Necessary Qualifications

R

redpanda

Well-Known Member
Okay, so there's been a lot of threads on this sort of thing recently and my question has probably already been asked, but I can't find it so here goes...

I am deciding my A-levels soon so it would be useful to know what courses I should take which will (a) help get me into an animal management course (b) help get me a job at a zoo and (c) be useful in that job.

I can pick four options and, so far, I'm leaning towards Biology, Business Studies, Geography and Psychology (although, I'm quite good at Physics if I need two sciences).

I have looked on the websites of universities but this sort of stuff is proving hard to find (or am I looking in the wrong places?) so any help / personal experience would be appreciated.

Thanks,
redpanda
 
I think Biology will help, they usually specify that as a desired GCSE or A level. Same with English and maths (for whatever reason I don't know).
 
redpanda said:
Okay, so there's been a lot of threads on this sort of thing recently and my question has probably already been asked, but I can't find it so here goes...

I am deciding my A-levels soon so it would be useful to know what courses I should take which will (a) help get me into an animal management course (b) help get me a job at a zoo and (c) be useful in that job.

I can pick four options and, so far, I'm leaning towards Biology, Business Studies, Geography and Psychology (although, I'm quite good at Physics if I need two sciences).

I have looked on the websites of universities but this sort of stuff is proving hard to find (or am I looking in the wrong places?) so any help / personal experience would be appreciated.

Thanks,
redpanda
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Alot of universitys don't do animal courses as such but more science based courses, the best place to look would be agricultural type colleges that do degree level courses on animal subjects, places such as reasheath,bishop burton and myerscough etc.
 
just like to say, Reaseheath college and University of Chester do a good animal management course, (reaseheath better coz more hands on for zookeeper) (for future reference)

for A-levels, Biology Chemistry and physicis is a really good standing out, maths and english are also good, but Biology is a must and Chemistry is high up on the list,
 
EvilKittie said:
just like to say, Reaseheath college and University of Chester do a good animal management course, (reaseheath better coz more hands on for zookeeper) (for future reference)

for A-levels, Biology Chemistry and physicis is a really good standing out, maths and english are also good, but Biology is a must and Chemistry is high up on the list,
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Isn't that course taught between the two places? I was looking at this year.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

EvilKittie said:
just like to say, Reaseheath college and University of Chester do a good animal management course, (reaseheath better coz more hands on for zookeeper) (for future reference)

for A-levels, Biology Chemistry and physicis is a really good standing out, maths and english are also good, but Biology is a must and Chemistry is high up on the list,
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I'm rubbish at chemistry, but as I say can do physics so that's a possibility. Maths is out, too, but I'm alright at english so I suppose that could be in as well (however, I've heard it's mostly literature-based which isn't really my cup of tea).

And I think I'd rather go to chester university so I can visit the zoo!
 
taun said:
Isn't that course taught between the two places? I was looking at this year.
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dephends on which course, REaseheath you do 4 days at the college one day at the uni, the Uni does 4 days at the uni and one day at reasheath if that makes sense XD
 
These colleges are all well and good but I really feel that you cant beat the experience of someone who does the course whilst employed at a zoo. the trouble with alot of the collage students is they come in to full time employment and cant handle the day in day out animal care, food prep and customer relations. its a job for hard workers always has been and always will be but i dont feel the collages put this aspect across properly. but in the collages defence i have never been there but seen enough coming out and they havent been ready so it may have just been the individuals but to anyone coming in to the sector good luck and all the best.
 
robertwestby said:
These colleges are all well and good but I really feel that you cant beat the experience of someone who does the course whilst employed at a zoo. the trouble with alot of the collage students is they come in to full time employment and cant handle the day in day out animal care, food prep and customer relations. its a job for hard workers always has been and always will be but i dont feel the collages put this aspect across properly. but in the collages defence i have never been there but seen enough coming out and they havent been ready so it may have just been the individuals but to anyone coming in to the sector good luck and all the best.
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That is true of all industries.
 
