Frequently Asked Questions
Q:I have previously applied to EARTHQUEST for employment/internship opportunities or other agencies and did not meet the requirements. What steps do you recommend before reapplying?
A:
We understand how you must feel about your predicament. We've had students who felt the same way. What they found by taking the FAT Program was greater success in finding and holding onto environmental jobs. We may have offered you an opportunity to participate in the FAT Program as a student because you did not qualify for employment opportunities when you first applied. We felt that enrolment in the FAT Program as a student would rectify that. The entire structure of the FAT Program is designed to give students the cutting edge on the skills necessary to gain successful employment in the environmental field. With an 80-90% hiring rate among FAT graduates who find work with the MNR, Conservation Authorities, environmental consulting firms, etc. within 3 - 6 months of graduation, the FAT Program is reputed as an excellent way to gain these skills at a fraction of the cost and time than at a similar academic institution. Financial aid is available to those who qualify and those students who are accepted now for the 2006/07 academic year stand the greatest chance of obtaining paid internships. Internships and other job opportunities must be earned and are only available to those who successfully graduate from our 3 to 12 month intensive General FAT Program, or those who have the equivalent skills required. We only hold onto applications for 4 months - so if you were to wait and apply again to paid employment opportunities you would again experience the scrutiny that you did before. We recommend, that due to the large number of applications we receive, if you are invited to an interview or into the FAT Program you should attempt to find a way to stick to the program in order to increase your chances of finding meaningful employment in your chosen career within the next 3 - 6 months.
Q:If I get accepted for an interview for an internship or job opportunity with EARTHQUEST and I am informed that I need training does this mean that EARTHQUEST will cover on the job training?
A:Unfortunately, EARTHQUEST no longer receives the kind of funding that covers 100% of the job training. We do have funding opportunities available, however, whereby if you are eligible then you may apply to have tuition fees partially covered plus receive a wage subsidy for internships and other job opportunities. Please inquire to learn more.
Q:I’ll do it next year, etc., Can’t afford to do this until I pay off bills, etc. I’ve got a wedding to pay for, a vacation to pay for, etc
A:We applaud your efforts to get to were you are today! We understand how you might feel, we would feel that way too, What we found was that courses are short, condensed, 4 – 6 weeks long to get to your goal. Not a long term obligation. Can you see the value of investing in a few weeks in yourself, go straight to the good paying job to pay off debts sooner? This is the fast tract to higher paying jobs. Can get a job paying $38 - $40/yr. in 12 – 16 weeks! The average wage from our government job postings start at $19 - $21/hr. We strongly suggest that if you start now it would fit in better with the structure and goals which are most important for you to achieve.
Q:I’m not qualified to apply to your job or program
A:You may have lost some of the technical skills or were not taught them while in attendance of college or university. What you don’t use you loose. Employers are aware of this and wonder;
i. Why hasn’t someone else grabbed you?
ii. How much am I going to have to invest in this person to bring their skills back up to bar? Retraining costs money.
iii. Upgrading skills and receiving highly specialized professional skill development training makes the grad with fresh skills a better and less costly pick for employers.
General FAT Program graduates that possessed a Masters or Ph.D. degree and still couldn’t find work, but investing in up to 8 hours per week of field sessions greatly improved their chances of finding and maintaining employment successfully.
Q:If I decide to do my Field Assistant Training (FAT) do I need to enroll in the Biological Field School in order to do that?
A:FAT training may be done either by joining an Expedition or tour, project or program or taking courses, but the best way is to join our Biological Field School. If you join courses at our Biological Field School to receive your training, then you will find that the learning curve is greater than if you take correspondence courses. At our Field School you will learn both the theoretical and practical aspects of what it takes to become a good and effective Field Biologist. You will also learn what it takes to become a Field Assistant (FA) on EARTHQUEST projects over a 7 to 14 day period, and up to 12 months at our Field School. The correspondence courses are designed to provide the same training in the format of self-study. The Field Assistant Self Study Training (FASST) courses allow you to learn the theoretical side of the FA position, while the Advanced Field Assistant Self Study Training (AFASST) courses provide the practical side of the position.
Q:If I am accepted into the Biological Field School and I decide not to enroll how long do I have before I must re-apply?
A:
Please note, if you are accepted into the Biological Field School you will have 24 hours to 1 week to pay your non-refundable deposit to secure placement. This ensures placement for 1 year from your acceptance date. If you decide not to enroll then your application will be placed on file for 4 months. After that you will be required to re-apply with no guarantee of gaining acceptance. This is due to limited enrollment as we only accept a maximum of 15 students per semester. Please do not apply unless you are serious about enrollment and getting a permanent full time job in the environmental industry.
