Struggling to make a decision and need help!

T

Tamara

New Member
Hi everyone. So I've just been offered a position working at an accredited zoo with the animals I enjoy, and for a dollar more than I make at my current facility. At first I was ridiculously excited, but shortly after I feel like my brain flipped a switch and started thinking about the fact that I'm 31 and not making enough to actually live a financially stable life. I've made so many sacrifices for this field and I've been met with supervisors who are condescending and discouraging, working in a facility with an owner who cares nothing about the animals, only money he makes from visitors. I can't go on vacations because I can't afford to save up enough to go on one. I can't afford emergencies like suddenly needing to buy a new car when mine ultimately kicks the bucket. A few months ago I needed new tires and practically had a stroke when they told me the total. I live away from my entire family and never get to see them. I feel like my brain is constantly thinking ahead, like if I work here for a couple years I can roll into another position at another facility and so on and so forth and maybe, MAYBE, at some point actually be paid a decent wage for my education and experience by the time I'm, what, 50?... not a feasible plan. So I'm considering leaving the field despite being passionate about what I do. It seems like there's really no career growth potential and salary growth is a concept that genuinely hasn't hit the zookeeping world yet, and tbh, I don't foresee it ever doing so. Despite ALL THIS, I am still struggling to decide on whether to give up, call it quits and move on while I'm still young, or keep pursuing the seemingly unachievable: a decent paying keeping job in a decent area.

This new job is in a big city which honestly I'm not a huge fan of. And while it's cheaper to live, it would still be financially comparable to my current life. My parents have given me the opportunity to move home and live rent free while I go back to school for a more lucrative career in Healthcare such as occupational therapy or diagnostic sonography. It wouldn't be a huge leap for me as I did have a previous career in Healthcare before deciding to make the leap and pursue something more exciting. But these jobs would give me far more financial stability and I figure I could always get my new career started and then volunteer with wildlife in some capacity. Side bonus, if I do pursue this route (despite the thought of moving back home giving me indigestion) I could move wherever I wanted and find a job, unlike in zookeeping where you have to go where the job is.
So I feel like I have three options and would love to hear your opinions... Option one :I take the new job, move (again) to live in a big city despite not being a fan of big cities and continue trying to work my way up (to what I don't know)
Option 2: I turn down the job and leave my current facility, move home and figure out what trade works best for me
Option 3: turn down the job, stay where I am despite not being happy, and figure out what else I may be passionate about and pursue it
Option 4:?????

Long post, I know, but what do you all think?
Thank you for reading!
Tamara
 
When you close your eyes and picture yourself in 5 or 10 years, what do you see? Which outcome could live with, if things didn't go well?

Based on what you described, I'd say go with option two. Unfortunately zookeeping is a profession that makes very little income for a lit of demanding work. You could still volunteer at a zoo, to continue the passion a bit, while making more money.
 
TinoPup said:
When you close your eyes and picture yourself in 5 or 10 years, what do you see? Which outcome could live with, if things didn't go well?
Click to expand...
I'll push that further: when you imagine your life in 30 years what do you see?
In addition to being able to afford new tires when you need them, you also must either save for retirement or work at a physically demanding job until your body falls apart and you are old and impoverished while you still have decades of life ahead of you.
Too often we hear "do the job you are passionate about" with little regard for becoming financially independent. (A philosophy which serves the business owners very well as it keeps you poor while they prosper.) Do the job that builds your happy successful life. Don't choose a career that sucks out your soul; but also don't pick a path that leaves you living in a camper when you are 70.
Make the decision that will give you financial security soon and far into the future. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities in every community to work with animals. But if you don't have the education or motivation to move into upper management in one of the better zoos (where pay is decent) then zookeeping will leave you high and dry in the time you most need financial security.
If this new opportunity is the next step in a successful career in zoos then go for it. If it is another dead end then get serious about taking care of yourself.
I am sorry that you have to make this kind of decision. I am also glad you are thinking about it relatively early in your career.
 
I would advise you to choose Option 2 and move home to assess your career opportunities while saving some money. I've never worked in a zoo in my life, but I've visited more than 500 different zoos and aquariums and I've met plenty of individuals who love working in those facilities. The problem is that many of them slog through extremely long hours, in physically demanding and stressful positions, for hardly any money. I personally know keepers who have made things work because they have a partner who has a slightly more lucrative place of employment, but it's well known that most zoo employees are only slightly above the poverty line.

