I agree with the opinions of Cefas being good experience, but it IS specialised in a certain department of Marine bio. The only skills I could trake from that job when I leave would be sampling skills (which I already have) and an increased knowledge of marine invertebrates that live on the sea floor. If I wanted to follow marine biology Id have accepted the job when offered, at the wage offered.
But I want to get into terrestrial ecology, my degree is 50:50 Terrestrial : Marine, and my experience is 50:50 also. This gets me into a very good niche for wetland habitats (such as the job I linked to above (Sent off cv for that)) as I have specific knowledge of the habitat and species populations, rather than just dry land or marine/aquatic based systems.
Surely when you factor all this in, that I would rather be looking at terrestrial ecology, have the skills, and a short-term job in the terrestrial ecology field, then having the above experience of working in a marine lab for 3 years wont help (many sampling skills and techniques are none transferrable really from marine to terrestrial). Ok, so itd be 3 years working at a well known marine lab, but thats it. If employers prefer broad spectrum knowledge and skills, 3-4 months at uni will give me better taxonomic skills and a range of experience on various equipment if I want. I have SOME experience in some equipment from my degree, but I never got to use things like the SEM, which Ive been told shouldnt be a problem, so its an opportunity to further develope skills whilst earning and saving at home.
Sure being at uni/home is being in my comfort zone, but the work certainly isnt bumming around. The work is a contract with the RSPB into an area of heath they own, and is a study site for restoration. I could end up getting my name in some peer reviewed journal articles, which for an academic career is a must. Plus combine this with my NON-Marine based dissertation being presented to the British Ecological Society conference this year, does kind of suggest I can do better, job wise, in a field I enjoy. If I want to earn £15k I could have applied for a number of easier jobs in environmental science that were menial and didnt even require a degree to apply for!
I think overall I can make use of the stability of uni/home over the summer and save money in preperation of travelling, or putting a deposit down for a place to rent, or using if I cant find work straight away. It also gives me the chance to develop skills that are useful in terrestrial ecology fieldwork. There was an excellent RA job going in mauritius on endangered raptor relocation. Wasnt very well paid, but its somewhere tropical working with endangered species. But I needed abseiling experience. Thats doable over the summer for other such jobs. I need to progress my diving as well, as (even though I would rather be terrestrial) I could have ended up in the british antarctic survey team for 3 years, but needed to be the next qualification along to apply
There is no growth, and itll show come your interview for another job in a years time.
"So what did you do for the last year?"
"oh I stayed at uni doing work for a researcher."
"oh... *thinks: you bummed about for a year!?*"
Itd be more like:
"So what did you do for the last year?"
"I took part in a project for the RSPB with my senior lecturers. The work involved this that and the other. This allowed me to further develop my skills in...I also in my spare time was able to take part in other projects, and was employed by the Aquatics department for further maintenance work on their fish room. I also repeated contract work with the senior lecturer in marine biology for specimen identification and collection off the south coast. All these contracts were a result of the previous years summer placement work, due to demonstrating my high working standards and good responsible attitude. I also presented my dissertation to the BES...
I was also able to make use of the time to develop other skills useful in a variety of lab/field conditions, getting experience in..."
"Ok...that sounds interesting...can you tell me more about..."
The Uni work ISNT bumming around. It is excellent experience for the fields I am interested in, just because I enjoy it doesnt mean it is easy! I just would rather be out doing fieldwork than stuck in a lab leaning over a microscope. Id be doing that as well at uni, but its balanced between that and fieldwork and other projects.
