Requirements

Conservation professional - requirements

As a conservation professional you’ll use your research, communication or management skills to drive the protection of important environmental sites. Learn more about what working in this field is like, the qualifications you’ll need, and how to develop your career.

Know what you'll need to land a job below.

What qualifications do you need to be a conservation professional?

Subjects to consider when studying for a conservation professional career can include:

Getting certificates or experience to show your ability to carry out technical tasks like surveying are very useful when looking for work. You can often get them through work placements or your university course. Your degree dissertation can be a good way to make connections to organisations you’d like to work for.

Please note this is a beta version. We'll continue to improve our suggestions here so that we show you the most relevant subjects.

Do you need a postgraduate qualification to be a conservation professional?

Getting a postgraduate qualification is a popular way to boost your employability by getting specialist knowledge and training in your area of interest.

You might consider getting a taught or research master’s such as:

Sustainability and environmental management
Conservation biology
Applied ecology and conservation
Ecology and conservation
Environmental management
Applied coastal and marine management

What skills do you need to be a conservation professional?

Conservation professionals need to have skills in surveying and data processing activities, as well as the ability to communicate their results.

Hard skills usually include:

Impact assessments
Field surveying
Ecology or biology
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Statistics
Data collection

Soft skills include:

Project management
Writing reports
Communicating
Research skills
Initiative and motivation

Do you need work experience to be a conservation professional?

Work experience is always a valuable addition to your CV in this field. It’s a great way to gain new skills and prove to potential employers that you’re able to succeed in the role from day one.

Voluntary work experience is the usual starting point, but there are graduate schemes out there which could allow you to earn while you learn.