Welcome to our first Focused Week looking at the range of careers across the countryside, conservation sector.

Are you dreaming of a life outdoors? Or maybe working with wildlife? If at the end of a day the sight of a newly laid hedge gives you a sense of satisfaction or perhaps seeing excitement on a small person’s face as they discover the wonder of snails gives you a buzz then a career in the countryside could be the one for you.

  

30 years ago the first edition of Countryside Jobs Service was aimed squarely at Countryside Rangers and those working in countryside management. Whilst those are still the main areas for CJS as the sector has opened up and expanded so has the breadth of jobs and information we publish. Today, you’ll find job adverts for support staff and ecologists, news about wildlife reintroduction projects, feature articles on subjects ranging from wetlands to British snakes. The Countryside Jobs Service website is a one stop shop for everyone in the countryside, conservation, ecology and wildlife sectors. If your perfect office is a 4x4 parked on the moor top, getting wet in a RIB dodging the tides on the coast or a more traditional one with four walls and computer there’s a career for everyone and we’re going to be highlighting just some of those this week as well as looking behind the scenes at the day to day work of people in the sector.

  

In addition to the new information we’re sharing this week have a look at the website to discover a wide range of job profiles, information, check out the job ads to find out what you might be doing. Then look at your skills and abilities to identify what extras you might need before heading over to the Training Directory to look up butterfly identification that you can do via distance learning, degree courses in countryside management, a weekend sorting stone and completing the jigsaw puzzle of a drystone wall. You can spend a day leaning all about rewilding or how to manage land sustainably, devote a week to tree climbing so that you can safely work at heights or rescue someone from up there.

  

If you’re at the point of looking for a job or wanting more than a cursory look then sign up for one of our newsletters, the daily email is free and lands in your inbox every evening or for a more detailed comprehensive packet of information then it’s CJS Weekly only 50p a week or free if you’re a student or new graduate.