The University of KentCareers and Employability Service

Careers with a Biodiversity/Wildlife Degree

You can download a copy of this presentation atwww.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

Careers Fair

Nov 1st, 12-3 Sports Halls 150 employerswww.kent.ac.uk/ces/careersfair

Careers Festival – 100 eventswww.kent.ac.uk/ces/empfest

Destinations of Kent Conservation and Wildlife Graduates

Destinations of Wildlife Conservation graduates• Grugeon Reynolds Trainee Accountant• Stanstead Airport Terminal Security Officer• Cambridgeshire Council Wildlife Education Assistant• University of Kent Facilities Coordinator - Recycling• Gaia Foundation Gaia Foundation Intern• Atlantic Whale Foundation Research Guide for Conservation Work• Lang Tengah Turtle Watch Co-Founder• London Zoo Tour Guide• Field Studies Council Trainee Tutor• Venomtech Senior Animal Technician• My Vet 24/7 Veterinary Nurse Assistant• The Conservation Volunteers Volunteer Officer• Royal Society of Protection of Birds Wildlife Conservation Volunteer• Mauritian Wildlife Foundation Pink pigeon volunteer• National Centre for Biological Sciences Research Assistant• Imperial College London MSc Conservation Science• University of Edinburgh MSc Outdoor Education (+ Waitress)• Imperial College, London MSc in Environmental Technology• Bangor MSc Agroforestry (+ HGV Driver)• University of East Anglia MSc Ecology

Plus lots of shop assistants, waitresses and bar workers!See www.kent.ac.uk/careers/fdrbases/destinations.htm for full details

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Environment.htm

Sources of Environmental Jobs Environment Post www.environmentpost.co.uk Major source of

conservation vacancies. Reference copies are in File R4 in the Careers Service.

ENDS www.ends.co.uk   Environmental Data Services has listings of jobs. Includes a Consultancy Directory.

The Guardian on Wednesdays. Countryside Jobs Service www.countryside-jobs.com The Green Directory www.greendirectory.net/home.cfm Ethical Careers

Service http://peopleandplanet.org/ethicalcareers   Nature Magazine www.nature.com/naturejobs/channels/graduate range of

postgrad, PHD and postdoc positions. Growing Careers www.growing-careers.com vacancies in environment and

conservation, nurseries and garden centres, Environmental Recruitment Agencies

Environment Job www.environmentjob.co.uk. Ecological Recruitment Co. www.eco-uk.com Green Technical Resourcing www.gtr.uk.com ADC Environment Recruitment www.green4u.co.uk

Many jobs in the environment are not advertised - organisations get enough CVs from people applying speculatively to be able to fill their vacancies from these. You need to network and be persistent. See CVs and Covering Letters www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm and Creative Jobhunting www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/CJ.htm to learn how to do this.

CHOOSING A CAREERCHOOSING A CAREER BOOKLET available from Careers Service.

Prospects Plannerpowerful career choice programwww.prospects.ac.uk/links/Pplanner

Information on many graduate careerswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin.htm

Times Top 100 Graduate Employers free from CES

One third of graduate jobs accept any degree subject.

BECAUSE:• Learn new skills

quickly• Analyse & solve

problems• Communicate well• Open to new ideas,

adaptable and flexible• “Managers of change”

• Marketing and Sales

• Retailing• Social Work• Personnel• Civil Service• Accountancy• Banking• Computing

Postgraduate Study• MA taught: 1 year

Sept to May – lectures, June to Sept – dissertation.New £10,000 government loan available

• PhD – 3 years. Must do an MA first

• PGCE (teacher training) 1 year

See www.kent.ac.uk/careers/postgradmenu.htm

Master's Courses• Soils and Environmental Pollution, University of Reading • Coastal and Marine Resource Management, University of

Portsmouth • Conservation and Tourism, University of Kent • Conservation Biology, University of Kent • Environmental Analysis and Assessment, Royal Holloway, University

of London • Environmental Diagnosis, Imperial College London • Environmental Impact Assessment, Oxford Brookes University • Environmental Policy, Planning and Regulation London School of

Economics and Political Science • Environmental Pollution Control, Middlesex University • Environmental Pollution Science, Brunel University • Environmental Technology, Imperial College London • Risk Management, Middlesex University • Rural Development, University of Sussex • Water and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey • Environmental Law and Policy, University of Kent

New Postgraduate Loans• New postgraduate loan scheme for English

-domiciled students and EU students studying in English institutions from 2016.

• Offers students up to £10,000 to help with costs of a masters degree.

