Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello
i want to know on what all of you work or study? i will be graduating from school next year but still dont know what to study.
I know that it need to be something about animals. like veterinariam, herpetologist ect.
i will need to take the SAt soon so I can study in the US. But first need to know what to study and if I or my familly can affort it.
please answere me

Hello there. I go to Michigan State University and study zoology. Basically that's the study of animals! Unfortunately there are not a lot of jobs available in this area. I just sent in an application for wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources. Another animal-related major is Fisheries and Wildlife. With this degree you would likely get a job in wildlife managment.

It seems there is a need for good reptile vets, so if being a vet is your fancy, go for it. At some colleges even if you are studying to be a vet you have to claim another major as well. So you could maybe claim zoology/herpetology, and specilize with reptiles.

Whatever you choose, good luck!
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~Melissa
1.0 Ambanja Panther (Diesel)
0.1 African Hegdehog (Kaimah)

I'm actually in school to become a vet. In a year I'm going to be transferring, maybe a little longer (gotta save up the monies!) to UC Davis where hopefully, a few years after, I'll be a licensed herp vet. They also have really good herpetology classes there. my herp vet I have now who graduated from Davis says it's a really great school and the Herpetology classes are great. Can't wait to get started.

Alejandro,
I am a vet student at Cornell University. If you want to go into veterinary medicine, then the best thing to do would be to get a degree in Biology or Animal Science as your undergraduate education, then continue on to Vet School. However, both degrees may prove useless without further education (Vet School, PhD, Med School, etc.)
As for a need for herp vets, it is very true. If that is what you want, then start working hard as soon as you start college. The number of spaces open in Vet schools every year is very small, and the applicant pool is huge. I don't mean to discourage you, as it is not my intention at all. But many students start college thinking the first year or so doesn't count, and that isn't true at all. Get good grades, lots of veterinary experience and good connections and you'll be set. If you have any other questions I may be able to help you with, I would be more than willing to talk to you.

right now i am thinking of herp vet. I'm still in 11 so i have 1 1/2 year to study super hard and get no less than 3.70 so agood universitie can accept me. and if they accept me i fore sure will study all days because the college in usa is not cheap and my parrents and I will have to work super hard to pay it
right now my parrents told me that the better place to me to go would be somewere in miami or florida or a state near it.

11!? I didn't start college until I was 18. That's amazing you are thinking of what you want to do already. Be aware that you may change your mind many times. I know I did. Although my choices all had to do with animals, so not too different.

Like the other guys said, if you are going to be a vet, grades ARE very important. You have to be accepted into vet school after you are accepted to the University, and they don't take any slackers! When you eventually go to get a job, experience is something that is also important. And it's never too soon to start getting some. If you think you want to be a vet see if you can volunteer at a local vet. Even if you are just cleaning up poop, which will likely be the case. And do lots of research on husbandry of different reptiles. I don't think husbandry is something they teach in vet school. Someone on here was saying how their eggs died cause the vet put them in an incubator that was too warm.

Anyhow, I'm probably getting way ahead of myself. But stuff to think about!
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~Melissa
1.0 Ambanja Panther (Diesel)
0.1 African Hegdehog (Kaimah)

yeah i am always reading all about reptiles. chams,beardeds,geckos.

and about me changing my mind, i know that is posible but it would be for something about animals too. i dont see my self working in a office in front of a computer or something like that.

I bet for almost any job you have you will find yourself in an office in front of a computer at some point. I know what you mean though. I really hope I get the wildlife biologist job I applied for. Then I will be spending time out in the field as well as the office.
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~Melissa
1.0 Ambanja Panther (Diesel)
0.1 African Hegdehog (Kaimah)

>>Alejandro,
>> I am a vet student at Cornell University. If you want to go into veterinary medicine, then the best thing to do would be to get a degree in Biology or Animal Science as your undergraduate education, then continue on to Vet School. However, both degrees may prove useless without further education (Vet School, PhD, Med School, etc.)
>> As for a need for herp vets, it is very true. If that is what you want, then start working hard as soon as you start college. The number of spaces open in Vet schools every year is very small, and the applicant pool is huge. I don't mean to discourage you, as it is not my intention at all. But many students start college thinking the first year or so doesn't count, and that isn't true at all. Get good grades, lots of veterinary experience and good connections and you'll be set. If you have any other questions I may be able to help you with, I would be more than willing to talk to you.

Cornell is also regarded as one of the top 10 or so schools as far as their Herpetology reputation. This is where I go as well and the resources available to Cornell students interested in this type of field are excellent.

Chris
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Chris Anderson
parsonii_hoehnelii@hotmail.com
Editor - Chameleons! Online E-zine: http://www.chameleonnews.com/
Admin - Captive Chameleon Bloodline Tracking Database (CCBTD): http://www.chameleondatabase.com/
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Not that Chris or I are biased or anything.

>>Not that Chris or I are biased or anything.

Ohh no, not at all

Actually, the December issue of Reptiles listed 10 "Herp Schools" and Cornell was at the top of their list. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better collection of herpetologists in many other universities.

Chris
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Chris Anderson
parsonii_hoehnelii@hotmail.com
Editor - Chameleons! Online E-zine: http://www.chameleonnews.com/
Admin - Captive Chameleon Bloodline Tracking Database (CCBTD): http://www.chameleondatabase.com/
Author - Chameleon Care and Information Center (CCIC) - http://www.geocities.com/ccicenter/(Currently Down)

one question if i decide to study herp veterinarian. on my firtst year i will have to study or biology or zoology? and then start in the veterinarian school and then specialise on reptiles?

and for cornell i need to have like 4.0 and get a super score on the SAT right? i know that for the university of miami i need to get atleast 1035 on th SAT and i need to be on the list of the 10 best of my class. is that the same for the otheres universities?

Okay, I'm not pret-vet, just zoo, so correct me if i'm wrong...

Getting a vet degree takes about 8 years. The first four years you will take biology and anatomy and other related classes, along with stupid University requirments that have nothing to do with your major. During this time, you have to declare a major, so yes, you would have to study biology, zoology, animal science, or something similar. You also apply to vet school, and if you are accepted, you do the real vet training the last four years.
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~Melissa
1.0 Ambanja Panther (Diesel)
0.1 African Hegdehog (Kaimah)