologist, which is handy. You can also get money to go to international conferences, which you can tag a birding holiday onto. It's still competitive though, takes a long time to qualify and it can be difficult to find permanent jobs. It's a long haul but probably worth it when you get there.
 
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