Anyone know a good bit about the Zoologist profession?
Asked by
Trance24 (
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April 25th, 2008
I am going to be going to collage in two years I have wanted to be a zoologist since I was ten. But I was wondering once I graduate where do I begin? What is a good way to get involved and get a fairly decent job that will later get me involved with conservation, and in depth studies of animals. I am especially interested in later being able to actually go out on expeditions in the natural habitats of the animals. All in all in a nut shell it would be like Im Steve Irwin.
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I might highly recommend going to graduate school for zoology or biology after college. I was actually very recently approached to audition for a Steve Irwin-ish TV show because of the field I am in, but I’d rather stay in school. I have several years’ experience as a zookeeper, a Master’s degree in biology/tropical ecology, and am currently in a PhD program for Physical Anthropology. So evidently those are good things to have under your belt if you want to have the career you are describing. It sounds like a pretty long road ahead for you I’m sure, but it may be worth it.
Also, there are many paths to the same career, so my path may not be the right one for you. You may decide that a bachelor’s degree will provide you with enough know-how and background information to become a zoologist, but I assure you that a graduate degree will help a great deal. And the good thing about graduate school in the sciences is that they pay you to go to school. Graduate students also get to go to really cool places around the world to study animals in the field, and most of the time they get grants to pay for that as well.
Let me know if you have more questions about this.
@brown; Speaking of “really cool places,” don’t forget to mention to trance24 how delicious the food was on Madagascar.
Ah yes, Malagasy cuisine….rice, rice, and more rice. I’d steer clear of things that you cannot peel or boil, lest you end up with a nice parasite!
Lol, that’s the same experience I had in Laos, brownlemur. Talk about the rice diet.
Trance24, brownlemur is exactly right – if you truly want to do field work and behavioral studies, you need to look into post doc programs. And hopefully I don’t offend Irwin fans when I say that if you look around at some of the scientists doing amazing research/preservation/conservation, you could find a much better example to model yourself after.
@brownlemur Thanks so much for your advice I had already planned on furthering the profession as far as possible. Including getting a PHD. Yes a long road of work but definitely looking forward to it.
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