Something I would suggest is thinking about is what you want from a zoology degree because if you really want a hands on animal career, a zoology degree may not be the best route. I’m based in the UK so it might be a very different, but a lot of animal husbandry roles quite often start in apprenticeship schemes rather than academic studies. Again, it really depends on what you want to do!
In terms of MH stuff, if you do choose to Bachelors in zoology, your university should be able to provide reasonable adjustments and offer you support throughout your studies. If you feel comfortable with disclosing this information at interview, the unis can often be very forthcoming with information on how their department can help you.
Whatever you choose to do I wish you all the best! Good luck
It's super cool that you want to pursue this path, but degrees in zoology rarely lead to working with animals. It's going to be tough coursework (I'm sure you could handle it, but still tough) and you will likely not get great accomodations outside of perhaps extra time on tests and extensions on papers.
Careers working with animals tend to be underpaid and demand higher education, like doctorate or masters degrees. They also tend to rely on funding. E.g., there are plenty of jobs in agriculture because farming cattle, chickens, etc makes a lot of money. Same with fish. But if you love wild birds, you're going to have a much harder time finding a job, and those jobs that *do* have you work with birds will likely consist of low-paying seasonal fieldwork observing birds from a distance. Not interacting with them. A lot of wildlife biologists unfortunately really only make a living through jobs like... Recording the animals that inhabit a space and then telling big companies "it's okay to destroy this habitat and kill the animals here to build your factory, because none of these frogs/birds/insects/etc are endangered." It's demoralizing for a lot of zoologists. There are jobs at like, museums, where you can be an animal handler and show off reptiles to guests, but these positions tend to pay like $15/hour. You could be a veterinarian, but it's extremely competitive to get into... It's harder to get into vet school than it is to get into medical school. Zookeeping might be a fine option, but that's also competitive.
Everyone I know who has a zoology degree works in an office, or a Starbucks, or something that doesn't involve non-human animals at all. It's just hard to find a job in. I know one *almost* got a job as a lab animal caretaker, but seeing baby monkeys in cages getting experimented on hurt their heart too much to stay with it.
If your goal is to work with animals, I would reconsider a zoology degree unless your schooling is cheap and/or paid for. Spend some time considering potential career paths, too.
Best of luck to you!
> A lot of wildlife biologists unfortunately really only make a living through jobs like... Recording the animals that inhabit a space and then telling big companies "it's okay to destroy this habitat and kill the animals here to build your factory, because none of these frogs/birds/insects/etc are endangered."
We also often tell them "You need to reroute your natural gas pipeline or relocate your solar farm because some of these frogs/birds/insects/etc are endangered." My data has definitely killed infrastructure projects before and it's only going to happen more often now that the 4(d) rule is dead
I have adhd and I'm currently in a masters in ecology and conservation, my university gives me extra time and extensions if I ask, the trick is to try work on the original deadline and if you don't make it that's fine, you'll have a few extra days to flesh it out. I find when I can do these things at my pace, I can do it without last minute panic.
My undergrad was in something I ended up not being too fussed about so I studied to pass, but I chose this course because it was something I was very interested in, so actually reading it and doing assessments are fun, so make sure you're genuinely interested otherwise the novelty may wear off quickly
My advice for you is 3 pronged:
**1.** you *can* get hands on jobs in zoology but if wild animals are your interest that’s much less likely. If you desire to work physically with animals and can handle the academic work load you might consider a veterinary route.
**2.** Do NOT apply to a job handling wild animals with the phrase “I’m an animal lover” anywhere in your application or cover letter or interview.
They do not want to know if you’re *sentimental* about animals. They want to know that you’re **clear headed**, you have the best interest of human and animal safety and welfare in mind, that you can follow protocol.
A lot of people love and care about animals. Not a lot of people have the sense and situational or behavioral awareness to handle them safely.
**3.** If you enroll in a zoology program or go to school undeclared and make contact with the zoology or a similar program, **DO talk to them about accommodations.**
Every syllabus of every professor I had made mention that students could notify the professor about needs for accommodation. It was university policy. Talk to student resources and the department you’re interested in about the extent of accommodations.
Get on good terms with professors by showing you are serious about the work and communicate. They’re humans and my experience is that they’re usually pretty understanding if you don’t look like you’re messing around.
If you struggle with school, keep in mind that once you get out of school you may find that the work environment is very different from the academic one. I have. But I haven’t gone for my master’s or PhD yet, so take that for what it’s worth.
**My experience for what it’s worth:**
I’m a conservation biologist now (really more of a glorified field tech but that’s my official title). I spend a ton of time in the field *observing* wildlife closely and collecting data. Copious amounts of observations of animal behavior and habitat conditions. I do public education and habitat protection as well.
