confused desperate and depressed HELP!

C

cateyes221981

Member
hello

i am going through a really hard time in my life just sold a business and got a lot of extra money and have not been doing anything really as i just dont want to go back into a non animal related business again.


an ultimate dream would be to open my own park or zoo but i am not sure how realistic that is?


i have been thinking of taking courses or something and having a totally new career

i have a degree in business and was hoping someday to have my own animal related business but for now i was thinking of just working with animals

i am in desperate need of some guidance does anyone here know what may be a good choice if i just want to work with animals?
 
My suggestion? Go to a proper financial adviser to put your money into safe, worthy investments whilst you work out where your life is going.

Do not seek reliable career advice from 95% of people on this website, including me. Zoochat has a skew towards young males (half of us are males under 30), many with dreams of opening a zoo! You'll get plenty of offers of help and advice from people without the financial wherewithal to put their dreams into action, wanting to live vicariously through you.

People to consider contacting directly about zoo ownership on this site would be "MRJ" and "Steve Robinson". Current and former zoo employees here would include, and this is by no means a comprehensive list, "rookeyper", "torie", "Chlidonias", "Peter Dickinson", "Hix", "ZYBen", "jbnbsn99", "Zoogiraffe" and "Al". That list includes both keepers and other staff.

Zoo volunteers, if that is of interest, include "Arizona Docent" and "mstickmanp".

I hope that this enables you to sort out the useful advice from the not so useful. My first suggestion, however, is that you get financial advice from a professional source.
 
thanks but the only reason i brought up money was to say i9 had some to invest in a businesss or program or courses if need be i just want to find some sort of life path as to what i want to do from here on
 
Ok. For all I know you're a multi-millionaire. On the assumption that you aren't, it might be a good idea to park your money for a while, and let it grow, whilst you get some experience - even just volunteering - in a zoo or similar environment.
 
Maybe the title of the thread was a bit too dramatic, don't you think, regardless of your aparent desire to work with animals. I was a bit concerned when I saw and clicked on the thread, and maybe others were too, I honestly thought when I clicked on the title that this was a suicide message!
 
lol no far from millionair


other then volenteering what other options? i was thinking of maybe animal training courses?


do u have any ideas of things i could do that may help a future business in animals like having a hobby farm or exotic bird breeding etc.. . which could eventually lead to my own zoo sactuary
 
well it was dramtic cause its the way i feel trapped and no one to guide or help all i know is i love animals and spent the last 10 years working in a business that has nothing t od owit h them :(


it is very depressing wasting ur life away when u have no idea what u want to do i am desperate
 
I would strongly suggest as a start you contact Toronto Zoo (or any other wildlife facilty in Ontario) and find out what the local, state and federal laws are for keeping and displaying wildlife in Canada. Because if you can't meet Canadian legal guidelines/standards or whatever, everything else you do will be a waste of time.

Then speak to some keepers, they may give you some ideas. Maybe, instead of a zoo, you could set up something else like a wildlife shelter, or become a rehab person for the local vet and authorities. Or, if you're already experienced with parrots or reptiles, setup your own business breeding them for a living or as a part-time hobby.

:p

Hix
 
I agree with CGSwans. It may be a good idea to invest it for a bit. I started in an entry level zoo job 18 months ago and I'm really happy with it and am also involved in other zoowide endeavors that are leading to better things. Maybe give something like that a shot.
 
Just to throw some ideas out... I work as a catsitter and dogwalker in the UK, which is something you could possibly do straight away. You don't really need any qualifications, however you do need to be insured and to have some kind of reference of your trustworthyness. I don't know what the equivalent would be in Canada, but I had to get a police criminal records check, and got a letter from them saying they've no records about me.

Dogwalking can be done 9-5, Monday to Friday (though I get some weekend bookings). You have to be happy to pick up poo and go out in all weathers (a good waterproof jacket is a very good investment!). You can't have a sick day without arranging cover.

Catsitting is 7 days a week and I rarely get days off as bookings overlap. In rural areas catsitting might involve actually staying in the client's house, but I visit 1 or 2 times a day and can be visiting several cats at once. Cats may not be friendly: I've had blood drawn on a few occasions. On the other hand many of the cats I work with I visit time and time again and have built real relationships with. Holidays are busiest for catsitting (when other people are going away, you are flat out...). At Christmas I can be out for 14 hours, walk about 14 miles per day and still have paperwork to do when I get in. I tend not to get to watch the Christmas telly.

