| Personal details |
|---|
| Degree: | Geography |
|
| School(s): | School of Geography and Geosciences |
| Year of Graduation: | Jun-1997 |
| LinkedIn: | |
| National of: | United Kingdom |
| Employment details |
|---|
| Organisation: | Scottish Natural Heritage |
| Job title: | Geomorphologist |
| Occupational Sector: | Environmental Work |
| What has been your route to getting your current position? |
|---|
| After graduating I did 3 post-doctoral research posts on applied
geomorphology (mountain hazards and river management) at Canterbury
University NZ, St Andrews University and Aberdeen University. I also
worked in mineral prospecting and environmental management
consultancies. All this led to a contract on conservation management of
dynamic rivers, which gave me that extra edge to gain my current post. |
| What does your job involve ? |
|---|
My job is varied. It comprises internal consultancy for:
- Conservation management casework, where I may be asked about the
implications for conservation interests of planned developments (such
as sand and gravel quarry extensions; flood management works; access
road construction for installation of renewables infrastructure; soil
erosion and grazing management; comments on development plans etc).
- Advice on the conservation interests of Scottish Quaternary,
Caves and Karst, Mass Movement and Fluvial Geological Conservation
Review sites.
- Implementation of national projects, such as adoption of the
ecosystems approach to environmental management. Currently we are
developing ecosystem services assessments that account for
geomorphological and pedological processes, in addition to geological
resources.
- Advice to Scottish Government on the potential implications of
climate change on geomorphological systems, particularly in upland
environments of national and international conservation value.
- Advice to the Scottish Government on Scotland’s geodiversity conservation resources.
- Promoting understanding, appreciation and involvement in
Scotlands geological and geomorphological heritage. This involves
working with volunteer groups, and developing sometimes unusual
interpretation materials from booklets and trail guides to a 31m long
knitted scarf, which represents Scotland’s amazing geological record!
|
| What are the best bits of your job ? |
|---|
| Problem solving is the key thing I enjoy. At least half of the work
comes in unplanned, and has a quick turn around time. You have to
provide a good quality service on almost any topic, and be able to
communicate clearly how to deliver a solution. |
| Why were you successful? |
|---|
| I took on work in a wide range of applied research jobs, before applying
for this post. It’s no good being specialized in a narrow niche, when
the range of work coming in is so varied. |
| What skills/ knowledge from your degree have you found particularly helpful in this role? |
|---|
| My research background was vital, in developing a systematic and
meticulous approach to problem identification, information gathering and
formulating a response. A lot of the work is a bit like being a
detective! In theory you don’t need a PhD to do this job, but nearly
everyone I know has one, and uses that experience in exactly the same
way. |
| What advice would you give to students wishing to follow the same path? |
|---|
It may be difficult to get a job as a government geomorphologist at
the moment. However, there are now more opportunities in commercial
consultancies for geomorphologists in applied land management. My advice
would be get as much experience as possible, work hard and keep a high
standard in all your output! A key thing is not to be put off. I had one
dire job doing shoreline oil spill contingency plans, but in retrospect
it was useful experience, even if it was utterly mind numbing and at
the time. It also spurred me on to find something better. None of these
jobs came directly out of adverts (except the post doc in New Zealand
and my current job, both were advertised in 'Nature'). The rest came
from building a good reputation and asking contacts if they needed
someone to work for them. It paid off.
|
