A career in ecology?

[Nukeyfox]

Hi, I'm a highschool student who is going to complete his IGCSE this year.

I'm interested in studying wildlife and I aspire to be a park ranger or a naturalist.

I enjoy ecology, conservation and the outdoors and I want to specialise in them.

 

However, I am unsure on what to study for my tetiary education.

The universities and colleges I have surveyed do not have a course on ecology or wildlife science (most of the time it's medical)

At most that they have is general biology, environmental management/science, zoology and aquatic science.

 

Is it the case that I have to go through one of these courses to study ecology and conservation? Or do I have to search for more universities that offer the course that I want?

I'm not interested in aquatic science or zoology per se, I'd rather learn about the different biomes (mainly forests) and its inhabitants.

 

If possible, an outline on the path would be helpful.

 

I hope to study A-levels, but if I can find a university that I can be certain about, I might take foundations.

 

I have even been told that ecology is not a specialised subject -- but I highly doubt that comment is true.

 

I might have more questions in the future. Thanks.

 

 

[CharonY]

Depends, if you want to be park ranger or similar the educational requirements are not highly specialized as you generally only need an undergrad degree. Work experience after that tends to be more valuable. Often having some kind of degree/diploma for natural resource management/recreational planning etc. can help. However, often something related such as forestry, fisheries, conservation courses are also valued/acceptable.

It is true that ecology in itself is not highly specialized, rather, there are highly specialized fields within. Some e.g. deal with macro systems (such as cabon/nitrogen flows, global cycles etc) other areas specialize in specific systems. Some ecologist work within specific (model) lakes or forsests, for example. However, the higher specialization is generally part of higher degrees and would be more applicable to a more academic career, which does not seem to be what you are looking for.