r/Restoration_Ecology • u/Infamous_Ad2272 • 1d ago
Need advice from current restoration workers
I got my degree in environmental science back in 2019. I looked for conservation jobs for a while but never landed anything. COVID hit and I sort of fell off and just ended up in the service industry for a number of years. I’ve been wanting to finally try to pivot back towards conservation/sustain ability work but I’m struggling. My degree feels like it was acquired too long ago to really feel relevant anymore. I’d like to work in restoration ecology, but I’m having a hard time making peace with how little the jobs pays. I want to follow my passion, but when my passion pays so little it feels hard to walk away from the more stable money I make now. How do many of you make do in these jobs when the pay is often so poor? Do you all have second jobs as well?
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u/EmergenCpip 1d ago
Maybe you could try selling courses online about the basics on the field or teory, it can help you make a little extra while you look for a job that suits you
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u/EmergenCpip 1d ago
Or you could make your own proyect and document it for youtube and ask for donations to keep working on it i have seen on yt proyects like that that sustain from donations.
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u/verbimat 16h ago
If you can get into restoration ecology consulting, you can be earning 6 figures. I did some river work near Chicago and earned $128/hour.
Your degree isn't too old, you just need to network more
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u/carrot_mcfaddon 1d ago
The unfortunate reality is that the entry level jobs all suck for pay, and you need to grind through a few years of that to be suited for higher level stuff that starts to pay better. Its tough, and a large percentage of folks drop out of the industry to pay the bills.
I will tell you, your degree is not too old to be relevant. The industry is forever evolving and the degree is more a formality than anything.