Thank you! I hope I do make it one day
Who Wants To Work With Animals?
- Thread starter Valentinoamor
- Start date
I grew up in Florida during 1950's to 1966 and worked parttime and fulltime at a private zoo and city menagery now both extinct. My goal was to become a zookeeper and earn $10K per year. That did not happen. I ended up earning 4 college/university degrees and worked for several organizations in fish and wildlife conservation for 30 years, now retired and living an enjoyable life on my retirement income in spite of CV-19. I am still an avid zoo visitor(455 facilities worldwide) and surfed hundred of additional facilities online. I still maintain my private chelonian collection and 2 companion rosebreasted cockatoos. My wife is a very understanding retired microbiologist and we have ecotraveled throughout the tropical seas and countries. I could not have planned a better career and lifestyle.
Jess_Greenwood
Member
I am really hoping to get a job as a keeper, the end goal would be with a range of felids, but I generally enjoy working with all animals.
I have an MSc in Zoo Conservation Biology but kind of thinking it might be a waste of time cause most zoos in the UK want a DMZAA which I don't have. I've volunteered before at my local zoo and I used to work at an aquarium with otters which I loved. I'm also currently a volunteer zoo ranger, engaging with members of the public while the talks aren't on due to covid.
Sadly the jobs now are fewer and far between than they were before so sometimes find it difficult with the constant rejection!
I have an MSc in Zoo Conservation Biology but kind of thinking it might be a waste of time cause most zoos in the UK want a DMZAA which I don't have. I've volunteered before at my local zoo and I used to work at an aquarium with otters which I loved. I'm also currently a volunteer zoo ranger, engaging with members of the public while the talks aren't on due to covid.
Sadly the jobs now are fewer and far between than they were before so sometimes find it difficult with the constant rejection!
You never know. Just gain experience.
When I graduate high school, I'm planning to go to Cornell University in New York to study to become an ornithologist. Once I graduate, I plan to work at a large zoo taking care of and studying birds. The #1 zoo I want to work at is the San Diego Zoo but if that doesn't work, I'll gladly work at a zoo somewhere in New York, probably the Bronx Zoo.
I wish you the best of luck. All zoos have birds, so you'll most likely be abl to find a job somewhere. I don't think keepers are often able to pick and choose what facility they work at, I think they just take whatever openings they can find.
I wanted to as a teenager, specifically as a vet and specialising in zoo animals. I even did a few weeks' work experience at a vets (mostly pets and livestock with nothing exotic) and really enjoyed it.
When I properly looked into the requirements/qualifications etc., that changed pretty quickly. I like to think I'm fairly intelligent, but the A' level subjects/grades alone, just to even be considered for a uni place (followed by an incredibly long time at uni), turned me off it completely.
Working with animals in some capacity is never off the table in the future, but, to be brutally honest about it, I'm in a well-paid job now and don't want to give that up (yet). I could see myself going down the volunteering route when I'm older and not working full-time any more, but as a career option, it's not going to happen.
When I properly looked into the requirements/qualifications etc., that changed pretty quickly. I like to think I'm fairly intelligent, but the A' level subjects/grades alone, just to even be considered for a uni place (followed by an incredibly long time at uni), turned me off it completely.
Working with animals in some capacity is never off the table in the future, but, to be brutally honest about it, I'm in a well-paid job now and don't want to give that up (yet). I could see myself going down the volunteering route when I'm older and not working full-time any more, but as a career option, it's not going to happen.
My childhood dream was to be a zoo keeper. Unfortunately art long taken my interest. On top of how much resumes you need to actually be hired for the job.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
If you don't mind me asking , what made you leave academia ? I think you absolutely made the right decision by the way
and well done for taking that leap
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Given that women still tend to choose partners of similar or higher financial and social standing, good luck finding and keeping your Dr. Sugar Momma.
That is a bit of an archaic idea and though it is probably true in many cases it obviously is going to depend and vary widely according to the individual woman and what her core / intrinsic values are.
Some women might view a partner working in a career with wildlife as being of a higher standing than other more lucrative careers due to their own adherence to their ideals or a shared interest and these can be attractive traits in a partner.
