Vantaggi
The ecologists and staff (aside from management) are friendly, knowledgeable people, who are always happy to help and assist where they can. They understand the difficulties of the job and are always accommodating, and a general joy to be around. Accommodation (of good standard) and a reasonable lunch budget were always provided, and the pay was slightly above average. All the equipment provided for me to use was of good standard and I was trained well in the surveys I undertook. I also got to see a fair few interesting sites!
Svantaggi
The company professes a 'family' feel throughout all the interviews, however this did not translate into the actual job. All the ecologists are overworked and gratitude from the higher-ups is not common. No overtime pay or credit-time is given and ecologists are expected to work many hours over with little recompense. Field ecologists were expected to complete multiple back-to-back dawn and dusk bat surveys, followed by reptile surveys often immediately after in the morning, due to the last summer's heat. This lead to multiple periods where I felt I was unsafe to drive, but continued anyway for fear of reprisals. The company also charges the client a higher amount of mileage than they provide to the staff member driving their own vehicle, meaning the company makes money off the staff driving their own vehicles for work - which I found very disappointing. After 10,000 miles (which you will do) the mileage reimbursement also decreases significantly - a respectable company would not do this. In general, there is a lack of good communication between the ecologists and management, and a misunderstanding of the stress the overworking presents. I would not recommend this company to seasonal workers or permanent applicants.