Zoo keeper requirements
- Thread starter Edd
- Start date
Member with experience as a keeper here,
You need at least a Bachelors degree in biology or another similar field form a four year university to get hired. Most importantly you will need experience; volunteer as much as you can at your local zoo or anywhere else that involves working with animals. The more experience you have the better, as the zoo industry is a very competitive field to get into and that’s what people will look for above all else. It will also help to make contacts to help out in a good name for you, and be prepared to learn new things about animals and about yourself. Always remember, zookeeping isn’t cuddles and selfies.
Oh, and welcome to ZooChat!
Requirements differ based on country and zoo.
In Germany, a zoo keepers needs to have "Ausbildung" (vocational secondary education), basically, after high school (Matura), you get accepted at a zoo to do a 3-year program that is a combination of school lessons and practical work in a zoo. After 3 years you pass exams and you are a qualified zoo keeper that can start looking for jobs. Free places for Ausbildung in Germany are highly competitive. Zoos don´t hire people without Ausbildung certificate for keeper jobs.
In the Czech republic, we have 2 vocational schools where you can study to be a zookeeper. You start after you get basic education (15 years old) and it´s a 4-years program with Maturita exam at the end, education is free but you pay ca 40eur/month for boarding (usually 2 people per room so normal student accomodation). One school has an agreement with Prague zoo and its students do their internship there. However, way less than 50% of keepers in Czech zoos have any education related to biology, animal keeping or veterinary. When zoos hire people, they will see it as an advantage, but you can get hired without it. Turnover is high, people are starry-eyed only to realise the job is not filled with cuddling animals the whole day and pay is abysmal. Also, economic cycle is important, CZ zoos have problem to find employees and will accept almost anybody when unemployment is low (I have seen positions advertised for many weeks during years 2017-2019). Zoos post open jobs on their website and you need to send a CV, that is all, any relevant experience and related education will just increase your chance to be hired.
In Germany, a zoo keepers needs to have "Ausbildung" (vocational secondary education), basically, after high school (Matura), you get accepted at a zoo to do a 3-year program that is a combination of school lessons and practical work in a zoo. After 3 years you pass exams and you are a qualified zoo keeper that can start looking for jobs. Free places for Ausbildung in Germany are highly competitive. Zoos don´t hire people without Ausbildung certificate for keeper jobs.
In the Czech republic, we have 2 vocational schools where you can study to be a zookeeper. You start after you get basic education (15 years old) and it´s a 4-years program with Maturita exam at the end, education is free but you pay ca 40eur/month for boarding (usually 2 people per room so normal student accomodation). One school has an agreement with Prague zoo and its students do their internship there. However, way less than 50% of keepers in Czech zoos have any education related to biology, animal keeping or veterinary. When zoos hire people, they will see it as an advantage, but you can get hired without it. Turnover is high, people are starry-eyed only to realise the job is not filled with cuddling animals the whole day and pay is abysmal. Also, economic cycle is important, CZ zoos have problem to find employees and will accept almost anybody when unemployment is low (I have seen positions advertised for many weeks during years 2017-2019). Zoos post open jobs on their website and you need to send a CV, that is all, any relevant experience and related education will just increase your chance to be hired.
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I wanted to add (but could not edit my post anymore) that "Ausbildung" program everywhere in Germany is always a paid position, means you get paid while you study!
On the other side, Czech vocational schools offer usually unpaid or very badly paid internships as part of their curriculum.
I have, just for fun, looked at those Czech schools. The prestigious one is at SOU Čakovice (in Prague suburb). Its zoo keeper students live in dormitory and eat in school cafeteria, and do many internships at Prague zoo and one long at Dvůr Králové zoo (if you see young people wearing green overalls in a zoo, it´s them) and sometimes abroad. Last year they got 71 applications and accepted 30 students.
The less known and pretty new program is at SŠZT Litomyšl (rural eastern Bohemia). It offers to students a dorm, cafeteria and getting driving licence for scooter, car, truck and tractor. They keep their own animals within school areal (including 600 herp and fish tanks see pic Nové centrum chovů cizokrajných zvířat | SZAT Litomyšl ). They do internships at zoos Dvůr Králové, Brno and Wroclaw. Last year they got 64 applications and accepted 60 students.
I do understand that OP is most probably not interested to study here due to language barrier and low living standard. But maybe some young people from post-USSR or Balkan who speak any Slavic language would like this option for a zoo career? With maturita from Czech secondary school (or local university diplom), you also automatically get right to work and stay in CZ for life.
On the other side, Czech vocational schools offer usually unpaid or very badly paid internships as part of their curriculum.
I have, just for fun, looked at those Czech schools. The prestigious one is at SOU Čakovice (in Prague suburb). Its zoo keeper students live in dormitory and eat in school cafeteria, and do many internships at Prague zoo and one long at Dvůr Králové zoo (if you see young people wearing green overalls in a zoo, it´s them) and sometimes abroad. Last year they got 71 applications and accepted 30 students.
The less known and pretty new program is at SŠZT Litomyšl (rural eastern Bohemia). It offers to students a dorm, cafeteria and getting driving licence for scooter, car, truck and tractor. They keep their own animals within school areal (including 600 herp and fish tanks see pic Nové centrum chovů cizokrajných zvířat | SZAT Litomyšl ). They do internships at zoos Dvůr Králové, Brno and Wroclaw. Last year they got 64 applications and accepted 60 students.
