<p>Hi guys. I'm a student in my first year of community college. I've recently decided to commit myself to the environment and I'm considering restoration ecology as a career path because it's something I am absolutely passionate about. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions about classes, schools, and programs that would be beneficial. I'm also interested in getting my Master's in whatever would be most relevant and helpful as well as versatile and applicable. Basically, how do I get from where I'm at to where I want to be as a restoration ecologist?</p>
<p>That is not something I have previously heard of (but makes sense)…have you looked into schools with forestry or something like ASU’s school of sustainability?</p>
<p>I’ve looked into schools in the UC system and out of those universities, Davis seems the best fit, but I’m unsure whether the school of biology or agriculture and environmental science would be a better option.</p>
<p>You may also want to see what sort of programs the National Parks Service or BLM recommends to work for them. Maybe see what sort of people work on superfund sites for the EPA. Another option would be to think about some sort of environmental engineering.</p>
<p>Thanks. I’ve looked into environmental engineering before, but I’ve found I’m more interested in direct interaction with ecosystems which is why I’ve chosen a more biological route.</p>
<p>It might be a good idea to try to find people who work in this field or who do a job that you would like to do in the future, and ask for advice on how best to pursue this path. Even if you can’t find anyone who would be able to meet with you in person, you may be able to find someone or some organization willing to answer questions over email about what degree or experience you should get. They may be able to tell you how they got to where they are as well.</p>
<p>Look for internships or part time jobs related to what you’d like to do as well. That may be able to give you important contacts of people in your field. Have you looked at the Society for Ecological Restoration? They may have information or resources for you.</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice, it helps a lot.</p>
<p>Yes, actually, I was browsing their website just the other day and found a lot of interesting internship opportunities. Unfortunately, I don’t qualify for many and even fewer of those available to someone with as little experience as I have are quite a distance away. I’ll certainly poke around a bit more and see what I can find though.</p>
<p>If you’re near anyone who is doing something remotely related to what you want to do, you could try to arrange a job shadow or something similar, in which case you wouldn’t need any experience. Maybe just have an informational interview (in person or over email or something) about the career or different options. It might be hard with restoration ecology, but sometimes you can invent your own position where you volunteer to do something simple or menial, which might be able to put you in the environment where you could learn things about the profession or the work. </p>
<p>If you’re not near any of those sorts of places, though, then it’s harder. In that case, focus on transferring to a school that either has programs in what you’d like to learn or is near to some sort of organization that does similar work. Make sure you’re a competitive applicant and that you get any classes or prerequisites that are required out of the way.</p>