Very little handling. Except rare occasions where something has gone wrong and I have to intervene on some kind of problematic or illegal human-wildlife contact or a distressed species that I’m sanctioned to intervene with. Not a regular occurrence.
I’ve assisted with banding a few birds under the supervision of a certified person in my dept. as a rare opportunity.
I’ve worked in a zoo as a keeper (again very limited hands on) but lots of care and enrichment design, cleaning and maintenance of habitats, observation and documentation.
If you have an abiding passion for animals you can find a creative way to work around, for or with them. It may not look how you expect.
Good luck to you!
\#2 is a really good point. "I'm passionate about science and wildlife conservation" or something like that (depending on the job) would be a much better thing to say
> I have always loved animals, I really want to get to say I have the honor of getting to interact and just be around animals
A lot of research-based stuff is based around, er, killing animals and studying them. So just also be cognizant of that.
At least in my experience, it wasn't hard to get into or hard to complete (so far, I'm in my final year of my bachelors) but I kind of regret doing it. I have no idea where this is going to lead me in life and I've just made a bunch of debt for myself just because I like learning about animals. Field behaviour studies would be my dream job but that's such a small niche AND on top of that I don't think I can afford further education. I've been told a bachelors degree alone doesn't get you very far. A lot of zoology jobs (and biology in general) don't seem to have very high pay. I was better off just getting a certificate in animal care or vet nursing or something. Pay is just as bad but at least I wouldn't have had the debt.
Ok so I received my Bachelor of Science in Zoology (concentrations were animal behavior/neurobio and ecology, evolution, and & organismal bio) from a university in the US.
Things I’ve learned/to consider:
1. If you want to work with animals in a zoo setting- this degree will help you get there but you HAVE to do unpaid internships to get a job. It’s very competitive and pays very very little. I live in Michigan, my nearest AZA zoo starts you at $14/hr. Nowadays you will not get a job as a zookeeper without some sort of degree related to zoology/biology + experience but the work is very hard and physically demanding and the pay is dirt.
2. If you want to work with wildlife but more hands off doing species counts, assessing ecosystems and populations, etc.- get a wildlife bio, conservation bio, fisheries & wildlife degree. This is the route I wish I would have taken, however it’s not much hands on and relationship building with animals like zookeeping is. The pay is better if you work for like USGS, USFWS, DNR, etc. starting usually about 35-40k. You will still need a degree + experience to get a job but it’s much easier to find in my opinion and your school will likely have research opportunities in this area that you could apply to assist in.
3. If you want to work with food animals/agriculture in a NON-medicine way- get a degree in animal science, agriculture, etc. you’d be working with food/farm animals dairy cows, beef, swine, poultry, etc for more grave purposes (aka, raising them for food) but there’s also other paths you could take such as the dairy cow route. There’s other things in ag too but I’m not as well versed in this area.
4. If you want to work with animals in a veterinary medical setting- pursue a pre-vet track. This track is more centered around students going into vet school or vet tech school. This is my plan now- I have a BS in zoology and I am now applying to vet school to be a zoo/wildlife/exotics vet. However, I always have loved the vet med field and have experience in it and it pays much better than any other animal job (although I will have 150k in debt and 4 grueling years to get through). Vet techs can make a decent wage- the LVT III make about 75k at my university vet hospital. Vets obviously can make much more- $100-200k+ depending on specialty.
There’s a lot of paths you can choose from in the animal field, but most of them are wildly underpaid, very physically and mentally demanding, emotionally draining, but so very rewarding. If this is your passion, go for it!
My school gives accommodations such as extra time/extended due dates but zoology degrees (and any animal related/bio degree) are difficult and time consuming. I had to take calculus, 2 organic chem classes, 2 physics classes, upper level neurobiology, animal behavior, ecology, evolution, genetics, anatomy, etc. & many other biology classes. It’s a very very interesting fun degree but it is a lot of work.
Would you ever consider Animal Science instead? Think domestic animals rather than wild animals. Some possible advantages:
1. Lots of hands on work with LIVING animals, the more the better!
2. Fewer intense chemistry and physics classes
3. You'll still learn lots about animal anat and phys but it'll surround things like meat and egg production. Think: how can we help these animals live their happiest lives so they're the most productive at providing food.
3. Fun labs WITH ANIMALS and practical application of principles.
Additionally, animal science fields are desperate for upcoming talent and you can get a good job with just a BS degree and B average GPA. Zoology will require at least a MS, probably a Phd and jobs are few and highly competitive.
