animal related careers?

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Tillygizmo

My kids have 4 feety's
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
946
Location
NJ
Hey guys long time no talk. Mostly because im having a quarter life crisis. See, im a full time clinical social worker at a psychiatric screening center. I basically decide whether or not people are commited to a psychiatric hospital against their will. I went through 6 yrs of schooling and im suddenly thinking im in the wrond field. Im miserable. Its something i once loved but im now realizing the only time im truly happy is with animals. Im considering going back to school all over again. Im researching different animal related careers (that i can make a living doing). Anyone here go to school for zoology or wildlife conservation?
 
Zoology is something that I always want to do. I want to major in the rodentia field, and you dont have to go to school for too long! Sounds like the perfect career.
 
I'll be starting zoo school in the fall. I will be attending Santa Fe College in Gainesville, fl. I've done my time at the university here and decided zoo school is more for me. This school is one of two in the country accredited by the AZA and has its own zoo, which the program is all hands on in the zoo. The other one is in California I think. Something to look into if you want hands on zoo experience. :)
 
I got a bachelors in Zoology. Loved it. The classes, for the most part, were great and really what I wanted to learn about in undergrad. I also was required to do an internship for my degree and it has been the best experience of my life.
I used my Zoology degree as a jumping off point for vet school. I want to do exotics and feel it gave me a great background. I could easily go towards the zoo vet spectrum, or just do exotic animal private practice.

Zookeepers can make a decent living. You could also go into research, field work, teaching, and many other things.
 
I'm about to graduate with a BS in zoology. It's an extremely interesting field. You learn a lot about all animals and biology in general. There are a lot of government careers as park rangers and other field studies for bio and zoo majors. I'm hoping to get a job with one of the parks for wildlife conservation and education. You can also get jobs in zoos or wildlife sanctuaries, but you would need to volunteer at those places while you are going to school to get in experience.

If you really want to do full on studies and conservation where you are leading or working hands on with getting studies started, you need at least a master's in zoo. I'd love to get my master's, but the work required for it is a little too much for me. It's like getting a PhD in most other programs where you have to create a master's thesis and do studies on your chosen field with a PhD professor for a few years. Then you have to present your research to a board of PhD professors and defend your thesis to hopefully have them accept your years of work as worthy of a master's.
 
Raisinggrace, how long is your program? Im on the east coast and can easily go to FL while in school. Rutgers (in newark nj) has a BA in zoology but it seems all science and no hands on...hmph.
 
Tab, how long did your program take? Was it more in classroom or hands on?
 
It's not a program, it's a degree. Having a degree in the zoological field will take you a lot farther and let you do a lot more hands on with animals. You have to study and learn about the animals if you want to properly help with their conservation and if you want to be able to educate others. The classes leading up to my zoological classes had little to nothing to do with animals. My zoology classes, however, have been very hands on and packed full of information. For Herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians) we spent a weekend in the desert catching and studying snakes, lizards and frogs. For Ornithology (the study of birds) we made several field trips to botanical gardens, wetlands, etc. to see the wild birds and learn about identifying them in flight or just in their natural habitat.

You get more "hands on" in zoology when you go past a bachelor's into a master's or PhD program. Undergrads can help grad students with their research. I'm helping on a couple of projects, mainly preparing frozen specimens for skeletonization and several of my friends are working on measuring bite force in collared lizards and population statistics of western fence lizards. Not all schools are reptile oriented though. The main zoo professor at our school got his PhD in studying different types of lizards, so that's what the grad students under him are studying.
 
Ive been looking into volunteering at a local zoo to see if its for me... i know it is, but id like to
Learn about it some more before commiting. Thank you for the info:)
 
The zoo program at Santa fe is a 2 year degree program. I think the exact title is an associates in zoo animal technology. The program can transfer to other four year programs but it's really limited. The program is 100% hands on work in the zoo the school houses which is basically like being a zookeeper from 8-5 every day of the week and some weekends. You have to make the food for animals, you do clinical rounds with the vets and all maintenance and cleaning on habitats. So it's basically like being a zookeeper and going to school at the same time :) I don't think it's for everyone but if you want all hands on experience ( and bookwork) with exotic animals then this could be a great adventure. I personally would have been starting my fourth year at the university here for psychology and I just finished my minor in business....but it's just not for me and I wish I would have realized that before I had wasted my time and thousands of dollars. The program also gives you an edge over ther degrees in like biology and zoology because it's all hands on and most of the employers I have talked to prefer the experience :)
 
I went through 6 yrs of schooling and im suddenly thinking im in the wrond field. Im miserable. Its something i once loved but im now realizing the only time im truly happy is with animals.

I'll take a different approach here. :))

It's might not be the field that is making you miserable but the job and the people. The drive to revert back to more schooling is the need for an environment where you felt comfortable and in control - maybe the feeling you could accomplish something or more stability.

Once you have a 4 year degree you can go anywhere. I'd try keeping your current job and volunteering at a job that you think you really want to do. Explain to them why you want to volunteer. On the job training is far more valuable than a degree and if it's the right place for you and you really get on with the people they will make it happen to get you on as part of the team.

I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd enjoy engineering or even consider that I would be in this field. The work environment and the company make all the difference. I know I appreciate my pets more doing office jobs than when I am working with other people's pets or horses all day.

Good luck!
 
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