KEY POINTS:
Helping to save a rare bird from extinction is just one of the projects Dr Tony Beauchamp is doing as part of his work for the Department of Conservation.
As a member of the fairy terns recovery group, the ecologist has helped advise on the design of monitoring programmes that chart the progress of birds that have been on the verge of extinction since 1950.
"Fairy terns breed on the beach and so their eggs are frequently snatched by stoats, rats, seagulls and hedge hogs," says Dr Beauchamp who has a PhD in Zoology from Victoria University and is working as a Northland Conservancy Advisory Scientist.
"The fairy tern programme is probably one of the most hands-on wildlife programmes running. It's an intensive programme as we try to build the population up from around 30 pairs to at least 100. In 1983 there were just three pairs that we knew about."
But breeding from such a small gene pool is creating problems of its own with a fear that some fairy terns are becoming infertile as a result of interbreeding - although Beauchamp is at pains to say the reason for lower fertility rates is presently "unknown."
"There are a number of reasons why we might have infertile birds," he says. "We can't be sure that our work to raise numbers is not having an impact. Every time we handle any egg we run the risk of disserving development of that bird. But we can't afford to do nothing."
Part of his job as a scientist is to ensure every detail of the recovery programme is documented, checked and charted so DoC staff can understand exactly what it going on and what progress is being made.
People looking at a career in any aspect of the sciences need to be dedicated to the job, says Beauchamp.
"It's not the sort of career people should get into unless they are a dedicated, systematic-type person," says Beauchamp.
"When I left school in the mid-1970s people told me I was mad [to study science] and that there would be no prospect of a career.
"But in the 1980s the Department of Conservation was formed and a lot of opportunities arose in environmental science - and work opportunities have increased over time."
While there appears to be plenty of work for scientists, Beauchamp says work in many areas is not highly paid.
"The pay over time has deteriorated. Working in ecology isn't well recognised in a financial sense - but molecular scientists or those working in industry may fare differently. People who get into science are not necessarily chasing the money."
However, professor Richard Price of the University of Waikato's School of Science and Engineering says there is evidence that science jobs are quite well paid.
Pay range for graduate starting salaries varies from $35,000 a year to $49,000 (based on 2004 figures).
"For somebody who thinks they really like science but wonder if it will give them a career then the answer is yes, it will give you a career," he says. "And what's really good is that you will be doing something that's fulfilling."
Price says people have to do what interests them, and that while medicine pays well, it may not be as glamorous as many people imagine.
"It's the same for people who want to be physiotherapists. They dream of going on tour with the All Blacks, and forensic science looks great on TV, but there are few opportunities for that type of work in New Zealand.
"Students need to really inform themselves of the opportunities and the scope of work open to them in science," says Price. "You need to know what the alternative jobs are from the one you are planning for. What you want to avoid doing is studying something highly specialised and then discovering you don't like it.
"But if you do a general degree - such as a bachelor of science, engineering or arts - then that's a broad degree that will allow you to change direction. Otherwise you risk having to go back to square one and starting again."
Price also recommends students keep their science options open while at high school and follow through with a conjoin degree programme - such as law and science, or management and science.
"For those people there are huge opportunities, such as being a patent attorney for example," he says.
It seems having a science degree can open many doors and deliver a world of opportunity, from helping wildlife to finding a cure for cancer.
All jobs have their rewards - but money often comes second to a passion to help others.
SCIENCE CAREERS
Starting salaries in science:
Health (doctors, dentists etc): $49,000
Technology and engineering: $39,000
Physical sciences: $37,500
Architecture/planning/surveying: $36,000
Biological sciences: $35,000
Mathematical and information sciences: $35,000
Source: The New Zealand Vice-Chancellor's Committee (2004)
Career options in ecology include:
Technician, biological and environmental consultant, ranger, science writer, conservation scientist, fresh water ecologist.
Possible employers include:
Fish and game councils, regional councils, Crown Research Institutes, Department of Conservation, zoos, environmental agencies.
Source: The University of Waikato
