The Best Conservation Job Boards

In June 0f 2015, I was sitting on top of a 40-meter watch tower in the Peruvian Amazon as part of a university course in Tropical Biology and Conservation at the Los Amigos Research Station. The sunset was going down, and I had my camera with my 120-600 telephoto lens ready, watching and listening to the jungle. Being surrounded by so much wildlife at once makes you feel insignificant in this world. The sun was creating those stunning golden bands of light, and I looked toward the east and saw three gorgeous blue and gold macaws coming my way towards a tall fruit-bearing Ceiba tree. They turned their undersides to me, and the sunlight cascaded over their bellies, really giving meaning to the gold part of their name. I held down the trigger for a couple of seconds and, after that, checked the photo and got it! Now looking back at the photo and how I have improved over the years as a photographer, it was not the best, but that did not matter then because, from that moment forward, I knew this is the kind of life I wanted to live. Exploring the world, seeing new places, working with wildlife, and doing amazing conservation work.

The way I started my path to conservation work was not typical, as I prioritized traveling and where I would be based over the job type. That is what led me to many places where I have worked contracts. After graduating university from Eckerd College in 2016 with a BA in Environmental Studies and a double minor in Biology and Coastal Management, I headed home to Cozumel, Mexico, to get my PADI divemaster certification and apply for jobs. I moved to Thailand in October of 2016 to work as a King Cobra radio telemetry tracker for my first-ever job out of university. This was an unpaid internship that provided room and board, and I had to pay the airfare, a common arrangement, or many jobs will have an airfare stipend. But this was the job that sent me halfway around the world on one of the most exciting adventures I have ever had and set me up for every opportunity that followed. Unless it is an absolute must, whoever is reading should avoid pay-to-volunteer programs as they damage conservation jobs by exploiting people trying to gain experience and only give a very limited amount of people the ability to get into conservation work.

I have had many titles since my first job in Thailand. Naturalist, Expedition Leader, Science Cargo Handler, Field Technician, Wildlife Biologist, Lead Herpetologist, Outdoor Educator, Environmental Educator, Camp Counselor, Field Studies Instructor, Dive Master, and even a Lifeguard. I have since worked in the Maldives, Guam, Antarctica, the UAE, Indonesia, Madagascar, Guyana, and the USA. There are many different paths one can take to have a career in conservation, especially if you are fresh out of university. Another great way to get experience is to get into environmental education. Below, I list some of my favorite job boards for natural science and conservation work.

Because I am from the United States, many of my search engines are geared toward that so a lot of the job boards I have listed have many postings from the United States. I have included international job boards as well, and all job boards listed do have international opportunities. The best jobs boards for working abroad are Linked Here and the best job boards for outdoor and environmental education are Linked Here.

The Job Boards

1. The Conservation Job Board

This is my go-to job board because it has a solid option to choose an international location, and you can even search for states from the USA.

Link Here

2. Texas A&M Environmental Job Board

The most famous Job Board for anything environmental is the Texas A&M job board. Do not be turned away by the name. Texas A&M only manages the site. The jobs listed are from all over the United States, and there is usually a decent amount of international postings.

Link Here

3. Conservation Careers Job Board

This is a great international job board but it does have a paywall to view everything. They have good resources and a great collection of job postings from big organizations.

Link Here

4. Eco Jobs

This is another job board that has a paywall and is more limited in how many jobs you can see, but with paywall job boards, regularly check to see what is available.

Link Here

5. Natural Resource Management Environmental Job Board Australia

This great environmental job board is for anyone who is from Australia or has the ability to work in Australia.

Link Here

6. Work Cabin Canada

Work Cabin is a conservation job board geared toward Canada.

Link Here

7. Environmental Job Board UK

This job board is based on a UK search engine; many jobs are in the UK. However, UK job boards tend to post more international opportunities than USA-based job boards. No matter where you are from, it is still worth giving this one a look.

Link Here

8. Association of Zoos and Aquariums

This is primarily US based, but I have seen some international postings on this site. If you are not looking to be in the US, then you can fine tune your search for opportunities in areas where you want to be.

Link here

9. Work Away Job Board

This job board has some conservation-related postings if you look and search for the correct keywords. I wanted to throw this one in the mix because it is an amazing way to get abroad. I have literally seen thousands of opportunities on it from all over the world. If you are looking to get a voluntary position abroad where you don’t need to pay or you want to find a cool gig that covers the basics while you are in between contracts, this is a good site. I pay the yearly fee for this one, so I can see what is happening worldwide.

Link Here

10. Wildlife Science Career Network

This is a Facebook group network that posts jobs with over 50,000 people in the group. Don’t forget to search for job groups on Facebook.

Link here

These are ten great options for you to go through and find your next job. Many people ask me repeatedly, “How do you find all these jobs?” especially my first National Geographic job. The way I found it was I literally googled ‘national geographic jobs’ and applied. It sometimes really is that simple. The key thing is to understand SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This is understanding the power of keywords when you type them into Google. Using the right words will help you with your job hunt.

I find myself joining more job boards on Facebook as that is becoming more popular, and it's nice because usually there is a good community there and people who have been working in conservation for a while who act as mentors and will give advice to the people who seek it.

I struggled to find a job right out of college, and I wish I had known about these job boards when I was in university so I could have found great summer jobs between school years. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at my email, thewildgingerbeast@gmail.com or my Instagram @thewildgingerbeast if you have any questions or want guidance.