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discussion / Early Career  / 2 September 2025

Conservation Tech Pathways and Advice

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Hey everyone!

I’m Anam Khan, an aerospace engineer based in the Washington D.C. area with experience in software development (Python, C++), hardware/software integration, and systems engineering. I’m really interested in moving into conservation tech and had a few questions about the field:

  1. What are some common roles? Data scientist, software engineers, etc.?  
  2. What does the employer landscape look like? Labs, NGOs vs. private companies?
  3. How can an applicant stand out for positions? I'm working on ML computer vision projects, but is there other work I can do to sharpen my technical skills (piloting drones, sensors) ? Should I focus more on technical skills or building domain knowledge?
  4. Where can I find volunteer opportunities—remote or local field work—where I could contribute to technical projects?

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! I'm excited to connect with others and learn more about this field.



Jared Marley
@jared
Margo Supplies - Wildlife Technology
WILDLABS Event Speaker
Inventory editor level 1
Inventory_key_contact

2 September 2025 6:31pm

  1. Hardware, then software engineers on the private side. Data scientists are rare outside institutions/research.
  2. All are possible but scale is very limited by comparison. Expect a more relaxed work culture and less overtime than aerospace but all lower wages. Intermediate will vary a bit but lower overall. Expect pay to hit ceiling and comfortable living but will not get close than the top 5% of aerospace engineer salaries. I would expect few if any jobs local to the DC area - again due to inability to compete with defense salaries.
  3. Long-term demonstrated passion about the field (conservation/wildlife). Technology stacks are similar to aerospace/defence but budgets dwarfed and their is no way to reach the salaries of the top engineering positions in these fields. We need to see applicants understand this and want the life associated with work in our field.
  4. I would consider volunteering on conservation/wildlife, take up birding or wildlife photography, hunting etc over volunteering in the tech side.