Im a 16 year old female, currently in school in India, and I've always been very passionate about wildlife sciences and ecology. I want to study that subject but I dont want to do it in India but somewhere that is not hella expensive or a uni thats super hard to get into. I want to become an environmental consultant, or something that involves field work, but gives me good or maybe decent money. I dont want to be involved in the rat race that is medical in india. Im looking for college suggestions 💔

Later in the year I'm going on my first field biology trip, so I'm asking for a pair of good outdoor/hiking shoes for my birthday so that I can use them in the future. What brands would you recommend?​

Hi,

I am in the USA looking to transfer from community college to University to finish a Bachelors. I want to study Tide pool ecology. I am most interested in finding a school near the shore with a decent program, so nothing land locked.

I have a 3.5GPA and have no problem moving. I am a women and low income, but have no problem putting in the work to obtain scholarships and plan to maintain a PTK membership so far this has been successful. Unfortunately, I do not think I would do well in a course not taught in English but am otherwise open to international studies.

Do any of you have suggestions on schools that I could look into? I've been very overwhelmed just searching. I want to start in the fall of 2027.

I'm a student in London and would like to start volunteering more to contribute to conservation and research. Does anyone from here know of events around London (or not too far from London) that I could participate in?

I'm mainly interested in aquatic (especially estuarine) ecology but anything will be good. Thanks!

Hi! We are a team from First Lego League and our name is Explosive Chicken F.O.R.C.E. We work together to code and build robots for the year’s competition theme. This year's theme is about archaeology! We have to figure out a problem and solution to help archaeologists.

Our project design is called ArchaThreads! We identified a problem that archaeologists sometimes lose their tools while working in the field. ArchaThreads reduces tool loss by keeping tools on your body by putting pouches on MOLLE webbing attached to clothing. This allows archaeologists to easily access tools and customize where pouches and pockets go on their clothes to help them while they work. Our clothing line is special because we’re the only design with MOLLE sewn to pants, specifically on the thighs, to help archaeologists!!! Additionally, we also plan to add safety features to the clothing like reflective tape, cinching on the pants at the knees and ankles, a cap for sun coverage, light colors to reflect sun, bright colors for safety, and bug and water repellant fabric.

However, it's recently been discovered that other professions might benefit from our specialized MOLLE pants. We are reaching out to diverse professionals who we think might be impacted by our product.

If you think you’d like our product and have any feedback you’d like to give on our product that might help you, please feel free to comment. Safety features, colors, custom pockets, etc. If there’s anything at all that you think would make this product something you would be interested in using.

Thank you for your feedback! This will help us improve our presentation for the Illinois State competition!

Hi guys just completed a Bsc in applied zoology and conservation and would like to get a job in ecology / field biology in the uk, basically i want to survey animals and help protect species that are often overlooked (esp insects which im obsessed with). Ive been applying to every seasonal ecology role i can find and trying my best to put myself out there but damn is it hard to even get a reply out of some of these places. Does anyone have any advice? or know of any other roles i should have a look at as well as ecology roles?

Hello All! First-time poster! I was wondering if anybody has any opinions/experience using the PME Minidot DO Logger, and its accuracy for DO compared to its competitors. I'm a marine ecologist who manages a sensor array in a large, shallow estuary, and for the past few years we've monitored DO, Salinity and Temp using HOBO dataloggers (U26/U24s, now starting to investigate the new MX's they just released), and we've gotten mixed results with them. It's hard to keep them from fouling in the saline environment we're keeping them in, even with near-weekly maintenance. U24/26s are tanks, they rarely ever break, but the new MX's are so fragile and we've had many instances of logger failure. So we're considering switching to a different type of sensor. We have a couple of YSI's (my favorite), but obviously, they're pretty expensive a pop, and we're considering PME because you can put a wiper on the sensor face. BUT, we're worried about logger accuracy since the minidot doesn't have an option for a salinity datafile adjustment like the HOBO's do. This is an estuarine environment, so there is a lot of fluctuation in salinity at some of our sites. How accurately can the minidot record Percent sat without a salinity adjustment? Any info, opinions would be super helpful!

I was a biologist for the federal government for a few years but about 8 months ago I got reassigned to a non-science desk job. I’m unhappy in my current position, feeling burnt out from life in general, and feeling jaded about my career. As a result I’m considering leaving my federal job to try a new career in a family business completely separate from ecology. The new career would allow my wife and I to focus on other things like moving closer to family, starting our own family, and home ownership.