Q:Is the Biological Field School recognized as an accredited private vocational school by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges, Universities and Training?
A:We are currently recognized by the Ministry of Colleges, Training and Universities as a professional skill development training institute and do not need to register for accredation. Full accredation status as a private vocational school recognized by the Ministry is a long and tedious process. Gaining accredation, however, only allows us to offer degrees and diplomas for our programs and courses, whereas currently, we offer certification. It does not allow us the flexibility to offer the range, depth and quality of training that we provide. The certificate should be recognized by potential employers as attaining the skills and qualifications equivalent to 3 - 5 years of practical experience. We are also recognized for bringing excellent employment programs, training and course upgrades to qualify for meaningful employment in the environmental industry by the Canadian federal government - Service Canada. Additionally, we are affiliated with the career services departments of numerous universities across Canada and in the USA. Students may receive academic credit by taking some of our international field courses offered in Central America.
Q:Is the quality of training I will receive from the Biological Field School, or courses recognized by employers?
A:Absolutely. Any employer in the environmental industry should recognize your training with us as viable, high quality and desirable. At present, full and successful completion of our intensive 3 to 12 month FAT Program through the Biological Field School leads to certification. This certification means that you will have achieved a recognized level of competency for accurate and efficient field identification of flora and fauna species, biological inventory work, census/survey techniques and data entry, collection, analysis and interpretation techniques. Within the environmental industry it should be regarded as the same calibre of quality as obtaining qualifications to become a certified Ecological Land Classifier through the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Q:If I am accepted into the FAT Program and decide to do the program or courses at a later point how long do I have to complete them?
A:All students are responsible for submitting all course work required no later than 1 year from the time they are accepted into the program if they register for a 12 month General FAT Program, 9 months from the time they are accepted if they register for a 9 month General FAT Program and 6 months from the time they register for a 6 month General FAT Program. Any students who submit material after that time period shall automatically receive a failing grade and their participation in the course or program will be terminated. There are no exceptions and all decisions are final.
Q:How long has the FAT Program been around?
A:The FAT Program was designed and conceived by our Executive Director & Senior Instructor of the Biological Field School - Dave Jolly as a direct result of over 25 years of practical field experience in the environmental field. It was created largely due to the fact that people were experiencing difficulty finding jobs in the environmental field because they lacked the proper amount of training and/or experience in order to qualify. The FAT Program provides that experience and training and, therefore, applicants would qualify for jobs in the environmental field upon successful completion. The FAT Program was developed from a Research/Conservation Expedition to the Peruvian Amazon in 1999. Since then, it has been used by the Canadian federal government - Service Canada and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) - to provide employment skills for unemployed Canadians seeking to upgrade their knowledge and skills to find and maintain environmental jobs. While working with Service Canada & MTCU the FAT Program earned a reputation as one of the most successful employment programs they had. In fact, it was MTCU that encouraged EARTHQUEST to open the Biological Field School because they simply could not put enough people through our excellent FAT Program. This is the FAT Program as it exists today available only through the Biological Field School.
Q:How much time is spent on training?
A:The amount of time spent training depends entirely on how much practical hands-on training you have received previously, your motivation level, keeness and enthusiasm. If you have 10 - 15 years of experience working with birds in the environmental industry, for example, then you will probably need to take the Level 1 & 2 FAT Courses in plants. Generally, applicants who decide to undertake their FAT training via the Expeditions or tours, projects and programs may only spend 7 -14 days doing their training before being invited to the Level 2 FAT Courses in order to become an FA. Some people require longer periods for training, due to their need to attain more skills.
Q:If I were to complete this training successfully, will there be future work opportunities in the near future?
A:Absolutely, we have and excellent internship program. If candidates are selected for the 12 month General FAT Program then a guaranteed internship or job opportunity is attached to their program, whereby upon successful graduation they are working full time in their career job, provided you are in good standing with our school and successfully pass our program. Additionally, teaching positions at our Biological Field School, intern positions, Level 1 and 2 FAT positions as well as management positions are available. If you are invited to do your Level 1 FAT training in birds, for example, then we generally encourage you to move onto the Level 1 FASST Course in management/leadership before you become a Level 1 FA, provided you successfully complete your training and receive your Certificate of Completion. This would allow you to teach Level 1 plant FAT Courses to our students, staff, volunteers and employees. After that, you are placed on the list for the next available Expedition, tour, project or program. Employment may occur shortly or within the space of several months, depending on how many Expeditions, tours, projects and programs are in operation.
