Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone...
I am a Sophomore in High School and need to start looking into caeer choices. I know I want it to have something to do with animals, reptiles/amphibians in particular, be it medicine, zoology, ect. I just need some options. I have looked around but havent done any heavy reading. I need to open up my options and see what I have to choose from. Also what college courses would be required for that particluar field of study? I would like a steady job that could support me and my family. If anyone can help me or point me in the right direction, please do.
Thanks,
Chris D.
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Hey mine name is Chris and I currently have 1.0 Midland Painted, 1.0 YBS, 1.1 Leopard geckos, 1.0 Bearded Dragon

Hey man, hope your reading this.

I'm majoring in biology myself. You shouldn't trip just yet about careers and stuff man, you still got a while to go. But if you want I can help you. I'm in college right now and i'm majoring to become a biotechnician or ranging around in the fields of biology. Thing is that, I heard that there will be a time when life on earth would deminish so thats why i'm a bit skeptic on going animals and rather bacteria. When choosing a career, you gotta ask yourself, can this career stick with me for my whole life? What other options are open if this one fails? (Not that i'm saying you will but the possibility is always there, I take it myself so don't be mad). I'm probably going around the field of medicine or germilogy

Okay I just typed a whole lot for it to get erased. Anyways, thing is to go to the library and check out books about colleges that will go deep or as deep as you want in the field of biology. You should also visit and talk to the counselors around the colleges near your place. They will help you find out required classes you need for the future when you do start your college terms. It is early, but hey, better early than late am I right? Oh yeah, germiology is a fake word, just made it up cause I'm hyper with 9 cups of coffee. Hope you have a lot of luck, see you later.

Genetics. Seriously. I'm sure you could incorporate reptiles somehow.
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1.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 corn snake
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish
1.2 cats
3.1 kids
1.0 husband

University of Florida has a herpatology program as does University of Texas, Arlington. UTA has a mostly graduate program, but if I am not mistaken, UF has a B.S. in herpetology. Melissa Kaplan, the biologist, has a site that lists all colleges with herpetologists on staff and schools that have some kind of herp program. If you go into Microbiology you will study bacteria, etc and not really have much of a chance to work with vertebrates (unless you study the microbes carried in/on vertebrates). If you went into genetics, I would double major in biology or something like that because most genetics courses concentrate on microbes or farm animals. Animal science courses that most state universities have aare focused on livestock. If you are intersted in vet school, look for a school with a good exotics program and you could be a herp vet. I hope this helps, if you have more questions don't be afraid to ask!

Laura

Ok,
I would rather not study germs/bacteria ect. I would like to stay in the herp feild. Before I go on, I guess I should tell you a little bit about myself, maybe that will help you guide me in the right direction... Lets see... Well I have always been interested in animals. My love of herps came at the age of 11. I have since been fascinated by them. My "childhood dream job" was to become a vet, and that is still an option. But I have since thought why I love herps so much, and part of that love is creating natural habitats for them to live happily in. I LOVE setting up a new tank or drawing sketches of what I am going to do with that empty 20gal sitting in the corner. Is there such a career that will get me the best of both worlds? I thought about being a "zoo-keeper" but not the low rank guy who shovels crap. I mean head of department of herps, (I know this takes time). Or maybe go into medicine and study exoitics? Maybe a be a vet for a zoo? I dont know I am just rambling on...
Thnaks again,
Chris D.
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Hey mine name is Chris and I currently have 1.0 Midland Painted, 1.0 YBS, 1.1 Leopard geckos, 1.0 Bearded Dragon

Definitely start early with investigating different schools and programs. No matter what type of biologically relevant undergraduate program you pursue, they all have the same basic requirements for math, chemistry, physics, and biology, whether you call it a B.S. degree in biology, herpetology, zoology, or the like. All will greatly prepare you for veterinary school (find out the school's placement rate as far as how many undergraduates are accepted into vet school as some schools fare better than others) or graduate school. Just FYI, I am an assistant professor of biology at Malone College, a small liberal arts school, that should be offering a new major next fall, a B.S. in Zoo Science. This will be a robust major, being rigorous enough to prepare undergraduates professionally for the zoo or affiliated fields, or graduate school or veterinary school. This major is in the works and will be a cooperative joint program with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. This will be a competitive program, but I believe highly rewarding to those interested in working with animals (I didn't quite follow the jist of the first post.....but if you like working with animals, go for it). Zoo Keepers have not always made the best of money, but it certainly is getting better. There is also two other colleges that also offer a B.S. degree in Zoo Science (if interested, feel free to email me). Good luck and drop me a line with any questions.
Cheers,
Chris

Christopher K. Carmichael, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Department of Natural Sciences
Malone College
515 25th Street, N.W.
Canton, Ohio
Tel: 330-471-8175
Fax: 330-471-8371
Email: ccarmichael@malone.edu