If you remain working at a zoo, then you can fulfill your dream of being able to care for tigers, tamarins or tayras, but you'll never be rich unless you're a famous zoo director at a major, established zoological attraction. Keepers work all summer long, often staying late or coming in early, rarely getting vacations and not being able to afford nice things in life like a new car, a big house or overseas holidays unless they have a partner to shoulder the financial burden. Don't take the job at an accredited facility just so you can make a dollar more than you do now, because you'll be in a big city that you already don't like and you'll remain as poor as you are now. Move home rent free, go back to school to pursue a more lucrative career, and continue to visit zoos as a hobby (or passion!) when you are financially stable. :)
 
TinoPup said:
When you close your eyes and picture yourself in 5 or 10 years, what do you see? Which outcome could live with, if things didn't go well?

Based on what you described, I'd say go with option two. Unfortunately zookeeping is a profession that makes very little income for a lit of demanding work. You could still volunteer at a zoo, to continue the passion a bit, while making more money.
Click to expand...


I think that's honestly why I'm having such a difficult time making this decision. I've spent the last seven years or so I've focused on nothing other than school and work. I thought I knew what I wanted. I did an internship monitoring shorebirds and really enjoyed myself, but knew I wanted to pursue something more permanent as most field jobs in conservation are seasonal or temporary appointments, so you're applying for jobs every few months. Then I worked in wildlife rehab for two years which was a lot of fun and very enjoyable. It too was an internship though so when it came to an end I needed to find steady work and the majority of my experience was in animal husbandry, so I ended up kinda of falling into zookeeping. But now here I am, broke, living in an area that is WAY too expensive to actually live on my pay, struggling to put money aside for even moving let alone j unexpected money emergencies like fixing my car or needing the doctor. I need a crown too, but the insurance I have only covers 40% of a silver crown... So I need to fork up almost a thousand dollars to get my crown done... Have a I done that? Nope... No way could I afford that. I know I need to find a more lucrative career. I don't need to be rich... All I want is to be able to afford a small house somewhere, have a dog, a small pottery studio in the backyard... And be able to afford to go to the doctor or dentist without panicking about the cost. But then I feel like I would be giving up a dream of mine even though at this point i feel like I've lost touch with what that dream is.
 
If your choices were that easy advice would be fairly simple. Unfortunately, it is not ... you are caught between a rock and a hard place, I guess. Zoo keeping is a wonderful profession and admittedly towards little pay (at least at most facilities).

Better pay and a better job in health care perhaps? Did you like working in health care? What are the joys and perks of that job?

What are the prospects of this job at the accredited zoo (you were not clear on that)? You complained about the dire work culture at your current facility, how does this compare to the new zoo job?
 
Hi Tamara,
If it helps you, many people on this forum faced the same tough decision before - to admit that they must change their interest in animals to a hobby because they cannot support themselves from it.

Behind the well-known tragedy of endangered species, there is another tragedy of people who start work and break careers because of the bare necessity of avoiding poverty. Mind you, it is not trading your life dreams for a luxurious life of expensive cars and a big mansion. It is simple financial stability.

Overall, among people starting to work with wildlife, zoos or biology, probably 99% leave sooner or later because of financial reasons. I wish it was more widely known from the start to the people starting this type of career path. Among others, waiting carries a significant cost, too. After some years in a zoo, you are perceived as a risky hire in many companies.
 
You might give that new zoo job a try. Set yourself a limit, lets say 12 months. If you still see no improvement in your quality of life or clear path to promotion, move on and change career.

However healtcare is really stressful place with long shifts, overtime and burnouts. If you want to go there just for job security, instead of love for such life, it could be another dead end.

If you look for a new path, how about coding bootcamps? Usually takes ca 3 months and leads to good jobs with steep pay rise as you gain experience. Plenty of those jobs offer option for fully remote work nowadays so you could move somewhere cheap and rural or spend some time just traveling around.

You can always volunteer at some animal facility when you feel itch for it.
 
I would pose an option 4 and consider which parts of your current (and alternative offered) role you particularly enjoy. Is it the physical nature of the work? The environment? Simply having the opportunity to be surrounded by animals? The relationships with the individuals animals? Answering this could provide some alternative career paths that still fulfill you. Healthcare and zoo keeping are not that far apart in some respects and there are many overlaps that could perhaps provide a solution.
 
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