A passion for wildlife led me to APEM Group

In our latest blog find out what an average day looks like for Billy

My passion for wildlife and the natural world started at a young age. As a child you would have found me either in front of a TV watching any wildlife documentary or film, sat with an encyclopedia, trying to learn the most obscure animal facts I could, or outside, looking through ponds and woodland. As you can guess, it didn’t take me long to realize where my career would be.

Fast forward a few years and I went off to university in the most beautiful part of the UK, North Wales. No, I’m not biased at all! Being on the doorstep of Snowdonia and looking out to the Menai Straits and Anglesey wasn’t a bad place to live for a Zoology student. I decided to stay on at Bangor after my BSc and did a master’s by research using GIS as a tool for conservation and potential reintroductions of critically endangered species.

Next came the difficult job for many graduates and post-graduates, of getting a job in your chosen field and this is what led me to APEM Group!

A typical day in the life of an Image Analyst

Working within the marine division, we work on offshore aerial surveys. A typical day for me involves analyzing images from the various aerial surveys that we have. Depending on the day, it could be a survey off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea, the east coast of the USA, or down under in Australia! In these images, I have to locate the various fauna present and identify them as best as possible. As you can imagine, we get a lot of species and this can be difficult, but it is always really fun to find a great white shark, an albatross, or a pod of 50+ dolphins.

I am also involved in the data coordination of my team, helping out when needed with the compilation of data for each survey and getting it prepped for the next stage in the process.

The Image Analysis team at APEM Group is great. We are all at similar levels in our careers and have the same interests. As you can imagine, birds and marine mammals aren’t always easy to identify and so we regularly send images to each other to get opinions and tips, which is really useful.

The surveys we do across the world are also a perk. These are places with species, that not everyone gets to physically see themselves. Finding a group of penguins fishing out at sea or some extremely rare species can really make your day.

Do you think that the role of an Image Analyst could be your first step on the career ladder? We are always looking for enthusiastic and passionate individuals – take a moment to review our latest vacancies.