Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

I am responsible for a number of agri-environment schemes and SSSI sites in Norfolk, and provide land management advice to farmers and landowners in order to achieve conservation aims. I work as part of a large team working to deliver a number of targets relating to conservation in Norfolk, including farmland birds, BAP habitat, SSSI sites, the historic environment, water quality and biodiversity.

A typical day may involve responding to a farmer's queries on how to manage a particular habitat, working with a landowner to get an agreement in place to manage a site in a more appropriate way, or re-evaluating an agreement currently in place. The role involves a large amount of offices based tasks and working with various IT systems, but does also include site visits, training and development. This may be for monitoring to assess the biological condition of a site, visiting a site to see where work such as scrub removal has been carried out, or to agree on the best management for a habitat with a landowner.

The wide variety of work and sites that it involves, getting to work outdoors and in the natural environment, and working as part of a team wide a wide array of skills and experience.

Tight deadlines and a sometimes unpredictable workload.

I had always been interested in the natural environment, geography, farming and nature conservation, and managed to get an administrative role with the company on leaving university, in an area which combines all of the above.

A good understanding of and interest in the natural environment, being able to work with IT systems, analytical skills, fieldwork experience.

Shadowing colleagues and some day events, most learning is picked up through doing the job.

Support Adviser, Natural England

MSc Conservation UCL

Adviser, Natural England

Lead Adviser, Natural England

You don't need to know exactly what job you want to do - think about what you enjoy and what area/sector you might like to work in. Find out as much as you can about the industry, what different people do, and how they got there. Be flexible - you may need to enter on a lower salary, or move to another part of the country. And at every stage, try to gain as much experience as you possibly can.