It was never a conscious mating stategy on my part but its worked out well for me and my Dra. though I live simply and frugally and don't rely on her for my self esteem (never a good strategy to rely on others for this anyway) and earn my own money.
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If you don't mind me asking , what made you leave academia ? I think you absolutely made the right decision by the way
I was scared by the sixth mass extinction/climate change into wanting to take a more immediate and proactive approach to conservation. A PhD would take 5+ years of research, plus possibly endless postdocs after, and who knows what might go extinct in that timeframe? I ended up leaving my Masters program in Aquaculture after I found out that nobody there really worked on breeding endangered fishes, and I even called the project I was working on (immunology of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) "unheroic" in the grand scheme of sustainability. I didn't think working on making a common food fish more common was a project worthy of my effort.
So I'd rather start working for a zoo or an NGO like the WCS, while collecting rare reptiles, fish, and insects and breeding them on the side. However with COVID it has become challenging to get hired.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
I think that you absolutely made the right decision and I admire you all the more for having done this and for being heroic in this sense. It takes a lot of courage and endurance to take the road less travelled in life and in conservation. It puts me in mind of these quotes :
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference"
-Robert Frost
"Once they thought of becoming heroes: now they are sensualists. The hero is to them an affliction and a terror. But, by my love and hope I entreat you: do not reject the hero in your soul!"
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Very interesting project by the way , what endangered fish species are you breeding in particular ?
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I haven't started breeding any endangered fish yet, but if I ever set up the project I'd go for goodeids, pupfish, and killifish. I believe if harnessed properly the global pet trade can be a force for good in terms of conservation (chinchillas, axolotl, etc.). A lot of animals are actually pretty easy to rear, and I don't know why people don't collect even more.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Once again I agree with you that captive breeding for the pet trade can be harnessed for good to reduce pressures on wild populations and I think that it is an interesting project for sure. It is currently being done successfully with the Dendrobates frogs in Colombia for example.
However, one thing I would disagree with you on though is in regards to the axolotl as this species is not really benefitting from the pet trade (though I truly wish it were).
This species was subject to at least some pressure of overharvesting from Xochimilco historically for the pet trade but the real cause of decline has always been due to other greater stressors such as pollution, introduction of invasive fish species and overharvesting for human consumption. Sadly, until these wider issues are effectively managed the future of the species in the wild will always be precarious.
The genetically wild type is important for conservation purposes and so the leucistic axolotls commonly kept as pets are not useful. To some extent even with the wild types in the pet trade there has been a fair amount of hybridization between ambystoma species so this is a bit of an issue too.
I do think the pet trade does raise awareness of the plight of the species to many people and this is obviously a very good thing but I have yet to see this industry (or the medical research or pharmaceutical industries for that matter which also exploit the animal and make a lot of money from this) contribute anything meaningful to the in-situ conservation of the species.
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It might be "archaic", but it is apparently a pretty successful strategy, given how often you can encounter it all over the world in various societies. There might be a few cerebral, progressive and self-confident women who can withstand the social (and financial) pressure when choosing otherwise than the majority. However, when the relationship progresses, priorities tend to change. And when the first offspring is due and the need to settle down arises, previously progressive attitudes are often thrown out for more conservative alternatives on a whim.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
True and good point but I think you are being too reductive in ascribing this so widely as there is a huge plasticity to human female behaviour. For example, you can often encounter the same socio-biological phenomenon of women "marrying down" or bucking tradition (in terms of marrying or carrying out relationships/ romances outside of their social strata and even cuckolding "high status" men sometimes leading to children) across the world too.
In fact this occurs everywhere from highly industrialized societies to hunter-gatherer tribes and throughout historical epochs. History is full of examples of this even in ages where the social costs and stigma were huge and there is also a rich vein of literature, folklore and mythology based on this which points to it being a perennial phenomena and very much a part of the human condition / sex / love.
Again, good point but I would counter that not every relationship has procreation / children as the end goal (especially in the 21st century) and also as I've described above there are often cases where conservative value systems are those that are thrown out on a whim.
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Also, it's difficult to assume people want to have children in this day and age, especially in developed nations during a recession and with young people pessimistic about the future of the world and society.