Duties and Responsibilities:

Zoologists work across several areas covering various animal species across various fields.  The duties and responsibilities vary with the area that a zoologist works in. The following duties and responsibilities are described for various areas as mentioned.

Zoologists researching Marine life:

Their responsibilities include:

• Identifying all sea life and different species that dwell in water.
• Identifying their pattern of life. The birth, death, their predators, their food etc.
• They also research on the reproduction patterns, their gender bonding, families, relations etc.
• They also research on the various diseases that impact marine life and the possible origins and cures.

Zoologists as Zookeepers:

A zoologist acting as a zoologist has the following duties and responsibilities…

• As a zookeeper, a zoologist should take care of the food feeding for the animals/wild life in the zoo.
• With his vast experience in the field of animals, he should provide suggestions on the food habits for the animals within the zoo.
• He should also provide his services as a guide for the visitors in the zoo providing appropriate scientific explanations to the visitors about the animals and information about their origins and survival.
• Zoologist as a zookeeper must also take care of the health of all the animals in the zoo. He should also suggest and implement ways to better monitor the health of the wild life within the zoo premises.
• He should educate other Zoo staff about the various health conditions that the wild life might go through and how one can counter health issues that the wild life might encounter.

Zoologist as a Wildlife Rehabilitator:

• Zoologist as a wild life rehabilitator works around identifying wildlife in their habitats that need immediate health attention and capture them and provide required medical assistance.
• The wildlife rehabilitators work with the local people in and around the forests to go around and identify the wildlife that needs health assistance.
• Once the required health assistance has been provided and the wildlife is back to its normal health condition, it will be released back to its habitat.

How to be certified as a zoologist?

• There are several areas of work that a zoologist can work in.
• Let it be the kind of work or the kind of physical location of the work.
• There aren’t any generalized certifications that are available for all zoologists across all the areas of work.
• There are certain certifications available specific to areas of work.

Find below few such certifications.

Scuba certified

• If the area of work for a zoologist is around researching marine wildlife, possessing a scuba diving certification will help a zoologist get first-hand experience of meeting the marine wild life.
• The scuba diving is the only way of meeting the marine wildlife in their natural habitats.
• Otherwise, the researchers will have to restrict themselves to watching the marine life through the monitors and televisions.
• Scuba diving isn’t that very straight forward and requires vigorous training and perfect health conditions.
• As a zoologist, if one wants to get into veterinary doctors role, he/she needs to possess a license from the state to provide / start such service.
• Provided one completes the mandatory educational qualifications to practice veterinary, one has to obtain a license from the state to start such practice that helps in curing ailments for animals. (Mostly domestic animals like cats, dogs etc).
• There are also several associations available for zoologists across various areas of work.
• Few of them are WAZA (World association for Zoos and Aquariums, AAZ (American Association for Zoo Keepers), Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
• There are several kinds of memberships available and various certifications offered by these associations.
• Obtaining memberships will help a zoologist to reach out to many other zoologists round the globe and this will certainly help in their research.
• Also such associations also offer several certifications and seminars that will help zoologists to improve their knowledge and be up-to-date on the happenings around the globe related to their area of work.

Educational Requirements needed to become a Zoologist:

Even though a zoologist can enter into several areas of work during his work as zoologist, there are common educational requirements that one has to clear to be a zoologist.

There are three main requirements for good career prospects in zoology. And depending on where one stops, the career options vary.

Following are the three educational requirements and how it impacts the career options as a zoologist….

1.    Bachelor’s degree in Zoology

• This is the minimum educational qualification one has to attain to get into zoology.
• There is no other way to become zoologist unless one clears a four-year bachelor’s degree in zoology.
• There are several colleges across the US that offers the Bachelor’s degree in zoology. Although not exactly same, most of these colleges offer similar if not same courses.
• Most of these degree courses include all 4 years of classroom lectures and laboratory hours.
• There is also an option to go for a specialization during the 4-year Bachelor’s course.
• Few of the specializations include but not limited to cellular biology, animal anatomy, ecology etc.

2. Post-graduate degree in Zoology

• Possessing a bachelor’s degree in zoology might help one to become a research technician or a high school teacher.
• But to get into more advanced work areas one might need to get a post graduate degree.
• A master’s degree might help a zoologist get into lecturer positions in universities.
• But it might not help one to get into researcher positions in universities or any government run wildlife programs.
• That would need a zoologist to possess doctoral degrees in the area of zoology.

