William Oswald
What employment sector do you work in?
NGO Sector
How long have you had a green job for nature?
7 months
Please describe the work that you do.
Peatland restoration monitoring! Currently we record baseline data at future restoration sites, and will continue to gather data post restoration to assess the effectiveness of restoration techniques.
What do you most like about your job? Any dislikes?
The variety! Switching between data analysis to hands on vegetation surveying, there is such a large range of tasks and it all feels extremely rewarding when completed.
What inspired you into this career?
Wanting to leave a positive impact to the planet as my legacy. Plus peatlands are super cool!
Have you faced any challenges in progressing your career so far?
The conservation sector is so tricky to get a job within. I really struggled to get a job post undergraduate degree, spent a year in a job I didn’t enjoy, and then even after gaining an MSc struggled to find employment.
What education/training did you have?
BSc Biology, and MSc Conservation & Land Management.
Various other qualifications, but the main one that gave me good transferable skills was the Mountain Leader (and as such first aid) award. Lots of transferable outdoor skills, plus the ability to write risk assessments, assess safety of fieldwork.
You’ll find as you pick up volunteering opportunities that training will present itself through courses, events etc.
What advice would you give to someone coming into the profession?
Take every opportunity you can. Look out for field courses, events, volunteering opportunities with wildlife trusts, NGOs. Building the CV! Mark yourself out as different, and really develop ‘your niche’.
Make sure you’re enjoying it.
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Tags: Northern Ireland, NGO sector, Conservation worker, Data and mapping roles, Peatland
Date profile submitted: 15/05/2026
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