Internships

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Internships

In-Field Career Opportunities and Internships

Thanks to the international approval and recognition of Global Vision International’s expeditions, GVI is able to offer a large range of jobs, internships and other exciting career development opportunities to our expedition members in the fields of education, research, and environmental and wildlife management.

By participating on a GVI expedition you will receive the training and experience you need to apply for these field positions. As well as the enjoyment and training that you gain by joining an expedition, these field positions offer valuable opportunities to further your training, increase your hands-on field experience, learn a new language or simply enjoy working abroad.

Expedition Internships:

At the five week stage of your ten week expedition you will be given the opportunity to apply for an expedition internship. An expedition internship allows you to stay on at your expedition (or sometimes move to another GVI expedition), for a further 10 weeks at NO ADDITIONAL COST from GVI.

If you are successful in your application to become an intern you will, in effect, become an unpaid staff member; assisting the expedition staff in the day-to-day running of the expedition and the training of new expedition members.

By doing an internship you are putting yourself in a stronger position to apply for paid field positions.

Other Field Work Opportunities:

At the five week stage of your ten week expedition you will be given the opportunity to apply for a field work position with one of GVI's international partners. Field work positions can be paid or unpaid, and range in duration from one month to one year. Examples of these positions are: monitoring programmes in National Parks around the world, teaching on tourist programmes and developing interpretive materials for environmental centres.

Key Points for Internships and Fieldwork:

It requires long term commitment, from three months to up to two years
Applicants must attend a 10 week GVI expedition for selection and training
Participants get the chance to gain valuable work experience and/or change careers
There is no fee for placements.

Application Requirements:

To apply for a field position you must have completed a 10 week GVI expedition within six months of applying. You can apply for any field position whatever your expedition's focus or location. GVI reserves the right of selection. You will be able to apply for a career opportunity five weeks into your ten week expedition.

Case Studies

Laura Chanona

Laura Chanona is 26 and has a Bachelors degree in Marine Biology from the Autonomous University “Facultad de Ciencias del Mar” located in Southern Baja California, Mexico. Participating with GVI as part of an NSP (National Scholarship Programme) was the perfect way for Laura to increase her knowledge of the Caribbean Sea and its reef ecosystem, whilst having the a opportunity to interact with people from other countries and cultures, as she explains:

“Evident throughout the entire expedition was the staff’s professionalism, amazing knowledge in their various fields and their general organization and coordination skills that lead to the smooth day-to-day running of the base. As part of the project, GVI runs a community programme and my involvement in the environmental education activities and the community English lessons provided me with some of the highlights of my volunteer experience. I was presented with real hands-on work and this helped me to understand the social and environmental needs of this fast developing region under the demands of a growing tourism industry. “To be a part of GVI has not only allowed me to increase my abilities as a diver, to learn scientific techniques to monitor underwater and to appreciate the dynamics of the coral reef ecosystem, but it has also enabled me to further develop my skills as a group leader and search for other methods to generate and transmit scientific data to the community. This is most important because the community as a whole is responsible for caring for and managing its resources in a sustainable manner. It is for this reason that I consider the National Scholarship participants as a fundamental piece to link the local community with GVI, which is an organization devoted to continually searching for new and better programmes to benefit the locals.

Andy Cameron

In April 2004 Andy joined the Mexican expedition in Pez Maya as a paying expedition member. Andy is a mathematician by profession and has a maths degree from Bristol University. Five weeks into his ten week expedition he applied to stay on for a further ten weeks as an intern – and was chosen. After a successful internship, Andy applied to become a full time paid staff member and joined the staff team in Mexico at the end of 2004 where he still works for us to this day. Andy is now a qualified PADI Divemaster and an RYA Level 2 power boat driver. He has used his time with GVI to become a very capable field researcher and is now an experienced marine biologist with a strong statistical background. He has also helped to develop a comprehensive teachers guide to pass on environmental awareness and English to local children and adults.

Visit GVI’s Careers Abroad Section

Our Careers Abroad website is packed with field work placements and job opportunities across the world in the fields of sustainable development, conservation, and biological and zoological research. All positions have been carefully selected by Global Vision International and our partner organisations, to give you the opportunity to increase your practical field work experience and let you enjoy working abroad whilst assisting some of the most critical conservation and humanitarian projects in the world.

Click here to visit GVI's Careers Abroad website to view the latest jobs and careers in the field.