In this episode, Tom and Jamie talk with Josie, a National Trust countryside manager in North Devon. Josie’s career has been anything but straightforward: she left school after GCSEs, trained as a mechanic and served five years in the REME before embarking on higher education. With life experience but no A‑levels, she contacted universities directly, persuaded them to give her a chance and eventually worked her way up to a PhD.

Burnt out by academia, she turned to nature and began volunteering with the National Trust, living in a tent for six months while supporting herself with part‑time work. That led to an apprenticeship as a ranger and eventually to leadership. In her current role she leads a team of nine across a 2 700‑acre estate, balancing day‑to‑day estate management with large‑scale nature recovery projects.

Countryside managers are responsible for developing and managing landscapes, ensuring public access and conservationsuccessatschool.org; they must coordinate habitat restoration, oversee staff and volunteers, manage budgets and secure fundingsuccessatschool.org.

The National Trust notes that countryside managers provide strategic direction, leading teams to deliver landscape‑scale conservation while ensuring visitors enjoy their experiencenationaltrustjobs.org.uk. Salaries range from around £22 k to £34 ksuccessatschool.org. Josie advises service‑leavers to be persistent, seek volunteering opportunities and remember there are many routes into land‑based careers.

00:00 Introduction & podcast purpose: Tom and Jamie summarise the goal of creating an “evergreen” library of land‑based career stories.

02:50 Meeting Josie: She describes her varied background—from dropping out of school and working as a vehicle mechanic to joining the REME, and later pursuing higher education.

07:00 Choosing university without A‑levels: Josie explains how she negotiated entry to university, earned a psychology degree and later completed a PhD.

11:15 Leaving academia for the outdoors: Burnt out and seeking meaning, Josie emailed the National Trust and secured a volunteer placement, living in a tent and working for free to gain experience.

14:00 Ranger apprenticeship & career progression: Josie undertook the National Trust’s three‑year ranger apprenticeship, learning practical skills such as hedge‑laying, fencing and path maintenance. She later became an area ranger, managing conservation grazing and livestock.

17:45 Countryside manager role: Josie now leads a team of nine across a 2 700‑acre estate. Countryside managers are responsible for day‑to‑day estate management and the strategic delivery of landscape‑scale conservationnationaltrustjobs.org.uk. They oversee habitat restoration, monitor woodland safety, manage access, and engage visitors, whilst also ensuring...