3. Doctoral degree

• While a master’s degree takes around two years to complete, a doctoral degree in zoology might take up to six years.
• Possessing a doctoral degree will help one to get into independent researcher role in a university which is a dream position to be in for any one aspiring for a career in zoology.

What does a Zoologist do?

There are quite a few animal species on the planet Earth. They have their own habitats where they dwell. The zoologists, also called the animal scientists go around the planet researching on the animals and their natural habitat as well as the impact of environment on them.  The zoologists do several kinds of research to understand the existence of animal species and also research in labs about origin of various diseases and probably identify the cures.

The zoologists work spans across many species from mammals to reptiles to amphibians. The work also spans across various areas that covers several species. For example, an animal taxonomist works on identifying different species of animals, their origins and the distribution pattern over the planet. Another example could be Animal psychologist who specializes in psychology of various animal species. They research on how the behavior of animals changes according to the surrounding, when kept alone, in a group etc to identify the patterns.

There are many other areas where zoologists have a presence. They are present in the zoo administration. They are the ones who maintain the well being of animals in the zoo and actually are aware of what needs to be done to keep the animals at good health. They also do research on the animals being kept in the zoo to understand their behavior and try to derive patterns and results out of such research.

Some zoologists also teach in universities and colleges as professors and generally cover the areas related to animals and their origins. Almost all internationally renowned colleges/universities have fields that cover/incorporate zoology in their academic brochure. Many students also join and learn to become the future zoologists. The zoologists on the whole can be described as the researchers of animal kingdom and their origins.

Skills to become a Zoologist:

There might be several areas of work that a zoologist can go into.

But his main, basic work is around wildlife and understanding their living.

The following can be highlighted as the skills that a zoologist needs to progress in the role as a zoologist.

Passion

• Being a zoologist, one should possess the passion about the wildlife.
• It actually requires a skill of being passionate about the wildlife and is sensitive about their existence.
• Only then can a zoologist reach great heights in his career.

Understanding Nature

• Unlike humans, wildlife lives the way the nature has designed the environment.
• Any changes in the environment can cause serious impacts on the wildlife.
• As a zoologist, especially if one is in the area of wildlife research, one should be aware of the nature course and the changes in the environment.
• This not only helps zoologists to estimate the behavior of the wildlife but also let them plan better.

Good Communication Skills

• A zoologists work is not restricted to just the research but also is extended to publishing research papers, presenting seminars and educating common people about the actions that humans do and their side effects on the wild life.
• To be effective in all these tasks, a zoologist should possess excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
• He/she should be adept at giving appropriate seminars to appropriate people/gatherings.

Critical Thinking

• There are several situations in the work of a zoologist, especially if the area of work is as a zoo keeper or a wildlife rehabilitator, where one has to understand the situation well in short span of time and come up with a optimal solution for the situation at hands.
• To achieve this, a zoologist should possess the skill of having ability to think adept in critical situations.
• There will be situations where a large scale of wildlife might be at danger, due to natural disasters or human made errors (like oil spills in oceans).
• And the zoologists should act fast and should be aware of the scientific approach to solving such situations.

Salaries of Zoologists:

Given the fact that there is a huge range of work area for a zoologist to be in, there are several positions spread across many factors and each area will have its own range of salaries depending on the experience and the nature of work being done.

It will be a big task to generalize on the salary packages earned by a zoologist but the following list depicts the salary packages that a zoologist can earn during his career…

• Most of the zoologists come into this area not for money but for the passion. The passion for wildlife and their wellbeing.

• This might be the main reason that the salary packages aren’t that attractive as they are for other professions.
• The average salary for a zoologist, with all experience levels is around USD 60,000.
• A zoologist who just started the career can expect a salary anywhere between USD 35,000 to USD 45,000 depending on the nature of work and the employer one is working under.
• A zoologist’s starting salary in the field of aquatic wildlife will be around USD 40,000.
• Within the zoologists work area, the profession that earns the most is the veterinary doctor profession.
• It has median earnings of USD 90,000 per annum.
• More experienced veterinary doctors earn more than USD 100,000 per annum.
• From the various data points gathered from around the globe, it has been concluded that the most impacting factor for a zoologist’s salary is the area of work he/she is in.
• For example, the zookeepers might not get a very handsome packages and their salary range is around USD 35,000 per annum.
• Another example would be that of an ornithologist (who researches on birds), where one works more out of interest than the salary that the profession might earn.
• In certain areas of work, within zoology, there is a possibility of earning extra outside the salary.
• For example, as a zookeeper, one might get some perks/bonuses from the management for the good work being done.
• Though it might not be a big amount, these bonuses will add up to nice figure when calculated for a year.