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As unusual as this request may sound, hear me out. I am not scientifically nor mathematically inclined. I thrive in areas such as english, photography, and history. I learn other languages rather well and different cultures excite me. My goals in life have always been the same: to travel and to be around animals (preferably exotic ones). As long as it is adventurous I would not complain. Whether I spend time in the Sahara or in Antartica I just want adventure.
I am at a loss as to how to achieve my two goals. My first instinct was to get a veterinary degree but with American College forcing me to take numerous higher maths that is no longer my ideal choice. I understand it would be the most direct way but I am hoping you all can shed some light on different avenues.
My second thought was to maybe get an International Relations degree and be some sort of liason or interpreter for people wanting to interact with animals overseas (e.g. Conservasionalist goes somewhere they aren't familiar with and I act as their go-between). Then my last great idea was to become a journalist and hope to get a miracle job for National Geographic.
I know these are the rantings of a naive young college student but please help me come up with realistic ideas to achieve my dreams.
A lot of high school students think it would be fun to have a career fooling around with animals, but have no idea what is involved. If you like domestic animals, then go volunteer in an animal shelter. You can become a vet tech with a 2 year degree. To become a veterinarian, it requires not only the same course work as pre-med, but also tons of field experience during and after college, stellar grades and it's a 100 times harder to be accepted into vet school than medical school.
To work with wildlife, seek out a volunteer job at your local zoo first. Often not easy to get. Try perhaps being an education volunteer rather than an animal management volunteer. Either way, you won't get all that close to the animals, other than as an observer due to liability issues. Be prepared to do physically demanding work in all sorts of bad weather. There are many organizations seeking conservation volunteers, but can be picky in their selection. Be prepared to pay your own travel expenses and housing. Sometimes, they might give you housing. Be in good physical shape and it helps if you have outdoor skills such as operating small crafts, 4 wheel drive vehicles, skiing, camping and hiking experience plus the necessary gear, scuba cert. etc. Most wildlife biologists are also expert photographers. Any sort of college degree in zoology, EEO, etc. is all science and math. Languages are an asset for international field experience, but that alone is not going to get you into an animal field.
I agree, volunteer at a zoo to get your animal fix and then get a degree that pays the bills so you can travel for leisure. Any job working with animals is going to require a LOT of science, math, not so much. Med/Vet/Dental schools pretty much only require one year of math and most are moving toward stats as the preferred math, but many still want Calculus I. You will need Chem, OChem, Biology, Physics and some upper level science courses for vet school.
Vet school isn't 100 time harder than med school for admissions, it's along the same acceptance rate, 42% for vet school and , however, the average GPA for admitted students is much lower.
You do not have to major in a science to go to vet school, just have to make sure you get the required courses. I'd volunteer at a zoo, do a job shadow with a small and large animal vet and see if it is really something you want to do.
Trust me. I do not just want to fool around. My passion lies with animals and culture. Sorry if I was not very clear, my ideal job would be the one that has me camping or in small housing with no running water. I realize what that entails and I am fully prepared to deal with the cons because I see so many pros.
Also, the job I wish to have does not have to be directly working with animals (although that would be ideal of course). Just being in the company of people who work with them so I can learn while my job is something different would suffice.
Volunteering at a zoo is something I am actually trying to do so I can just learn. I have also shadowed my local vet to gain more knowledge. However, I want to do much more than work at a zoo or vet office in the future. Again, I thrive for adventure.
My problem is this: what job would have me around animals and different culures? (journalist? Peace Corp? I haven't the slightest clue.)
Thank you for your helpful responses! They really have me thinking.
You are having trouble because there are almost no paying jobs that have you around animals in different cultures, especially without a related degree.
Wildlife photography comes to mind, but I don't see you making a living at it.
As noted in a post above, I imagine you can find some conservation/volunteer positions (and a zoo might be able to help with this), but expect to pay your own expenses. This type of experience may eventually lead to some type of paid job.
Trust me. I do not just want to fool around. My passion lies with animals and culture. Sorry if I was not very clear, my ideal job would be the one that has me camping or in small housing with no running water. I realize what that entails and I am fully prepared to deal with the cons because I see so many pros.
