Careers Which Involve Animals and Science

Mamazita's idea of helping out or being at a camp at a zoo (or wildlife preserve, animal shelter, etc.) sounds great. Good people to ask too.

My niece is a marine biologist. She works with fish mainly - she follows fish from birth to release and then goes out to lakes, etc. and does studies. She loves it. It's a rewarding profession because it's not just being in an office.

A friend of mine is a professor of biology. They studied animals in the region. He's very specialized - they seem to track one kind of animal (doing a study) for years.

My nephew volunteers at an aquarium - he's older (20's) but loves it.

Zoology :)

I am a marine biologist with a lot of work experience in marine science, fisheries, and whale research. There are so many options for your son. He can start volunteering now at a zoo and study zoology in college. If he wants to do any kind of work involving animals he will need to go to graduate school and get a PhD for the really good jobs. He can study ecology, wildlife biology, entomology, primatology, you name it. He can do work at a zoo in breeding and keeping genetic lines strong. He can work in animal husbandry. He can work in population management. He can work for NOAA, Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, universities, the zoo, conservation institutes, and other wildlife related organizations and laboratories. In college he should volunteer to help out with any graduate students who are doing their work there. I helped with tracking javelina, banding birds, live trapping rodents and tagging them, etc. When he is done with college he should have more of an idea of what really interests him and that is how he knows what graduate schools to apply to. Any interesting research he can volunteer for will give him great experience he can put on his resume and he will be making contacts which will be helpful for the future. You should look around at universities where you live and see what graduate programs they have because there may be graduate students near you who would be happy to put him to work volunteering with their field work! When he is in college he should apply to do a REU program (Research Experience for Undergraduates) which can take him all over the US. We lived in Alaska for 15 years and my husband had REU students each summer he was a professor at the University of Alaska. They got to help do research on glaciers, and another year doing bat research on an island in Southeast Alaska. I have loved my career even though I only have a writing job now. I have gotten to work out in Prince William Sound, I've done fish population research, driven boats, pulled up many nets, worked on the Yukon River out of a small Yupik eskimo village, I've worked in the Bering Sea, done marine mammal surveys, oceanography studies, I've worked up on the North Slope of Alaska in Inupiaq villages doing science educational outreach, I've recorded whales and spent many years doing research on orca vocalizations, I've worked out on the sea ice tracking seals from a camp, and have had many other amazing experiences. I have many friends who are one of those scientists who devote their life to studying rare wildlife that most people don't even know about! Your son has an amazing career ahead of him!! Don't let anyone discourage him.

Our two public zoos (Oakland and San Francisco) offer summer camps and internships for kids and teens to spend time learning, exploring and working with animals. I would ask your son if this is something he would like to do because that seems like a GREAT way to me to find out about careers in this area, and I'm sure Chicago has a major zoo, right? If you have an aquarium there that might be another option.

There are soooo many jobs that include working with animals! A young lady I know has a degree in marine biology. She trains dolphins for the US Navy.

We recently met a young woman who works at the National Eagle Center in Minnesota. She helps train and care for injured eagles and travels around giving presentations with the eagles. Previous to working there she worked at a nature center with rehabilitation. She said her favorite animal to work with was the porcupine. There is also centers for owls, wolves, and bears in Minnesota.

The U of Minnesota has a raptor center that treats and releases injured birds of prey. They also have a veterinary hospital that does research in how to treat animals.

We have a nature center here where they do presentations with birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, and insects. My kids have helped to wrangle worms and catch and tag birds.

We were recently in San Francisco and at the zoo and at the aquarium at the California Center for Science there were high school age students who were working as docents. They gave short presentations about the animals and fish, answered questions, etc. I was extremely impressed with their knowledge and presentation skills.

Zoologists research animals both in captivity and in the wild. Zoo keepers/trainers work with animals in zoos.

There is always veterinarian science.

A former classmate of mine works as a wildlife manager. He monitors wildlife numbers and conditions. Lots of national parks have wildlife researchers and naturalists who work with people visiting the park.

Habitat specialists design habitats for zoos and other wildlife centers.

I know a few wildlife photographers. One that I follow on Facebook also works with wild horse preservation.

Google jobs working with animals and there will be lots of other examples.

I have a friend with a degree in some weird form of biology and she has studied bats for over 20+ years...doing catch and release on multiple generations in a region of New Mexico.

She doesn't even live in New Mexico except a few weeks every so many months, in a tent...catching bats all night and attaching trackers...and monitoring trackers the rest of the time.

There are animal jobs for everyone. My daughter thinks she wants to be a vet.

Anything biologist. They usually work at zoos and research facilities, sometimes zoos that are research facilities.

My niece has been working at a zoo since she was 16 and will be studying marine biology. She likes the water dwellers the best.

Getting jobs at the zoo in high school that actually work with the animals is actually difficult so he may want to find ways to volunteer with animals now. My niece's grandparents own a farm with herds of cows and other animals and has been "assisting" with them since she was young. It was her knowledge of animals that got her in. Not many teens have that experience.

Volunteer anywhere. Greyhound rescue, general animal shelters and humane societies, local museums and environmental museums that have even small animal exhibits (especially those that do small presentations for visitors), aquariums. Get a part time job at a pet store or groomer. He needs to make sure he's comfortable with animal and fish smells, behavior, cleaning up poop and dealing with all bodily functions/habits. He could get a job or intern with groups that do canoe or kayak trips down local rivers, and look for summer camps that need counselors for the nature units. (My son's camp had sheep, hedgehogs, lizards, many others.) That's more important than the recitation of facts. It may help him narrow his focus over time, but in the short run it gives him stuff to put on his activity resume for his college applications.

Yes, there are vets and zoo professionals. I have a friend who is a vet, not in private practice, but for the USDA, working to ensure the safety of animals in captivity and farms, as well as some research facilities (so he deals with cows, chimps, monkeys, more). Another friend is a wildlife professional who spent a few years in Africa with exotic animals, now works here in a similar field.

Do you have a veterinary school nearby? Sometimes they have open houses and offer a chance to talk with professionals in the fields represented.

Your son has to get his hands dirty and not just think that his book learning will translate into really loving being in the midst of things. Being able to do the grunt work is a good test of his ability to focus on research too.

A vet unless his heart is into research.

If he likes horses he can be a farrier.

http://www.futurefarrier.com/

Zoology, vet, pet therapist, zookeeper, animal trainer, marine biologist, and more.

There are vets that specialize in research animals. I don't mean researching animals themselves (which others have mentioned) but taking care of and working with animals in research studies.