Career switch success stories from the class of 2022
Release Date: 01/01/2023
Dr Carrie Goucher | How to stop wasting precious time in mediocre meetings!
Conservation Careers Podcast
Meetings are a core part of our working lives, and yet studies have found that 50% of time spent in meetings is often wasted. When viewed as a whole that's often billions, if not trillions, of dollars wasted annually, which could be put to much better use. But why do we spend so much of our precious lives clogged up in a confetti of mediocre meetings?! With calendars full back-to-back often borne as a badge of importance, rather than being seen as a problem to tackle. Here to talk about meetings and their untapped potential for productivity and transformation is today's guest, Dr Carrie...
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Dr Stephen Green | Course Leader MSc Conservation Project Management
Conservation Careers Podcast
Have you considered going back to university and doing a Master's Degree in order to become more employable within the sector? Perhaps you’ve looked at many programmes and wondered if they are tooling you up with the right skills employers value. In today’s podcast, we’re speaking with Dr Stephen Green who’s the course leader for an exciting new Master's programme, designed and delivered in partnership with Conservation Careers, to train you in the core skills used by professionals day-to-day. We discuss who the new MSc Conservation Project...
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Cristianne Close | Deputy Global Conservation Director WWF International
Conservation Careers Podcast
In this episode we’re speaking with the Deputy Global Conservation Director at WWF International, Cristianne Close. Cris describes herself as ‘passionate about creating positive change in the world, especially aiming to make the impossible, possible’. In this episode, we discuss how she gave up a fast-paced corporate career to follow her purpose and work in conservation. Now, as a senior staff member at WWF, Cris explains how her business acumen is helping her tackle one of the most insurmountable problems facing humankind - namely, reversing the loss of...
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How to plan for a gap year or career break? Julia Rogers | EnRoute Consulting
Conservation Careers Podcast
Have you ever felt like escaping the rat race and travelling the world? Seeking impact, adventure and new experiences? Perhaps volunteering for nature conservation organisations, and setting yourself for a career change or education when you return? But with the world as your playground … where do you start? How do you plan such a trip to ensure your time and money are well spent? Today we’re speaking with Julia Rogers founder of EnRoute Consulting. As a professional gap year counsellor - a new job title to me - Julia prides herself in understanding the complicated process of planning...
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Biodiversify-ing businesses and beyond with Michael Burgass (Director of Biodiversify)
Conservation Careers Podcast
Increasingly, the private sector is taking a growing interest in their impact on wildlife, and this could lead to a much-needed step change in conservation efforts. But why do companies care about nature? How can they assess and minimise their impacts? And what sort of jobs are opening up for conservationists seeking to work in this exciting area of change? Here to discuss these topics and many more is today's inspiring and thoughtful guest, Michael Burgass, Director at the consultancy Biodiversify. Biodviersify helps clients to understand and improve their relationship with nature, working at...
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Lise Aangeenbrug | Chief Program Officer at the National Park Foundation
Conservation Careers Podcast
How do you raise nearly $100,000,000 per year to protect and conserve America’s 420+ National Park Sites? Sites important for recreation, education, and the conservation of endangered landscapes, natural communities and species. We discuss this, amongst many other things, with Lise Aangeenbrug. Lise is the Chief Program Officer at America’s National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service charged with generating the funding needed to protect the National Park Sites. In the podcast we talk about the network of National...
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Burnout in conservation
Conservation Careers Podcast
Have you ever felt like you’re energetically exhausted, mentally distant from your job, or less able to produce results at work? There’s a chance that these symptoms could be related to burnout. According to The World Health Organization (WHO), burnout is a syndrome “…resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” As conservationists, our work is our passion, but that passion doesn’t make us immune to burnout. In fact, it might even make us more susceptible. And the effects of burnout can be dire for conservationists and their work. The WHO...
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Patience Thody | Deputy Chief Executive The Wildlife Trusts
Conservation Careers Podcast
If you’ve spent time in the UK and visited a local nature reserve, then chances are you’ve been to a site managed by one of the 46 individual Wildlife Trusts that collectively represent 2,000 staff, 35,000 volunteers and nearly 1 million members. Helping to coordinate this huge force for nature is the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts of which today’s guest is their Deputy Chief Executive. Patience Thody left the commercial banking sector and switched her career towards wildlife conservation and the charity sector. She’s using her twenty years of HR and...
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How important are volunteers in conservation? Rhoda Ludford - Volunteering Development Consultant with the RSPB
Conservation Careers Podcast
How important are volunteers in conservation? What are the different types of work you can do as a volunteer, and how can it benefit your career? We answer these and many more questions in discussion with today’s guest Rhoda Ludford. Rhoda is the Volunteering Development Consultant with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - Europe’s largest wildlife conservation organisation with over 2,000 staff, 10,000 volunteers and 1 million members. Rhoda has worked for the RSPB for 22 years, mostly in volunteering development and have recently moved into...
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Charu Mishra | The world’s foremost expert on snow leopard conservation
Conservation Careers Podcast
We ran a live event in partnership with Conservation Optimism, to explore and celebrate the work of Dr Charu Mishra - the world’s foremost expert on snow leopard conservation, and double Whitley Gold Award Winner. Conservation Optimism is a global community dedicated to inspiring people to make a positive difference for nature, and co-hosting the live event with me was Sofia Castelló y Tickell. Together we spoke to Charu, who is the Executive Director of the International Snow Leopard Trust and Co-Founder of India’s Nature Conservation Foundation. He’s spent 25 years working to...
info_outlineAre you keen to switch your career into conservation in 2023?
Perhaps you’re feeling a little stuck in a job you’re not fully happy with, and you want to follow your passion and help wildlife to flourish as your day job.
Well, today I want to show you that this is possible by sharing the inspiring success stories of four amazing ladies who switched their careers into conservation in 2022 with our support.
In a minute you’re going to hear a recording of a live event we did win collaboration with my co-host, and all round good egg, Ebony Escalona from Vets Stay Go Diversify.
During the webinar we spoke to the following people who recently switched their careers, and who share their honest reflections of their journeys:
First up we have Magda Zachara. After almost 10 years in Molecular Life Sciences Magda recently switched careers into conservation and is now working for the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
We then have Jennifer Cantley. An experienced British veterinary surgeon who recently switched careers to become a Communications Officer for the One Health European Joint Programme, based at the University of Surrey.
We also hear from Stephanie Gentle. Formally working in emergency management in Washington DC, Stephanie switched career and is now working in cross-border conservation with Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA).
And last but not least we hear from Kate Stephenson. A blogger, journalist and educational media specialist who recently switched careers into conservation to become Head of Communications at Whitley Fund for Nature.
I found it such an inspiring, honest and reflective session and I’m sure you’re going to love it too.
Before you jump into the session … If you’d like our help to get your career on track in 2023 we’ve just opened our Conservation Career Kick-starter.
The Conservation Career Kick-Starter is a comprehensive programme of training, support, community and jobs designed to get you hired quicker as a professional wildlife conservationist.
We’ve supported over 2,500 people through the programme today and many of them – as you’re about to hear - are flying in their careers as a result.
Success is totally possible, and we can help you to achieve it.
If you’d like to find out more, please visit conservation-careers.com/kick
That’s enough waffle from me, let’s jump into the live event.
Enjoy.