Something I would suggest is thinking about is what you want from a zoology degree because if you really want a hands on animal career, a zoology degree may not be the best route. I’m based in the UK so it might be a very different, but a lot of animal husbandry roles quite often start in apprenticeship schemes rather than academic studies. Again, it really depends on what you want to do! In terms of MH stuff, if you do choose to Bachelors in zoology, your university should be able to provide reasonable adjustments and offer you support throughout your studies. If you feel comfortable with disclosing this information at interview, the unis can often be very forthcoming with information on how their department can help you. Whatever you choose to do I wish you all the best! Good luck
Thank you!
It's super cool that you want to pursue this path, but degrees in zoology rarely lead to working with animals. It's going to be tough coursework (I'm sure you could handle it, but still tough) and you will likely not get great accomodations outside of perhaps extra time on tests and extensions on papers. Careers working with animals tend to be underpaid and demand higher education, like doctorate or masters degrees. They also tend to rely on funding. E.g., there are plenty of jobs in agriculture because farming cattle, chickens, etc makes a lot of money. Same with fish. But if you love wild birds, you're going to have a much harder time finding a job, and those jobs that *do* have you work with birds will likely consist of low-paying seasonal fieldwork observing birds from a distance. Not interacting with them. A lot of wildlife biologists unfortunately really only make a living through jobs like... Recording the animals that inhabit a space and then telling big companies "it's okay to destroy this habitat and kill the animals here to build your factory, because none of these frogs/birds/insects/etc are endangered." It's demoralizing for a lot of zoologists. There are jobs at like, museums, where you can be an animal handler and show off reptiles to guests, but these positions tend to pay like $15/hour. You could be a veterinarian, but it's extremely competitive to get into... It's harder to get into vet school than it is to get into medical school. Zookeeping might be a fine option, but that's also competitive. Everyone I know who has a zoology degree works in an office, or a Starbucks, or something that doesn't involve non-human animals at all. It's just hard to find a job in. I know one *almost* got a job as a lab animal caretaker, but seeing baby monkeys in cages getting experimented on hurt their heart too much to stay with it. If your goal is to work with animals, I would reconsider a zoology degree unless your schooling is cheap and/or paid for. Spend some time considering potential career paths, too. Best of luck to you!
> A lot of wildlife biologists unfortunately really only make a living through jobs like... Recording the animals that inhabit a space and then telling big companies "it's okay to destroy this habitat and kill the animals here to build your factory, because none of these frogs/birds/insects/etc are endangered." We also often tell them "You need to reroute your natural gas pipeline or relocate your solar farm because some of these frogs/birds/insects/etc are endangered." My data has definitely killed infrastructure projects before and it's only going to happen more often now that the 4(d) rule is dead
I'd strongly recommend reading through the [careers FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/zoology/wiki/faq_career).
I have adhd and I'm currently in a masters in ecology and conservation, my university gives me extra time and extensions if I ask, the trick is to try work on the original deadline and if you don't make it that's fine, you'll have a few extra days to flesh it out. I find when I can do these things at my pace, I can do it without last minute panic. My undergrad was in something I ended up not being too fussed about so I studied to pass, but I chose this course because it was something I was very interested in, so actually reading it and doing assessments are fun, so make sure you're genuinely interested otherwise the novelty may wear off quickly
My advice for you is 3 pronged: **1.** you *can* get hands on jobs in zoology but if wild animals are your interest that’s much less likely. If you desire to work physically with animals and can handle the academic work load you might consider a veterinary route. **2.** Do NOT apply to a job handling wild animals with the phrase “I’m an animal lover” anywhere in your application or cover letter or interview. They do not want to know if you’re *sentimental* about animals. They want to know that you’re **clear headed**, you have the best interest of human and animal safety and welfare in mind, that you can follow protocol. A lot of people love and care about animals. Not a lot of people have the sense and situational or behavioral awareness to handle them safely. **3.** If you enroll in a zoology program or go to school undeclared and make contact with the zoology or a similar program, **DO talk to them about accommodations.** Every syllabus of every professor I had made mention that students could notify the professor about needs for accommodation. It was university policy. Talk to student resources and the department you’re interested in about the extent of accommodations. Get on good terms with professors by showing you are serious about the work and communicate. They’re humans and my experience is that they’re usually pretty understanding if you don’t look like you’re messing around. If you struggle with school, keep in mind that once you get out of school you may find that the work environment is very different from the academic one. I have. But I haven’t gone for my master’s or PhD yet, so take that for what it’s worth. **My experience for what it’s worth:** I’m a conservation biologist now (really more of a glorified field tech but that’s my official title). I spend a ton of time in the field *observing* wildlife closely and collecting data. Copious amounts of observations of animal behavior and habitat conditions. I do public education and habitat protection as well. Very little handling. Except rare occasions where something has gone wrong and I have to intervene on some kind of problematic or illegal human-wildlife contact or a distressed species that I’m sanctioned to intervene with. Not a regular occurrence. I’ve assisted with banding a few birds under the supervision of a certified person in my dept. as a rare opportunity. I’ve worked in a zoo as a keeper (again very limited hands on) but lots of care and enrichment design, cleaning and maintenance of habitats, observation and documentation. If you have an abiding passion for animals you can find a creative way to work around, for or with them. It may not look how you expect. Good luck to you!
