Ecological Restoration Master's vs. a more conventional degree?

[diremouse]

Hi all!

I'm very interested in the Ecological Restoration Master's offered by Simon Fraser University and BCIT (In British Columbia, Canada). I feel like it has the perfect balance of field work and diligent research to check all of my particular boxes, and everything I read up on this program makes excites me. I know I would love being in the field of ecological restoration or conservation, and this master's genuinely seems like my perfect fit. HOWEVER! It's relatively new (started in 2015), and is the only master's degree of it's kind in Canada according to the SFU and BCIT websites. This uniqueness is what makes me hesitate. When I look at education requirements for a job as a restoration biologist, the suggestions are the more common master's like conservation, ecology, environmental science, zoology... all of which I'd enjoy, I'm sure, but the Ecological Restoration Master's sounds so perfect.

So, what I'm asking is this: is taking this Ecological Restoration Master's a risky choice? Would I be safer taking a more common degree? I'm worried that by taking it I'll be pigeon-holing myself.

I've tried emailing around asking about graduate employment trends, but I haven't heard anything back yet; In BC all of the university campuses are closed due to pandemic, so I think that is definitely a factor in why I haven't heard anything. The application deadline is coming up fast so I'm very eager for answers so I can make my decision. And so, I've come to you, people of the internet who are probably at home anyway! If you've taken this program or know someone who did, I would absolutely love to hear about first-hand experiences!

Thanks, everyone!