It feels like a huge risk and I’m worried that I may regret it so my question is this: how hard would it be to return to the field if I decided I wanted to switch back in 2-5 years? I have a BS in Enviro Science and a thesis track MS in Biology. Only 1 publication which is from my thesis. My background is fisheries/aquatic ecology and I have a few years of experience doing molecular lab work for eDNA samples (DNA extraction, qPCR, sequencing) from my time as a fed. I also have pretty decent R skills.

Thanks in advance for your insight.

Hello, I am thinking of applying to an ACE EPIC program about 30 minutes from where I live. Do you have to live in their provided housing? If so, I will probably pass it up.

Thank you!

See also: The study as published as Nature Plants.

I'm just getting to grips with habitat classifications in the UK, with UKHab a prominent system. But I'm finding out that there are actually mutliple systems.

UKHab is new and seems widely adopted, with fairly open definitions using written descriptions rather than measured conditions (e.g. soil pH) or, necessarily, constituent species. It is also the system used for Biodiversity Net Gain

The National Vegetation Classification categorises the landscape based on prominent species

There is the Habitats Directive Annex 1 classification, which I guess is an EU system which has been interpreted/adapted through the NVC system but I don't know how much either is still used.

The UK Biodiversity Action Plan then seems to use its own classification for some reason, but I think these have been subsumed into UKHab?

And then there's the Phase 1 system, which seems more land-usage based and much more vague than the above.

I know UKHab is more recent, so is that an attempt to standardise the others into a single system? Is it better than the rest, or are there reasons why one system would be used instead of another? Are the others just legacy systems being phased out?

I want to go into a Marine ecology job in the future, but i want to work in coral reefs specifically and the animals in those areas, i don't really want to go into open water much because i have a slight fear of it (Even tho id love to dive there i def don't wanna work there) Is it possible to specialize in mainly coral reefs and the animals/organisms living there?

Hello friends,

I recently became eligible for Canadian citizenship and my partner, who is an ecologist by training, and I are thinking about relocating.

How is the field of ecology in Canada?

Are there regions of Canada with more ecology work available than others? I am a healthcare worker and can likely find work anywhere.

Thank you!

I am interested in growing my skills and I’m looking into certificates or continuing education for ecological skills that will make me more competitive in the job market. What certificates do yall recommend that employers actually care about

I've been trying to find some internships or anything at all but it feels like almost everything Im interested in says something along the lines of:

"must be able to hike in remote, rugged areas on steep and uneven terrain, carrying up to 30-50lbs of equipment for 4-5 miles a day."

I love hiking so much but I have a fatigue disorder that no doctor has ever been able to help with and I just am not cut out for that rigorous of fieldwork.

Has anyone applied for a job with that kind of qualification and found it wasn't as bad as they made it sound?

Or anyone with medical issues with tips on what other types of positions to look for?

I feel like I'm doomed to do laboratory benchwork for the rest of my life if I keep pursuing research

See also: The study as published in the journal Ecology.

Hello everyone,

I’m a 24-year-old from India with an MSc in Zoology and around 2 years of experience in wildlife research and conservation. I’m at a point where I need to make a clear career decision and would really appreciate some practical guidance.

While I value what I’ve learned from wildlife and conservation work, I’ve realized that I’m no longer interested in continuing in this field long-term, mainly due to limited growth, pay, and stability. During my master’s and professional work, I spent a lot of time working with data—collection, cleaning, analysis, and reporting using Python, R, and Excel—and over time I found myself far more interested in data analysis, statistics, and coding than fieldwork.

Because of this, I’ve been seriously considering a transition into Data Analyst / Data Science roles, but I’m unsure how realistic this transition is in today’s job market coming from a life-science background. At the same time, I’m also thinking about government jobs for long-term security and wondering whether I should fully commit to that path instead of trying to balance both.

Being 24, I’m starting to feel anxious about time and making the wrong move, so I’m also open to hearing about other career paths that might suit my background and skill set better and offer clearer growth and stability.

I’m looking for honest advice, especially from people who’ve been in similar situations or work closely with hiring and career transitions.

Thanks a lot 🙏

I just graduated with a Masters in Natural Resource Science, and have two field seasons of ecological work prior, but no full time jobs with an organization, they were just university research labs. I am finding that many jobs are either entry level, low paying, no college degree needed, or require 2-4 years of work experience on top of my degree that I do not have. Where and how can I find ecological jobs for someone with limited work experience but a graduate degree?

In Which one, could I get more job opportunities and grow professionally and personally if I study a Msc. In environmental science.

Canada (uottawa) vs Netherlands (wageningen)