do you work with animals??

Former Member

im looking for advice on how people on here got into a career involving animals (not veterinary work), breeding programmes, enclosure design, enrichment etc! anything really, except veterinary work.
im going to book a careers interview when i start back at uni, BUT they never give you the full picture. What im really after is advice and information from people who are/who know someone in this industry.
Thanx
BTW, sorry i cant be more specific - im still unsure about my preferred career path!

Former Member

sugar_mouse wrote:

im looking for advice on how people on here got into a career involving animals (not veterinary work), breeding programmes, enclosure design, enrichment etc! anything really, except veterinary work.
im going to book a careers interview when i start back at uni, BUT they never give you the full picture. What im really after is advice and information from people who are/who know someone in this industry.
Thanx
BTW, sorry i cant be more specific - im still unsure about my preferred career path!

I'd imagine, like if you wanted a veterinary career, you'd benefit greatly from volunteering experience to both know you want to do it and tempt employers to employ you. Do you have any local zoos or santuaries? I had a friend who worked in the Monkey Sanctuary in Dorset(?) only had positive things to say about it (and had a cool sweatshirt!).

I thought prospects might be more help than it probably is but here we go anyway

Former Member

well im at uni+am getting experience, im more thinking of finding a career to go into, or how to go into one, at the end of my uni degree.
although, thanx for your reply+the link for experience!

Former Member

i do want to work directly with animals, but not just in a zoo, that's just a common place to think of!
im studying a degree in animal behaviour+physiology!
i know, from speaking to current+ex zoo keepers, that its the experience that counts, but zoo keeping isnt my ideal cup of tea!
to be honest, id like to be involved in supervising the design of the enclosure+helping them design the enclosure so that it will benefit the animals more, enrichment+natural behaviours, etc!

Former Member

sugar_mouse wrote:

i do want to work directly with animals, but not just in a zoo, that's just a common place to think of!
im studying a degree in animal behaviour+physiology!
i know, from speaking to current+ex zoo keepers, that its the experience that counts, but zoo keeping isnt my ideal cup of tea!
to be honest, id like to be involved in supervising the design of the enclosure+helping them design the enclosure so that it will benefit the animals more, enrichment+natural behaviours, etc!

Sounds like the part of my degree I enjoyed.

Former Member

what was your degree in??

Former Member

Iv just gotten my HND in Equine Management.......mucking round with horses really for long hours with little pay!!....., In my experience anyway its a very small industry so its more about having good contacts when ur looking for a job than actually having "Qualifications". Even in this day and age the employer is usually looking for more experience with actual animals than college qualifications.

I think unless you have a great knowledge in one field of the industry the only way to go forward is to volunter in animal sancturies and work your arse off!! Coming from working with horses anyway, i started at about 14 years old "voluntering" in a riding school and basically slaving away for a couple of years for free in return for the "experience". From then i begged rides off friends etc. untill i got my leaving cert and went into college to do the HND. Hmm now im stuck with a near useless qualification (in that its so limited) and the jobs im getting now are paying the same to me as they are to people without a HND and with around the same horsey experience.

Grr. Sorry im probably not the best to talk to about working in the animal industry.....Egnore my little rant!!!!

Anyway, back to you:P Your course sounds interesting, couldnt you go into animal massage maybe or become an animal behaviourist? You could probably try and find professional animal behaviourists/massuers and ask to shadow them for a while for experience then having made some contacts go from there....? There are many societys and practices available really.....Animal chiropractor, animal Reiki, masseur, animal nutrition,animal insurance! alternative therapys...etc etc!!

Former Member

sugar_mouse wrote:

what was your degree in??

Ecology.

Former Member

animal massage?? how does that work? do they do it for medicinal purposes???
gonna lok that up, sounds so interesting+ive never heard of it!!
also, whats reiki????

Former Member

Its such a hard industry to get into, im about to start doing a HND in animal management in hope that it will lead me closer to getting a job. All i can say is contact as many companies as possible and never give up trying, be prepared to work voluntarilly(sp) because it will most likely lead to a job later on.
Good luck!