I've also looked after small pets: a good line if you have space at home. I'm not able to at the moment (5 cats at home...) but I do visit someone's hamster in their home.

I work through an agency, which means I have someone who handles bookings, getting money off clients etc, and also means they can usually arrange cover if I need time off. If you do think the job might be for you, think about joining an existing operation rather than starting your own.

For the future I'm hoping to do a second degree in Animal Welfare and Behavior. This will qualify me to work as a pet behaviorist, which is what I'm working towards. However the course I'm looking at also includes a lot of practical work with exotics, and I believe many off the course go on to be zoo keepers (I'm going to be a little on the old side for that once I finish!). If you want to do a course, a degree in Animal Welfare/behavior/management might be something to look for: no idea what they have in that line in Canada!

I really know little about working in zoos, but my impression is it would probably be better to get some experience, even experience with none-exotics, and think about working towards joining someone else's zoo rather than starting your own. I really think you need to get your hands dirty and see if you really like it before you are going to get far with it. Just about any job with animals is going to mean getting wet, cleaning poo and unsocial hours. If you are happy with that, good luck!
 
I think you've had some really sound advice here.
For what it's worth my best advice to you personally is not to react - to avoid a knee jerk reaction to you feeling, frustrated, trapped etc etc you really need to try and get a bit of perspective in your life at the moment - park the cash somewhere sensible and low risk for the time being - it's not going to disappear and it'll be of more use to you once you can think objectively about what you want to do with your time and where you want to go in your life?
I've been in almost the same position and I find taking time out an just being around wildlife helps me focus my mind as well as giving me an enormous sense of peace - I know it's a small step but go and spend some time with wildlife in a social sense - take your camera and set yourself a project to document something of interest to you in the area you live (if you can't find something photogenic in Canada I'll eat my hat & yours!) or maybe give yourself a topic to study at your local zoo/wildlife park? Anything that will allow you to take a few deep breaths and be a little more structured about making future plans? Either way - good luck and enjoy this site too - I know I certainly do!
 
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I would second what Karoocheetah said above, particularly about not jumping into things; take the long view of life at these 'crossroads' moments if you can - I know I wish someone had given me this advice at various times.

I would emphasize to research anything you get into with animals and make sure it conforms to your ethical standards (and find out what those standards are, and why you hold them in the first place). There are a myriad of dodgy animal experiences, volunteering opportunities, etc, etc, out there waiting to exploit the unwary. Also, a zoo workplace is not all fluffy-bunny land; it can be quite brutal in many ways, and if you become surplus to requirements for any reason you'll be out of the door & forgotten pretty quickly. If you're a volunteer / intern or suchlike, you're basically free labour on two legs however it's dressed up, although of course you can also benefit from this relationship.

I would also say (on a positive note) that in my experience many workers in smaller zoos have a quite unusual and varied nexus of relationships with their employers & co-workers. For instance, I could imagine someone with your business background performing a variety of office / retail / education / animal roles all in the same job description. Having many strings to your bow is a huge advantage in this scenario! You may even be able to have a sort of sub-business symbiotic with an established zoo.

Certainly in the UK there are plenty of animal care courses ranging from vocational to degree level (one of these qualifications is essentially what you need for UK zoo work, don't know about Canada), so a change in career is always very do-able. Hope this helps a bit!
 
cateyes221981 said:
i have been thinking of taking courses or something...
Click to expand...

To the best of my knowledge (although I do not work in the industry, only volunteer), the best way in America to fast track into a good zoo job is to enroll in the exotic animal program at Moorpark College. This is a two-year community college near Simi Valley, California (just northwest of Los Angeles), that has its own on-site mini zoo. They focus on hands-on training of wildlife and have an excellent (I think) placement program. It is very demanding, so ideally students should not have to work during the two years. If you have enough money to live in southern California (which is not cheap) for two years and pay for the school, it might be worth checking into. There is a really good book about it called Kicked, Bitten and Scratched. Here is a link to the school site:

Exotic Animal Training and Management - Academic - Departments - Moorpark College
 
I would suggest you go to your local college that offers animal care courses and speak to a careers advisor there. They will be able to let you know about opportunities local to your area.
 
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