Q:What percentage of FAT trainees that make it through the training program are hired?
A:We have a very high success rate for graduating trainees. Even if you are not selected for the next available Expedition, project or program, you may be eligible to apply for longer term positions with EARTHQUEST (eg. the Job Creation Partnership positions offered in association with MTCU). Greater than ninty percent of the people we train, specifically through the FAT Program end up working for EARTHQUEST or in the environmental industry in some capacity. Others, usually apply to other organizations, with our recommendations and may end up in the environmental consulting field, environmental education or work as Teaching Assistants (TAs) with partner organizations. Many of our more successful graduates have used the FAT Program as a spring-board to apply to full-time employment opportunities. Here is a list of a few of organizations with whom some FAT Graduates have found employment after successful completion of the FAT Program;
1) La Suerte Field Biological Station
2) Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Centre
3) The Long Point Bird Observatory
4) Bird Studies Canada
5) Acres and Associates Environmental Consulting
6) The City of Owen Sound, Ontario - environmental planning
7) The Grand River Conservation Authority
8) Natural Resource Solutions
9) The University of Toronto
10) Point Pelee National Park
11) St. Clair Region Conservation Authority
12) Upper Thames Region Conservation Authority
13) St. Lawrence River International Biosphere Reserve
14) Blueridge environmental consulting
15) The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources - Aylmer, District office
Q:Where will I be staying during training?
A:This depends on what Expedition, tour, project, or program you apply to. If you join an Expedition, tour, project or program to receive training, you may be staying at a base camp, or Bed and Breakfast throughout the duration of the Expedition, tour, project or program or you may be required to find your own accommodations. If you take courses through our Biological Field School, then the Level 1 General FASST course may be done by correspondence, while the AFASST course is generally conducted at one of several of our study sites in southwestern Ontario, Canada (eg. the Cavendish Trail Study Area). Accommodations for students of our Biological Field School may be available through our affiliate Bed & Breakfast program at Pinecroft, near Aylmer, Ontario, Canada. You may also rent an apartment in Aylmer, or camp at a nearby Conservation Area.
Q:Why are the prices and fees in US funds?
A:We advertize our Expeditions, tours, projects and programs internationally to people from all over the world. The majority of people applying are American, so there is a need to standardize the prices and fees charged to the American dollar.
Q:What are the exact steps required to become an FA and how much will it cost?
A:This also depends on the type of program and the discipline you wish to obtain experience in. If applying to general field biology programs, then there are 3 steps required to become a full-fledged FA for EARTHQUEST (Canada) if you lack 3-5 years of practical field experience and the ability to field identify 75% or more of the flora and fauna species on Canadian EARTHQUEST projects. These steps are; 1) the Level 1 General FASST Course, 2) and/or the General AFASST Courses (these courses are equivalent to the Level 1 & 2 bird and plant FAT Courses advertized through our Biological Field School), 3) the Level 1 FAT Course in management/leadership. These are the prerequisites required to becoming an FA for EARTHQUEST (Canada). Interns need only to have the Level 1 & 2 FAT Courses in birds and plants or the equivalent practical field experience from previous jobs. These three steps cost 700.00 CAD for the Level 1 General FAT Course, a minimum of $200.00 US for 3-5 days of general AFASST Course training at a Canadian project site and $700.00 CAD for the Level 1 FAT Course in management/leadership. This is the minimum cost to qualify and apply for Level 1 FA positions. All Level 2 FA positions, teaching positions, management/leadership positions are earned and must be obtained through graduation from our Biological Field School. If you are interested in receiving FAT training in primates or our Biological Field School then the costs will be substantially more.
Q:What is the age range of people taking the Expeditions, tours, courses, programs, or projects?
A:Generally, the age ranges from 18 - 35 years old with the majority of people applying as students in college or university level biology programs. Ocassionally, we may see older people apply who are in the mid to late 40s. The youngest person to have participated on one of our Expeditions was 12 and the oldest was 72.
To see testimonials about what past program participants have said about EARTHQUEST please go to Testimonials
E-mail: earthquestcanada@yahoo.com
Executive Director & Senior Instructor
D. Jolly, B.Sc.
EARTHQUEST Biological Field School
8122 Rogers Rd. S.
Aylmer, Ontario, Canada
N5H 2R4
Tel: 519-875-3340
©copyright EARTHQUEST (Canada) for the Environment
| Website designed and maintained by D. Jolly
Last Updated 12/12/08 |
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EARTHQUEST (Canada) for the Environment