I do understand that OP is most probably not interested to study here due to language barrier and low living standard. But maybe some young people from post-USSR or Balkan who speak any Slavic language would like this option for a zoo career? With maturita from Czech secondary school (or local university diplom), you also automatically get right to work and stay in CZ for life.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Remember that any application you make for a keeper job will also be made by dozens of other people (maybe even hundreds) with the same academic qualifications as yourself or even higher. The zoo will have a desk full of applications to sift through before offering interviews. To get through this process you will need to stand out in some way from the crowd.
Many zoos routinely recruit from their volunteer base, sometimes exclusively; or from recommendations.
@Andrew Swales
Could you describe an average education and relevant experience of a person that gets the keeper job at UK zoos at the end? I mean for junior position.
Could you describe an average education and relevant experience of a person that gets the keeper job at UK zoos at the end? I mean for junior position.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
This will vary considerably between zoos, especially zoos of different sizes and keeper numbers. For a junior, starter position most will have done some kind of full time vocational course at an agricultural college (many of which have exotic animals or even small zoos attached) after leaving secondary school. I would think that in small zoos most new junior keepers have this level of qualification and not a degree, larger zoos might be different. In our case, all of our recent junior recruits have been volunteers here in the past. More senior positions are usually filled in-house too if possible, but a senior (cat-keeper say) coming in 'un-known' would need a good cv and references from within the industry to be followed up by personal checks.
Which also means that they are pretty much acting as "zookeeper farms" for Prague and Dvur as the few lucky graduates who actually end doing zookeeper's job go mainly to those two...
And many other, Jihlava is also one of thier major destinations.
Going a bit more off-topic (quite possibly this whole could be moved to a new thread, something in lines of "Roads to zookeeping in your country" or something
), Other than those two, in Czechia, there is also ton of veterinary/agricultural high schools which are also a possibilty for young people to get the "right" education (but honestly, sometimes it still doesn't matter at all...) And if you are crazy enough to actually do an university degree, Prague's agricultural university has a specialised degree of sorts, South Bohemian university has something like that as well and other options are Veterinary University or Agricultural university in Brno.
I think with passing time, zoos are preffering relevant education when they are hiring new staff more than they used to. In the past, it was often the other way, when a zoo hired a keeper and she/he turned out to be a person with outstanding talent for animal care, then the zoo would reccomend him/her to absolve the SOU Čakovice or even get Bachelors (during evenings and on weekends) so they get official education and can get higher salary or can enter curator role - almost all our larger zoos are public-owned and thus have to pay their staff according to state pay scales.
Last month I have seen ad of Zoo Tábor looking for bird and mammals curators and they asked for relevant education as a hard requirement, suprise surprise. Either university or secondary school, fresh graduates welcome, salary circa 1000 eur per month. Not bad for a small private rural zoo.
Of course, but sometimes, you have to take what is available...
Owned by a person with 3,5 billion CZK net worth that must be said though...and apparently not great reputation as an owner...
I haven´t heard much about Tábor so I´m not sure what are you hinting at. However a real estate tycoon needs sharp elbows and certain crooked character to succeed in our jungle so no suprise if he is not the most pleasant person.
UK here. Aside from the (usually) level 3 animal management qualification, you also (usually) need 1 or 2 years paid experience in a zoological collection to land a job. Other ways around this are to volunteer, do an internship or apprenticeship.
My one big piece of advice is this....make a portfolio of things you have done and made to send along with your application. It really does strengthen it, and I believe that this will become more and more common in job adverts. I don't mean pics of you hugging animals or hanging up a mango, but genuine practical skills. We want to see that you know how to use tools, to build enclosures, to make inventive enrichments (again, not stuffing a pepper or making a birthday "cake" out of cabbages). If you're genuinely handy, it goes a long long way towards landing a job.
My one big piece of advice is this....make a portfolio of things you have done and made to send along with your application. It really does strengthen it, and I believe that this will become more and more common in job adverts. I don't mean pics of you hugging animals or hanging up a mango, but genuine practical skills. We want to see that you know how to use tools, to build enclosures, to make inventive enrichments (again, not stuffing a pepper or making a birthday "cake" out of cabbages). If you're genuinely handy, it goes a long long way towards landing a job.
Why would anyone want to be a keeper? Often a hard physical, dirty, thankless job, with low wages and not much chance of advancement. You also need lots of patience and a certain empathy with animals. Be also aware that at times this can be a fairly dangerous occupation. You will often be bitten and suffer scratches etc,. etc.. These animals will not be pets that you can cuddle up to! Best job in the world!!
The job is difficult but extremely rewarding. When I go out in my uniform, people often stop me to ask how certain animals are doing, when the best time to buy tickets are, or just to thank me.
Every keeper got to their position a different way. Many went and got a bachelor’s in a biology or conservation field. Some got a specific zookeeping technology associates which is offered at a few schools in the US. Some got there through internships and volunteering to get their foot in the door.
Right now, there is a bit of a culture shift in the field with a lot of changing ideas about animal welfare and how zoos operate daily interactions wise with guests so zoos are looking more and more for keepers that are a cultural fit rather than those with the most experience. Keep that in mind when applying.
Every keeper got to their position a different way. Many went and got a bachelor’s in a biology or conservation field. Some got a specific zookeeping technology associates which is offered at a few schools in the US. Some got there through internships and volunteering to get their foot in the door.
Right now, there is a bit of a culture shift in the field with a lot of changing ideas about animal welfare and how zoos operate daily interactions wise with guests so zoos are looking more and more for keepers that are a cultural fit rather than those with the most experience. Keep that in mind when applying.