• Students are eligible for the loans if under the age of 30 and studying for a full-time masters, or part-time at 50% intensity or above. There are no subject restrictions.

• Like undergraduate loans, graduates will only pay them back if they earn over a certain amount - probably the same as undergraduate loans (£21,000), and repay at a rate of 9% of income above this sum.

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/postgradmenu.htm#Funding

Application Process

The smaller company process is much simpler and you can apply much later (often after final exams) but salaries are usually lower and they offer less training and less chance to specialise.

EXAMPLE CVs

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/environmental-cv.htmCheck you campus emails regularly as I will send

you many careers emailsGet voluntary experience for your CV:Kent Wildlife Trust www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk

conservation work in Kent including West Blean Woods. Needs volunteers. Run excellent and cheap wildlife study days on, for example, small mammal and bat identification

Applications and Interviews• Covering Letters www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm • Practice Interviews: journalism, teaching, marketing, HR,

postgrad study etc.www.kent.ac.uk/careers/interviews/mockivs.htm

• Application, interview and selection centre videos www.kent.ac.uk/careers/IntVid.htm

• Applications and interviewswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm

• University of Kent Vacancy Databasewww.kent.ac.uk/ces/vacancies.html

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm Conservation and Wildlife Careers pagewww.kent.ac.uk/careers/Environment.htm Anthropology Careers page www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Anthropology.htmCVs www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htmApplications and interviews www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm Choosing a career www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Choosing/ChoosingCareer.htmEmployabilitywww.kent.ac.uk/employability

www.kent.ac.uk/careers Telephone: 01227 823299 Email: careerhelp@kent.ac.ukOpening hours: Monday to Friday 9 to 5 including vacations Drop-in times (no appointment needed: 15 minutes): 10.30 to 12.30 and 2 to 4 pmHelp given for up to 3 years after graduationWeekly careers emails every Monday afternoon

Careers Award on Moodle

• Half the unemployment rate for students completing the awardEnter Moodle, search for DP2650 or Careers Award and click enrol

• Email bw@kent.ac.uk if you have problems enrolling• More info at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm

BRUCE WOODCOCK

• A Duty Careers Adviser is available for short (15 minute) consultations: MORNINGS (10.30 am - 12.30 pm) and AFTERNOONS (2 to 4 pm). Don’t need to book an appointment just ask at reception in the Careers Service (Keynes College Driveway)

• If you need longer ring our reception on 01227 823299 to make an appointment for interview with me.

• Email: bw@kent.ac.uk

The University of KentCareers and Employability Service

Careers with a Biodiversity/Wildlife Degree

You can download a copy of this presentation atwww.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

Moodle Careers Employability Award 14 Quizzes: need 75% to pass but allowed

unlimited attemptsComplete 3 of the following seven

assignments•Employability skills quiz•Employability skills quiz: drag & drop•How to develop the skills employers want?•Test your spelling and grammar!•What makes you happy at work?•How commercially aware are you?

•Special interests topic lesson•Interview preparation•Practice interview•What are the most common interview questions?•Aptitude tests and assessment centres•CV quiz•CVs and covering letters: drag & drop quiz•Career planning drag and drop quiz

•Analyse your skills and learn how to make top quality applications

•Do you want to live to work or work to live?

•Researching careers 

•Choosing a career

•Submit a CV

•Social media

•Action planning

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm#subject

 

Comments from students who have completed the award

You get a really nice certificate!

It was so easy, quick and I learned a lot.

Without realising, you have finished the course

and have already put together a very good CV

and covering letter.

It really blew my mind with some ideas I’ve never known

before, such as portfolio working and working from

home. I never thought about obtaining happiness from my

work before.

It would be mad to apply for a job or attend an

interview without doing it! Before the course I had only a vague

idea of my career path and opportunities. Now I am applying for summer internships and know how to

effectively sell my skills to a prospective employer and have a much

more focused plan for my future.

The module is very, very useful! I really love how it makes you to think about your personality and helps you to identify your

strengths and weaknesses.I found the module to be highly thought-provoking as it really

encouraged me to consider how my degree will benefit my future and what I can be doing now to

improve my graduate employment prospects.

I enjoyed the depth of the module. It went far beyond some general tips on

how to write a good CV and prepare for an interview. Rather it went in to detail

about the whole process of graduate job search from the beginning to the end. It

was very instructive .

The amount of time put into this is astounding! I actually spoke to friends from other universities who said they

wished they had something like this.

It has made me feel a lot more confident when it comes to

applications and interviews and has also made me think about skills that I didn't think I had

before. I recently had a very successful interview

largely because I put the advice on the module into

practice.