The people with the ‘best’ jobs in wildlife and conservation are generally well qualified. That doesn’t mean to say that they all have botany, zoology or biology degrees, or that they are fully qualified environmentalists, though this is certainly true of many. If this is your preferred route, there are many universities that offer degree courses in Countryside Management, Environmental Science, Ecology, Marine and Fisheries Science, Conservation, and many other relevant subjects. But, more importantly, universities are now increasingly offering degree courses that are made up of self-contained modules, making it possible to tailor a course to your own needs and aspirations.
Many other people working in conservation are qualified lawyers, accountants, teachers, publicists... and so on. A great many different areas of expertise are needed, and by no means all conservation-oriented work requires knowledge of conservation or takes place in the field. Just imagine how many different professionals are required to run a complex multi-national organisation such as the World Wide Fund for Nature, for example. But whatever subject you have chosen, as a general rule, most of these professionals have completed some form of further education. Having said that, there is also a role for general office staff, without higher qualifications, and it’s by no means unknown for a secretary or personal assistant to move into a managerial or field-based position. If this is your aim, it is still important to develop new skills and gain more knowledge specifically in the wildlife and conservation field.