It's probably an area I'd never get into (but I can dream), but is maths a must have qualification to do an animal management course of any sort?
 
The course is the thing you need on paper.

If you're about to choose A Levels, you have to prioritise biology. Then Chemistry, also environmental science if your college offers it (they often teach a conservation module). If you find out later on that working with captive stock is not for you, you'll need this A-Level to access biological science and conservation-based degrees at University. Believe me, you might love the work, but the financial constraints may mean you're having a rethink by 25.

If you choose a diploma or similar in Animal Management at a specialist Agricultural college, fees will be higher and your choices will be narrower than if you had done A-Levels. However, Bridgewater college for one does 'Foundation' degrees, which do not carry the same weight as full degrees but you can get the same funding as you would for a regualar BSc. They run one in Animal Management, and have a college centre at Paignton Zoo, where some of the courses are taught. It's easy to be tempted by this kind of direct access. Again though, be warned, this is like using your trump card as the governmnent will only ever award you a maximum of 4 years funding as a full-time student. Leave yourself with the most choices.

In my experience, many, many zoo keepers enter the profession with full BSc degrees. Its a myth that you'll be seen as 'over-qualified'. Zoo husbandry has grown up in recent years and it is considered a serious profession rather than skilled labour.

In my humble opinion, do your A-levels, include Biology (and Chemistry if you can hack it), and choose a good biological science or conservation-related degree at University if you can afford it. The only downside is the enormous debt.

Aside from all of this, the real way to get in there is to save for, and plan, to do placements. You don't need to fight for a work experience place at ZSL, the smaller places will be easier and you'll have less competition. Work ridiculously hard, show yr knowledgeable, don't show off, and you'll be remembered when you apply for a job there. Trust me.

One last thing - there's no rush. If you do the 'wrong' A-Levels for the kind of higher education you end up wanting, its not the end of the world. Many universities offer a one-year science foundation course tacked on to the BSc of your choice in place of these. You'd get funding from student loans for the full 4 years as if its a 4-year degree. You are also assessed for funding on the basis of your own income from the age of 25, going to university before then makes you reliant on your parents unless they are of a very low income. That may suit you, I don't know, and in fact if you can get lots of financial help from family then take it, as you have to be extremely disciplined to make it through university without that.
 
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I would recommend two sciences if it's a possibility, you might find yourself a little restricted with one depending what you want to do.You could struggle to get on some of the better BSc Zoology or Animal Science courses if that ever becomes the plan. Many like you to have the two, particularly if chemistry is the other.

I made the mistake of just doing biology, (I say mistake- I did it knowing full well two sciences are preferred and that I would get by OK without). I do have geography and I got good grades in both that and my biology. Bristol and York both turned me down for not having another science, but given I'm doing Ecology and Environmental Science Geography is about as helpful as Chemistry and most unis acknowledged that. It's probably quite different to what you are looking at I think, so if you ever end up looking for any biology BSc you might be kicking yourself without chemistry or physics. I think Johnstoni has put it well.
 
johnstoni said:
The course is the thing you need on paper.

If you're about to choose A Levels, you have to prioritise biology. Then Chemistry, also environmental science if your college offers it (they often teach a conservation module). If you find out later on that working with captive stock is not for you, you'll need this A-Level to access biological science and conservation-based degrees at University. Believe me, you might love the work, but the financial constraints may mean you're having a rethink by 25.

If you choose a diploma or similar in Animal Management at a specialist Agricultural college, fees will be higher and your choices will be narrower than if you had done A-Levels. However, Bridgewater college for one does 'Foundation' degrees, which do not carry the same weight as full degrees but you can get the same funding as you would for a regualar BSc. They run one in Animal Management, and have a college centre at Paignton Zoo, where some of the courses are taught. It's easy to be tempted by this kind of direct access. Again though, be warned, this is like using your trump card as the governmnent will only ever award you a maximum of 4 years funding as a full-time student. Leave yourself with the most choices.