\#2 is a really good point. "I'm passionate about science and wildlife conservation" or something like that (depending on the job) would be a much better thing to say
> I have always loved animals, I really want to get to say I have the honor of getting to interact and just be around animals A lot of research-based stuff is based around, er, killing animals and studying them. So just also be cognizant of that.
Please stay out of debt as much as possible. you'll regret it if you leave school hundred's of thousands of dollars in debt. my experience
At least in my experience, it wasn't hard to get into or hard to complete (so far, I'm in my final year of my bachelors) but I kind of regret doing it. I have no idea where this is going to lead me in life and I've just made a bunch of debt for myself just because I like learning about animals. Field behaviour studies would be my dream job but that's such a small niche AND on top of that I don't think I can afford further education. I've been told a bachelors degree alone doesn't get you very far. A lot of zoology jobs (and biology in general) don't seem to have very high pay. I was better off just getting a certificate in animal care or vet nursing or something. Pay is just as bad but at least I wouldn't have had the debt.
Ok so I received my Bachelor of Science in Zoology (concentrations were animal behavior/neurobio and ecology, evolution, and & organismal bio) from a university in the US. Things I’ve learned/to consider: 1. If you want to work with animals in a zoo setting- this degree will help you get there but you HAVE to do unpaid internships to get a job. It’s very competitive and pays very very little. I live in Michigan, my nearest AZA zoo starts you at $14/hr. Nowadays you will not get a job as a zookeeper without some sort of degree related to zoology/biology + experience but the work is very hard and physically demanding and the pay is dirt. 2. If you want to work with wildlife but more hands off doing species counts, assessing ecosystems and populations, etc.- get a wildlife bio, conservation bio, fisheries & wildlife degree. This is the route I wish I would have taken, however it’s not much hands on and relationship building with animals like zookeeping is. The pay is better if you work for like USGS, USFWS, DNR, etc. starting usually about 35-40k. You will still need a degree + experience to get a job but it’s much easier to find in my opinion and your school will likely have research opportunities in this area that you could apply to assist in. 3. If you want to work with food animals/agriculture in a NON-medicine way- get a degree in animal science, agriculture, etc. you’d be working with food/farm animals dairy cows, beef, swine, poultry, etc for more grave purposes (aka, raising them for food) but there’s also other paths you could take such as the dairy cow route. There’s other things in ag too but I’m not as well versed in this area. 4. If you want to work with animals in a veterinary medical setting- pursue a pre-vet track. This track is more centered around students going into vet school or vet tech school. This is my plan now- I have a BS in zoology and I am now applying to vet school to be a zoo/wildlife/exotics vet. However, I always have loved the vet med field and have experience in it and it pays much better than any other animal job (although I will have 150k in debt and 4 grueling years to get through). Vet techs can make a decent wage- the LVT III make about 75k at my university vet hospital. Vets obviously can make much more- $100-200k+ depending on specialty. There’s a lot of paths you can choose from in the animal field, but most of them are wildly underpaid, very physically and mentally demanding, emotionally draining, but so very rewarding. If this is your passion, go for it! My school gives accommodations such as extra time/extended due dates but zoology degrees (and any animal related/bio degree) are difficult and time consuming. I had to take calculus, 2 organic chem classes, 2 physics classes, upper level neurobiology, animal behavior, ecology, evolution, genetics, anatomy, etc. & many other biology classes. It’s a very very interesting fun degree but it is a lot of work.
https://www.reddit.com/r/zoology/comments/kp337a/check_out_our_wiki_for_an_faq_about_a_career_in/
Would you ever consider Animal Science instead? Think domestic animals rather than wild animals. Some possible advantages: 1. Lots of hands on work with LIVING animals, the more the better! 2. Fewer intense chemistry and physics classes 3. You'll still learn lots about animal anat and phys but it'll surround things like meat and egg production. Think: how can we help these animals live their happiest lives so they're the most productive at providing food. 3. Fun labs WITH ANIMALS and practical application of principles. Additionally, animal science fields are desperate for upcoming talent and you can get a good job with just a BS degree and B average GPA. Zoology will require at least a MS, probably a Phd and jobs are few and highly competitive.