Masters or Work experience in Dublin

abigail.powell

Hiya,

I'm a third year student studying Biology at Birmingham University in England. I'm very interested in conservation, and would love to have a career in this area eventually. I do not want to do a full time masters as I can't afford it! I know of places that do conservation masters in England, such as Biodiversity Survey, but don't know where or if similar courses are available on a part time bases in Ireland.
However, if there weren't any such courses available at academic institutions in Ireland (especially Dublin!), an alternative is to do work experience. I've already worked at a wild life trust in Birmingham (Birmingham and Black Country Wild life trust), and a local Zoo (Twycross), and enjoyed it very much.
So can any one help? Does any one know of places within Dublin that could offer work experience to a graduate interested in conservation Biology, or environmental consultancy or alternately masters in these areas?

I would be very greatful for any advice, hope to hear from some one soon!

Thanks, Abigail

Red Alert

I'm not a biologist but some of the Irish state agencies like the EPA etc might be able to offer work experience.

thehairyone

Hi Abigail,

Just finished a masters course myself in Dublin. Dont know any partime conservation course in dublin though. Trinity and UCD both do full time masters in Environmental Science but both would focus a lot on lab work (i.e water analysis, chemistry etc.). Trinity has just started a masters in Biodiversity and Conservation but you can also get a Diploma but I think that is just if you dont do the dissertation. UCD have a Masters in Environmental Resource Management but while it does have a conservation element it is more of a broader environmental masters. you should check out their websites for more info. other colleges in dublin include DIT and DCU, not sure if they do any postgraduate courses in conservation. NUI Galway and UCC (cork) both share a 18 month masters in Conservation and Landscape Management, but this is an expensive course as it requires you to spend 4 months in Cork, Galway, Holland and Finland. The only parttime conservation postgrad i know of in Ireland is the Field Ecology Course in UCC, i may be wrong but i think its aimed at professionals already in the field. UCD do a partime course in Environmental Impact Assessment but this would have little or no conservation. You should check out all the universities in Ireland (NUIG, UCD, Trinity, DCU, UL, UCC, NUIM) for postgrads though, also not too sure if the Institutes of Technologies have any courses on offer, check them out. (as a rule of thumb, conservation masters will usually cost about 6,300 euro). look at postgrads in the north also as they might have something to offer.

As for work experience in conservation, very little to choose from, here is a non exhaustive list of organisations:

Central Fisheries Board (Dublin)- Usually take in students every summer

Environmental Protection Agency (Anywhere)- take in students every summer but do mostly lab work

Marine Institute- take in a number of students each summer (advertised on their website now) but they are mostly located in their HQ in Galway

Connemara National Park (Galway) take in 3 students every summer and they carry out research work (give them a ring, not sure when the closing date is though). Also contact Wicklow Mountains National Park and Killarney National Park as they may have something on offer for students. Every summer Groudworks run a rhododendren cleareance scheme, where volunteers come (paying a nominal fee for food and board) to clear rhododendren, not paid but good experience all the same.

Birdwatch Ireland have advertised a number of field work positions on their website recently, so check it out (the closing date may have passed already or else is very soon).

As for consultancy firms, they may take students on during the summer, get in contact with them. the bigger ones include RPS, White Young Green, Environmental Resource Management but these are multidisciplinary consultancies. I know of a dedicated ecological consultancy in wicklow called Natura. Look up goldenpages.ie (irelands yellow pages) for other consultancies in Dublin. i must stress time is of the essence in looking for work experience during the summer, in a lot of cases it might already be too late. also keep an eye on the http://www.esaiweb.org/ listservers as they sometimes advertise job oppertunities. hope this helps. good luck hunting.

petethebrick

Yeah, get a related job and get them to sponsor you to do the masters. Dont leave it too long to do the masters anyway I reckon.