In my experience, many, many zoo keepers enter the profession with full BSc degrees. Its a myth that you'll be seen as 'over-qualified'. Zoo husbandry has grown up in recent years and it is considered a serious profession rather than skilled labour.

In my humble opinion, do your A-levels, include Biology (and Chemistry if you can hack it), and choose a good biological science or conservation-related degree at University if you can afford it. The only downside is the enormous debt.

Aside from all of this, the real way to get in there is to save for, and plan, to do placements. You don't need to fight for a work experience place at ZSL, the smaller places will be easier and you'll have less competition. Work ridiculously hard, show yr knowledgeable, don't show off, and you'll be remembered when you apply for a job there. Trust me.

One last thing - there's no rush. If you do the 'wrong' A-Levels for the kind of higher education you end up wanting, its not the end of the world. Many universities offer a one-year science foundation course tacked on to the BSc of your choice in place of these. You'd get funding from student loans for the full 4 years as if its a 4-year degree. You are also assessed for funding on the basis of your own income from the age of 25, going to university before then makes you reliant on your parents unless they are of a very low income. That may suit you, I don't know, and in fact if you can get lots of financial help from family then take it, as you have to be extremely disciplined to make it through university without that.
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Thanks, this has been really helpful.

My school has a sixth form so I will stay on to do A-levels rather than a diploma and after that I plan on going to uni and doing an animal management degree (we can probably afford it if I get a job in the meantime).

As I said in an earlier post, I'm not very good at Chemistry so is this really vital? I will do it if necessary but, if it doesn't restrict me too much, I'd far rather take physics (I don't want to spend the next three years doing something I hate and get a rubbish grade at the end).

Finally, would I be better off to replace this second science with business studies or psychology (I am currently leaning toward the former) as both seem useful in a zoo environment?

Cheers.
 
To be honest whatever A levels you take it doesn't matter, what matters are the grades you need to get into university. Well at least thats what I was told. My advice to you is to pick subjects you enjoy, don't pick something that your going to find really boring. For my a levels I picked English lit, media, ict and travel & tourism and so far I'm loving it. Thats just my say :)
 
If you don't feel confident to pass chemistry, I would look at either environmental science or geography rather than physics. People often opt for physics but being better at it than chemistry maybe isn't enough of a justification. As the above post mentions, IT skills and good English are also very beneficial even though they may not seem immediately connected to working in a zoo. If you become a keeper, the more senior you become, the more data entry/management, and paperwork/report-writing you will do.

Taking A-Level business studies makes sense in a way, but it's not something you immediately need to worry about as you would be unlikely to go into management level at a zoological collection until you're a lot older. If you wanted to be involved with the animal-related side of a business, you would be looking at curator/animal collection manager, which people come to with a great deal of hands-on experience. I don't think a business studies A level would be useful to you unless you planned to do a similar degree at university, and then go for general 'management' roles such as Operations Manager etc, for which you wouldn't typically be required to have any animal management experience or knowledge as you wouldn't really be making decision involving the animal collection (this is what the curator/collection manager is for). The two roles are kind of separate in their specs usually.

This is all just in my experience, what you should do is comb through the different peoples' advice you have on this thread, and then take it to a careers advisor. But the key thing to remember is that right now, there's no rush and its fine to change your mind.
 
redpanda said:
Thanks again, Johnstoni and TLG, I have my fine-tooth comb at the ready!
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I would find out how many science a-levels you require to do the degree you want before you rule out physics. When I was a prospectus student, the usual requirement was 'two science a-levels, prefereably biology and chemistry', which does not rule out physics, especially if your grades are good. To me, as I said, geography makes sense, but rarely is it counted as a science by universities. If your sixth form does an environmental science a-level that'd be a good choice, but I don't think many do.

I also understand that business is often said to be beneficial just because it indicates the acquisition of certain skills, above and beyond just business management. I would've said that this'd be the case with English too- regardless of how or whether you'll use it a good english grade shows you are relatively intelligent and are able to articulate yourself.
 
