I’m hoping to study Zoology/Herpetology, and was wondering what some of my job Pathways/opportunities are? In the most optimal situation, I would love to work at a zoo, but I know it’s a long shot. Anyone have information or experience?
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You should check career outcomes - for zoology or animal science or your major of interest. At Purdue and that’s animal science, it’s about 55/35employed and not over the last two years with other things like school making up the rest.
It’s not the right comparison but find career boards with your exact major. Also look at zoo personnel and find their LinkedIn…where did they go and what did they study.
You noted UCSB on another thread ask them where their grads go
They say this below aboot careers on their page. Do some research. I put perhaps another link of interest below. Good luck
The Zoology major prepares students for graduate studies in biology at any major university. It is excellent preparation for professional study in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary science. The university offers an outstanding health science advisory system located in Cheadle Hall. The system advises and supports students interested in the biomedical sciences from the beginning of their undergraduate careers to their entrance into graduate and professional schools.
Students desiring immediate career entry often seek employment with local, state, or federally-funded government agencies or with the private sector. Such students obtain positions in wildlife management and environmental assessment, and with zoos and environmental impact firms.
Students interested in teaching biological sciences or conducting research at a university should plan to complete the PhD degree. Students interested in teaching at a community college should pursue graduate work at least through the master’s degree. Teaching at the junior high or high school (secondary) level requires the California single subject teaching credential. Students considering this last option should discuss their plans with the credential advisor in UCSB’s Graduate School of Education early in their academic careers.
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Thanks for the info!
Zoo internships are hard to come by and jobs even harder. While it doesn’t offer herpetology specifically, Otterbein is one of only a few schools I know of that have a zoo program. If you specifically want a zoo program, I think Otterbein is the top choice for this major due to its connections to the Columbus Zoo.
You may want to look into the Wildlife Conservation Biology or Fish and Wildlife major. This major is available at lots of schools and will leave you with much broader job possibilities. You can look within programs to see how many herpetology courses they offer, or search for who is doing herpetology research and where they are located.
Zoology is more about the study of classification and systems of animals, where Wildlife Biology will be more hands on and study populations, how animals interact with the environment, conservation and behavior. Would you rather spend more time in the lab or in the field? Zoology is very lab heavy while Wildlife Bio is more field heavy.
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I’d start researching zookeepers on linked in Where did they go? Go to the zoo Ask them
Miami U seems to have a robust major. They say:
Career Options
Those who seek employment immediately after graduation find positions in a variety of fields. Our graduates report job titles of naturalist, park technician, assistant pathologist, lab technician, technical sales representative, research technician, museum curator, fisheries manager, environmental planner, municipal zookeeper, environmental impact analyst, and high school biology teacher.
Michigan State has a track for working in Zoos in their major
You might research/ ask them outcomes from the track
They say
Career Options
Michigan State alumni Alumni work at:
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Conservation agencies
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Federal, state and local agencies
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High schools and middle schools
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Museums
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Research laboratories
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Wildlife management and preveterinary fields
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Zoos and aquariums
Alumni work as:
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Animal caretakers
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Biology assistants
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Computer specialists
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Cytogenetic technicians
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High school and middle school teachers
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Park naturalists
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Museum collections managers
Nashville’s zoo has a bunch of openings. They say similar in several I checked:
I think that I would focus more on in-field stuff, as the lab side seems not as interesting to me.
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Is it still possible to specialize in Herpetology, though?
A little more. The Los Angeles zoo - here’s a profile and one of the head folks at the San Diego Zoo who now podcasts but was an animal care provider and senior keeper.
I would talk to schools ( reach out to the departments and ask to set up a zoom with a current student and prof to ask about the experience and your desired outcome), and I’d talk to zoo experts - I’m sure they’d love to tell you their backgrounds
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Okay, thank you so much for all the information! It was super helpful!
You probably need a zoology/wild life degree before you can specialize that much. Some universities may have a herpetologist researcher or two and if you’re part of a special program (honors, undergraduate research..) you may be able to assist them - basically, going from grunt work/wash beakers to observing to research, if you’re good.
You may want to combine it with a minor or concentration in Environmental science or bio/statistics.
Contact people who work at your local zoos or zoos that you have been to more than once and ask what they studied, where, and what studies they’d recommend.
Good luck!
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Yes. But for the most part, your major will be Wildlife Bio and not Herpetology. I don’t know if there are any schools with specific herpetology majors.
