Zoologist might be a perfect career path for you who love and care for animals, have an adventurous streak and do not mind to get dirty. As zoologist, you can work as a full time employee at colleges and universities, zoos, aquariums, museums, wildlife preserves, and state and national parks either caretaker or “keeper”, researcher, curator, or educator. You can also take on more than one position either part time or seasonally; or even combine jobs. There are also a very small minority of creative types in zoology who end up creating media to educate public about animals, such as the television hosts like explorer Steve Irwin, conservationist and artist Beatrix Potter, and oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques Yves Cousteau.
Your job descriptions will specifically depend on the type of work you go into. Most jobs in animal science rotate around studying and caring for animals where those two things sometimes overlapping. Research is integral to most zoological careers as is sharing findings with others.
Zoologist Education and Training Obligations
You almost definitely must have an advanced degree. A Master’s degree or even a Bachelor’s degree in biology or related field may get you a job in the field of animal life sciences, while a Ph.D. or doctoral degree is usually important for scientists who look to make a career out of independent research that is seen as feasible by grant donors and the scientific community. Furthermore, you are supposed to choose a college major that will make you able to succeed in the field of zoology should be neither too specific nor too vaguely related to what you plan to do with your degree, such as of course biology as the most versatile that will give you the widest range of potential career choices, as well as provide you time to think about what types of animals and environments you must want to work in.
Zoologist Incomes and Compensations
The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that in year of 2008, the median salary of zoologists was about $60,000 with zoologists who get paid below the median earned around $35,000 to $45,000 per year and zoologists who get paid more than median earned around $74,000 to over a $90,000. Specialized zoologists may earn different wages for performing equivalent or near equivalent work in their respective fields. For example, ichthyologists (fish scientists) are estimated to earn the annual salary of $30,000 to $60,000, while there is no real consensus on wages of some zoologists such as ornithologists.
Zoologist Certifications
Beside degree, you can also attain certification to help advance your career. Certification for particular safety procedures, like having finished a CPR or similar course, will make you desirable for a position for a position where you may put your self into dangerous situations. SCUBA certification is necessary for you who wish to get the job in some form of marine biology, as well as the ability to swim. You may also need to have certification to operate certain heavy machinery or vehicles.