Johnstoni in particular and others have given some great advice already on this topic, I think what I can add though is a "case study" of exactly what I did in order to get where I am today as a Keeper :)

First things first, from the age of 14 I worked both weekend days and every holiday available at a specialist reptile and aquatics shop near my school, I read every book and magazine we had for sale (I didn't have the internet those days!!!). Since I was already working in the kind of place I'd have chosen for Work Exp. at 15, I did mine at a local garden centre and enhanced my plant knowledge instead :D

Once I'd done my GCSE's I chose to do Biology (B), Chemistry (E!), Geology (A) and English Literature (B) at Sixth Form college.
While I was there I did voluntary work at Rixton Claypits SSSI, we had a free wednesday afternoon for work exp. I was working on habitat restoration for Greater Crested Newts.

At 17 I got the internet for the first time, not only did my knowledgebase expand rapidly (the internet is a wonderful resource so long as you can read critically!) but I setup and ran a website for the customers and reptile keepers that visited my shop and anyone else who wanted information for that matter. I was chosing the species to be stocked and people would drive from Scotland to Manchester to buy from us and receive my advise by this point!

At 18 I went off to Manchester Uni to do Biology and Geology, I commuted home at the weekends in order to continue working in the reptile shop.
I made sure every unit I was able to choose was geared as closely to my interests as possible, freshwater ecology, oil and metal pollution in water, palaeontology (x3), parasitology (x3). My second year dissertation was on the evolution of snakes, my final dissertation was on the evolution of aves.
Between my second and third years we had a field research opportunity, I went to Calahonda in southern Spain and studied the locomotive adaptations of the local house geckos.

During my uni years I also volunteered at the Manchester Museum Vivarium, housing rare and endangered Neotropical frog species primarily. I also co-chaired a new NorthWest Herpetological group, which got as far as meetings within the museum with access to the educational suite before a job opportunity left that endevour hanging.

A month after I Graduated, a friend emailed me with a job opportunity at Durrell, saying it had my name written all over it.
As it was I was experienced, but not nearly enough for a "Senior Keeper- Amphibian Specialist" position lol! I took a chance despite that and applied anyway, at the very least it is good practice.

My application must have read pretty nicely as I was actually initially considered a candidate! but rapidly dropped when the real candidate came on the scene (Whose wealth of experience never ceases to impress me even now!).
The strength of my application and the way it was written ultimately got me a job at a later date.
I was invited instead to do a studentship at the Trust in order to gain just that little bit more practical experience which might help me out next time.
I was a student from Jan 2007 for 3 months, during this time I pushed to do some kind of project, I worked on monitoring Alytes muletensis tadpoles with Visual Implant Elastomer (VIE) marks and a biometrics and then mixing project with Celestus warreni. (turned out biometrics told you nothing but put them in boxes in a row and you could visually determine the sexes hah!).

I'd determined that Durrell was the place for me and that I was in love with Jersey during these 3 months. I would find a way to stay and keep my foot in the door, I visited a local garden centre with a friend (notably the lady that did get the job :D ) and as we had a look around the pets department I decided I'd offer to take over their aquatics dept and turn it around as it was a sorry sight, obviously I was a bit more subtle about it than that and arranged an interview for the next day and got the job.
Ambition isn't shy.

I worked there as the manager of the aquatics dept for a total of 5 months and achieved a lot, it was a very enjoyable job and the initial pay was more than I am now on at the zoo after 2 years, :rolleyes: but it was simply a means to an end.
So in August 2007 when the curator of herps came to see me with a contract in hand I immediately said yes and started work 2 weeks later.

I've now been working my dream job for 2 years. This is how you could do it, pure determination and a dedication to gainng varied experience.
My A Level choices seem to have been useful for nothing other than getting onto my degree course, I don't think they were a consideration for my job now at all. As for my degree itself, it has stood me in good stead and prepared me well, but it is the least of my achievements in my opinion.
Don't over specialise, keep it broad within Biology and your options are always open :)
 
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