What are the career opportunities of Zoology?

Question

ive always loved watching zoo keepers specialising in certain animals and in their care eg. big cats........

ive just wanted to know after i study zoology in college what do i need to study after that to specialise in big cats.........

And im really confused between General Practioner and a zoo keeper...

I love animals and want a good future with a good job but i dont know my parents always tell me i should be a gp and kinda pressurise me into thinking its best for me although it is but ive always had a love and passion for animals and ive always wanted to save lives and make a difference between them.....My parents are afraid that i may not be as secure in such a job as i would be as a GP.

What are your opinions on this? My opinion is that im doing the job and noone else is and but im afraid that if i ever have a family that i could leave my kids wothout a mom because a small mistake with an animal.........

Thanks for you advice in advance.........

Answer 1

You don't necessarily need a zoology degree to become a zookeeper. Some other degrees might be:

Zoology, Mammalogy

Zoo Science/Technology

Animal/Exotic/Wildlife Management and/or Training

Animal Science

Wildlife/Exotic/Zoo (biology, care, ecology, conservation, education, etc)

Ethology/Animal Behavior

Contact a zoo or big cat sanctuary for advise on how to specialize working with big cats. In college also take any kind of classes that relate to cats. (even learning about domestic cats can help you understand the big ones).

See about gaining some experience with animals; before, during, and after college (volunteer, internships, job shadowing, etc). See what volunteer opportunities your local zoo offers. They might have a jr zookeeping program. If not, a lot offer camps, and even being a camp counselor will give you good experience working at a zoo. You could also see about other camps (summer camp at Big Cat Rescue, zoology camps,etc). There are many other ways to gain experience. (the camps and/or jr zookeeping might help you decide if this is the career you want)

I hope this info and the Y!A below helps. Good Luck.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

I have a love for tiger and i want to no how i can work with them.?

http://animalscience.calpoly.edu/areas_o...

http://www.tigerhaven.org/

http://www.amazon.com/Kicked-Bitten-Scra...

Answer 2

There are many issues to consider regarding a career working with animals. You have to accept that you will occasionally make a mistake with the animals in your care and what the consequences of that mistake might be.

I've been bitten by more kinds of animals than I care to list, but none of these animals was capable of killing me. And every time I've been bitten it was because I made an error of judgement or I wasn't paying careful enough attention to what I was doing. Working with big cats is risky but if that is your passion then I think you will have a hard time finding a safer alternative that will satisfy you.

All careers in science carry risks. Biologists get parasitized, chemists are exposed to toxic chemicals, physicists to radiation, earth scientists to volcanic fumes, as examples. We choose our careers in spite of the risks because we can't imagine ourselves doing anything else. However, you will learn in the course of your studies how to take care and protect yourself from the most obvious and common problems.

I've provided some links you might find interesting. Good luck with your career choice.

Answer 3

Security, either financial or safety-wise, is not much of a factor. Most zoos are municipal and, even if the jobs were not unionized, municipal employees are usually in for life. Most of them turn file-cabinet grey so that you can't even find them when you are trying to cut costs. ;-)

It also doesn't take much intelligence to avoid going into a cage with one of the big cats unless it is tranquilized. You are probably more likely to be killed before your time as a physician.