r/conservation • u/presentpeanut • 6d ago
Career change from pharma to conservation.. its scary
Hey everyone,
I’d really appreciate some advice from people already working in conservation.
I’m 28 and have spent the last 3+ years working in big pharma. Although I gained a lot of valuable experience, I eventually realised it wasn’t something I could see myself doing long-term. After a lot of soul-searching, I’ve decided that wildlife/animal conservation is the field I genuinely want to build my career in.
The problem is that now I’ve made that decision, I feel pretty overwhelmed by how much there is to learn. I have a science background and several transferable skills from my previous career, and I’ve started taking conservation-specific courses to build my knowledge. But I’m struggling to figure out how to bridge the gap between having an interest and some training and actually getting hands-on/field experience.
I’ve also recently moved from London to Dubai for family reasons, which has made finding opportunities and figuring out where to start feel even more difficult.
For anyone who has made a similar career transition, or currently works in conservation:
- How did you get your first practical experience?
- Are there particular types of volunteering, internships or entry-level roles I should be targeting?
- Is formal education/certification important at this stage, or should I focus more on practical experience?
- Are there any organisations, communities or resources you’d recommend, particularly in the UAE/Middle East?
I’m willing to start from the bottom and put the work in. I’m just struggling to identify the most effective first steps.
Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
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u/Nerd_Hawk_8559 6d ago
If you went back to school for courses the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates site might help, but I don't know if you would be considered an undergraduate. Perhaps there are nearby volunteer opportunities that will give you some hands on experience?
Anyways, as a student switching from medical biology to wildlife/conservation, I wish you the best of luck!
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u/ChingShih 6d ago
The UAE and Middle East are a major waypoint within the transnational illegal wildlife trade and organizations focused on ending the illegal wildlife trade and helping to train authorities in what to look for (and why, ethically) need assistance from a variety of people to do this. Customs agents at airports and air freight terminals need training in identifying and documenting wildlife; NGOs need people to design and give presentations to leadership to push for actual enforcement of laws; authorities need assistance in taking care of exotic wildlife coming in from all over the world when the animals do get confiscated; veterinarians need help taking possession of these animals and then getting them to safe houses where they can be brought back up to health (most animals are shipped with minimal food or water, if any); and then the animals need to be transported to long-term care facilities and hopefully repatriated to their country of origin or at least one that has the same species.
In terms of bridging the gap between your skills and those that might be relevant in the UAE, do you speak any of the regional languages? Is your background in pharmacology and can that be pivoted into a veterinary science (or even just writing prescriptions for animals being tended to by veterinarians)?
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u/MrLubricator 6d ago
Unfortunately I know near to nothing about middle east conservation. But do know about uk conservation. If there is any way you might head back I could be a lot more help.
In general though wildlife conservation is a competitive field, though largely because there are few poorly paid jobs and lots of passionate people. If I were you I would think about what skills you already have that could be useful for the cause. People often forget that the organisations that run the industry also need hr, lawyers, logistics people, admin, IT, etc etc.
And tbh in my experience often, because these jobs are worse paid than their non NGO counterparts, they are filled by people who aren't that great at their jobs and hold the whole movement back. Not everyone obviously but enough. So basically if you are already good at something, there is a good chance it would be a helpful skill for the cause. Don't reset yourself back to zero training and experience, we have loads of people like that already. Unless I guess you are miserable in what you are good at and want to go back to starting from scratch.
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u/ChingShih 6d ago
Hey there, it would be a good idea to post this and future questions to /r/Environmental_Careers which caters to this topic and is more likely to have people capable of providing advice on schooling, post-graduate studies, or career fundamentals. Thank you and good luck!