r/wildlifebiology

Hey y'all, just popping in with a quick question. I went to school (undergrad and graduate) for natural resources and primarily wildlife biology/management. I specifically want to work with/for/around wildlife. I couldn't land a wildlife biologist or tech role this season, but I got a gig with AmeriCorps doing land conservation. This is pretty much my first ever real role working in natural resources, so I know some experience is better than no experience. However, my question is: will a role like this help me gain the experience needed to land some sort of wildlife tech role? Or should I try and move on as soon as possible to something else? For context, it seems like most of what I'm going to be doing will be managing invasive plant species, planting native plant species, and the occasional environmental education work with some field survey work for herps here and there.

So, I posted here asking about my resume and edited it based on the feedback I received. I’ve since received an offer working on behavioral research for 6 months, which I would be done with in April.

The experience and training I’d receive include observational study methods, bird handling and husbandry, data analysis and computer programs, research, etc. The only thing is I’d be working with captive animals (kept in outdoor enclosures subject to the natural weather, on a rural site) so I just wanted to ask if that kind of experience would be beneficial for my career- especially for field based work?

I already have some background in more standard fieldwork and wild birds, but I wanted to check since this is my first real job and everything is still kind of scary right now. My absolute dream seasonal field position for the spring and summer field season would be a bird banding internship if that helps, but I’d also be perfectly happy working on insects or more generic/non wildlife handing positions as well if that helps!