Also, the job I wish to have does not have to be directly working with animals (although that would be ideal of course). Just being in the company of people who work with them so I can learn while my job is something different would suffice.
Volunteering at a zoo is something I am actually trying to do so I can just learn. I have also shadowed my local vet to gain more knowledge. However, I want to do much more than work at a zoo or vet office in the future. Again, I thrive for adventure.
My problem is this: what job would have me around animals and different culures? (journalist? Peace Corp? I haven't the slightest clue.)
Thank you for your helpful responses! They really have me thinking.
If you want to do that kind of job, a wildlife conservation officer would probably be your best route, but that involves a LOT of science, so, if you want to do that, I suggest you attend a college that offers that major, suck it up and take the science courses and hire a tutor to get you through. Your interests are at odds with your educational strengths and that is the problem. Once you have that degree, you can start working at jobs to get your experience and hopefully get hired at a wild game park in Africa or wherever.
The problem (one of them) with working for National Geographic is that, like all print media, its editorial content has greatly decreased in the past several decades, and what is supplied is overwhelmingly supplied by freelancers with relationships with the society, versus payroll journalist. The other problem is that it's most jounalists/photojournalists' dream job.
As others have said, many jobs that are animal-centric are going to necessitate courses of study that you're not the most comfortable with. There are others, such as wildlife educators with zoos, parks, and community programs. I know, as an educator who has gone though interview processes for such jobs in the past, though, that it is not uncommon to have a strong preference for educators who have majored in sciences and been employed as science teachers. Probably somewhat easier to get into for someone whose interests and skills lie outside of the math and science arenas would be things like leading tours...you could, depending on the specifics of where you are leading tours, touch on animal life, but it wouldn't be your sole focal point. Doing things like photo safaris in Africa, the majority of the group leaders were, in fact, people with zoology backgrounds. But there are lots of places you can lead tours. You're not going to make bank doing it, but if the experience is worth more to you than making top dollar, it may be something you'd enjoy doing for a while.
Does your university offer any study abroad or volunteer opportunities in Africa?
What foreign language/s are you fluent in that you are going to be able to function as a translator?
You are not going to be any NPO's liason. How do you intend to get the experience to be known as an expert or go to guy for a particular area of the world? Intermediaries are almost always going to be in-country and bilingual folks who operate with the permission of their home government.
Volunteer, intern, study abroad, find out what NPOs make exotic trips, and find out what type of degrees they look for in potential employees. Research opportunities, speak with staff at the local zoos, and email people in the field and hope they respond with good advice.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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If you want to help animals and the environment, and you want to be able to find work, there is one area major non profits and NGOs are always looking for talent: development. If you can raise money, you can keep employed.
I found in seeking out jobs with major environmental non profits some time ago, my scientific background mattered very little, what they wanted was marketing and fund raising expertise.
What I meant about vet school is that since there are far fewer of them than medical schools and their programs are very small, it is especially difficult to get accepted into an American one.
But being a vet and working in wildlife conservation or wildlife biology are 2 separate areas and 2 different career paths. You need to pick the one that you want so that your choices are more focused.
After getting some volunteer experience, you could try for a seasonal job at a federal national park or a state park. The Audobon society accepts volunteers but they are also very selective. They have a journalism internship at their Manhattan offices, but again you need to be enrolled in a related science program, have some journalism background, and preferably have bird experience.
If you really want to do fieldwork with animals, you really do need a related science degree and as someone else said, it's mostly science and a little math, usually stats.
Take a look at the internship/volunteer opportunities listed with Smithsonian, NOAA, USGS, Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service, Audobon, Disney (yes Disney has a lot of Wildlife stuff) and you'll get an idea of what career paths are out there and the requirements necessary. Most people specialize in an animal area like "birds" or small mammals. Marine biology is almost a separate entity. Even though you'll probably never use much of the chem, orgo, physics that will be required, you'll have to take it anyway in school.
There are also science journalism programs at the graduate level for people who already have a science degree. Still a tough field to get a paying gig. As TabulaRasa stated, it's almost all freelance these days and again, getting those type of assignments is like getting a leading role in the latest Spider Man movie.
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