S23 had a very specific interest in apex predators, so we’ve been down this road, but with a different focus. What you need to do is comb through schools and see who has a center for herpetology. Those schools will most likely offer the most classes in herpetology within wildlife bio and have professors who are doing research in that area. You might find there is also a specific herp lab run by one of the professors. Read their stuff, talk to them, once you’re enrolled, and try to get research positions with them. To really specialize in herpetology, you will have to go to grad school, but there should be many possibilities for you to study amphibians/snakes in undergrad. When S23 was considering Colorado State, we spoke with a student who was conducting amphibian research in Florida and Mexico, despite CSU not having a specific herpetology program.
Wildlife Bio majors must take a lot of chem, math, and research method courses, along with bio. There will also be courses on policy. The good thing is that some of these courses will involve field work, so you won’t be inside all the time. S23 has a 2nd major in GIS (Geospatial Information Systems) and minors in Statistics and Bioinformatics to support his research goals and to make him more marketable.
Here is an example of what I mean by a herpetology research center. This one is at Perdue and offers Undergraduate Research Experiences. These are great because they pay you to do research so you come out of it with a paycheck and experience. My son’s URE resulted in publication.IPFW Center for Reptile and Amphibian Conservation and Management
Perdue also has a herp lab. These tend to be more specific. Williams
However, if you search their course catalog, there are only 2 (higher level) courses that are specifically herpetology, while a couple of the intro courses/labs include some amphibian study, which seems pretty standard for undergrad.
They even have a herp club. https://www.instagram.com/pfwherpclub/?hl=en
I just pulled these up because Perdue was the first herp lab that came up when I searched, but you will find similar at other universities. It looks like the major at Perdue is called Wildlife.
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Thanks for the info!
Just a note that it’s Purdue (Perdue is the chicken company) and the first link and for the herp club are for Purdue Fort Wayne campus, which is not main campus.
The Williams lab however is in the Ag School at Purdue in W. Lafayette, main campus.
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Not saying it’s gut what you want but Delaware Valley comes up on threads related to animals (often horses) but has a zoology major and says this.
DelVal is one of only three four-year programs in the country that offer a zoo science degree, and maintains partnerships with local institutions to provide internships in animal care and public education. The zoo science major focuses on zoo and aquarium management and captive wildlife conservation. You will learn the aspects of zoo science and conservation, including husbandry, handling techniques, nutrition, disease, behavior, training and management, exhibit design, small population management, and personnel and facility management skills.
You’ll receive classroom instruction as well as hands-on learning, with more than 1,000-acres of land used in several courses as a living classroom. We have an on-campus colony of Allegheny woodrats, two small animal science labs and strong relationships with five partner zoos, aquariums and museums within the surrounding area. You’ll also receive training in the ZIMS, an animal record-keeping system.
In addition to the wide selection of animal science courses and zoo science-specific classes, you will complete an animal care internship and a public education internship at one of the University’s five partner institutions, which include:
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New Jersey’s Adventure Aquarium
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Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences
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Philadelphia Zoo
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Elmwood Park Zoo
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Lehigh Valley Zoo
Thanks, but I’m looking to stay in-state for college (I’m in Cali). Still helpful information though!
That may or may not be limiting. I know you mentioned UCSB - not an easy admit.
On the other list I sent before, I only see two year degrees in CA. Oregon State isn’t far and is on the WUE list (savings because you live in CA) so you might check it out. Humboldt is in state and has a program - so it might be another to look at in addition to UCSB. I don’t know if CA is based on desire or cost but Colorado State is well known too. May be “safer” admits to look at. Humboldt says this - so it must be it and UCSB:
- Zoology is one of the Biology Department’s most popular majors; it is the only Zoology major in the CSU system, and one of only two in California.
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I can attest to the strength of the Wildlife Bio major at Colorado State, and it is a WUE school. Montana State also has a great program and is also a WUE School and I believe will cost slightly less than CSU. However, you can’t beat Fort Collins.
But, I think you can definitely find a good program in CA. If you have the stats for Berkeley or Davis, they have well respected (general) programs, but it looks like there are quite a few good programs, I just don’t know the California schools well enough to weigh in on anything.
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Your undergrad degree program is likely to be (and should be) broader, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build a specialty for yourself within that.
One way to research the possibilities is to look for specific faculty members whose research would interest you. You can consider actually contacting them for advice, but even if you don’t, you can learn a lot by looking at their connections - labs, grad students, research partnerships outside the particular school, interest groups that they advise, and so on.
For example, the chair of the Zoology department at Cal Poly Humboldt is a herpetologist: Sharyn Marks Ph.D. | Cal Poly Humboldt
This prof at Whitman College (in eastern WA) talks about education pathways in this field, in the video that this page links to: Kate Jackson | Whitman College (Whitman offers merit pre-reads, which can help with assessing affordability if the school might be of interest. Their Semester In The West program is particularly cool and might be sufficiently adjacent to your interests to be worth a look.)
Those are just a couple of examples; searching the websites of other schools of interest will likely turn up more.
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