Is wildlife biology degree good for me?

Question

i am a senior in high school and plan on gettting a degree in wildlife biology in conservation. would this be a good degree for my goals?

i want to work with tigers in a zoo and help conserve the very few that are left.

i want to educate others on the importance of tiger conservation and all animals conservation for that matter.

i mainly see myself in a zoo as a big cat curator or education director. thanks for any info you can give me

Answer 1

Wildlife biology, wildlife management, or zoology should do.  You should start volunteering or interning now for your local zoo.  Also, check out tiger conservation organizations for opportunities as well. If you start out as a keeper you may not necessarily work with big cats at all..most zoos will place you where you are needed not where you want to be.  Lots of people want to work with big cats so these positions are very competative.  You can go for ONLY applying for big cat keeper positions, but these may be few and far between.  You may be better off getting your foot in the door first as a keeper of any animal.   Of course ANY hands-on experience you can get working with big cats will help.

Answer 2

My fiance has a wildlife biology degree.  She makes more working at a vet clinic as a tech then as a zoo keeper.  And yes, you will need to start as a zoo keeper.  Curator and high end education positions are everyone's end goal with this degree.  Most zoo's have only one curator.

Not to discourage you.  It's a very interesting and rewarding degree.  We just couldn't afford to live on a zoo keeper salary.  There are a lot of volunteer opportunities available where you can get your wildlife fix, in addition to making money.

Check the AZA  job listing in the sources and you can see what is out there and the kind of competition there is.  Even at the top, there is relatively little pay.  So if you want to do it, make sure it's because you love animals and are willing to work as a labor of love.