Many nonprofits and government agencies offer internships. Another popular option is volunteer work. Most people who go on to become a wildlife biologist have at least some volunteer work under their belts, whether it's a weekend doing browse surveys for state biologists or even a year helping with research projects in Africa.
Working just to have the title of "wildlife biologist" on your business card is tough. Luckily, you're not limited to just this narrow career path if you study wildlife biology. There are many career options available to you if you choose wildlife biology as your major, including:. Collect data for wildlife research projects, usually under the direction of a wildlife biologist. In addition, the skills you'll learn while studying wildlife biology are highly transferable and can open the doors for many careers, even outside of the life sciences.
As a wildlife biology major, you'll learn how to interpret data and scientific studies, interact with the public, work independently, think critically, research, and write coherently — all of which are highly valued skills by any employer.
Becoming a wildlife biologist is tough. You'll need to be willing to make sacrifices, whether it be living away from your family for months at a time, dealing with rejection, or watching your peers advance their careers more quickly. That said, if you're willing to deal with these issues and the natural world is important to you, a career in wildlife biology can be one of the most rewarding there is.
You might be able to say that you helped an endangered species survive, that you sparked an interest in wildlife among children, or that you helped balance the natural world with that of the human world — all while having a blast. View the most relevant school for your interests and compare them by tuition, programs, acceptance rate, and other factors important to find your college home. How to Become a Wildlife Biologist.
Share on Social. Many groundbreaking journals and publications emerge as a result of the research behind conservation biology—the findings that conservation biologists present can have major impacts on the laws and regulations concerning nature and wildlife.
In addition, they can help to educate the general public on what they can do to positively affect the environment. Without these professionals, it would not be possible to productively protect and maintain our world as we see it today.
Moreover, we would not be able to reverse the effects that have already taken place due to pollution, overpopulation, excessive hunting, and general carelessness. If you have the desire to become a conservation biologist, you will have to start by choosing a college and earning a degree. Some schools have specific programs in conservation biology, while others have programs like wildlife conservation and wildlife biology. To quickly recap: a conservation biologist researches ecosystems, habitats, and animal life in order to develop potential solutions and advocacy.
They represent the people who work in the field in order to identify issues and define key problems through intensive studies and research.
Once these problems are defined, they must be addressed and dealt with through the proper channels; this is where wildlife conservationists take over. These individuals are responsible for taking the findings of conservation biology and presenting them in a way that makes the issues more digestible to the general public and more recognizable to the policy makers. Essentially, they take the developed solutions and put them into practice, thus protecting animal species and their habitats through actions such as creating legislation, establishing and protecting public lands, and endorsing responsible public practices.
While these areas of study seem synonymous, they are in fact two very different professional paths. Whereas conservation biologists are the hands-on researchers and developers of conservation solutions, wildlife conservationists are the driving force behind getting those solutions to be actualized by society as a whole.
There are many privately-owned sectors and nonprofits that work in marine preservation. This role may look a little different than field conservation jobs. A conservation grant writer should still have a conservation biology degree. However, the person in this role may find themselves spending more time in an office setting rather than in the field, writing funding requests to support their business.
That is why we also need soil and water conservationists to study and protect the quality and quantity of safe, healthy soil and water. These natural resources, while seemingly abundant, can be depleted or contaminated by human activity or other factors. Almost all careers in ecology and conservation biology will require higher education, usually a four-year Bachelor of Science degree.
You should expect your coursework to span many disciplines, from biology and environmental science to chemistry and environmental law.
Conservation biologists need to understand the sociological and industrial impacts that humans have on animal and ecosystem populations, just as much as they should understand the populations themselves. For graduate conservation jobs, you should naturally possess an attention to detail and a deep caring for your environment. In college, you will learn how to study the field, gather data, and make informed decisions based on your findings.
The opportunities for conservation biology employment out there are quite diverse. The future is bright for anyone looking to work in conservation biology. Federal governments and private institutions tend to pay more than local and state governments. So, now you know how to put your longtime love for animals and passion for the planet to good use: as a conservation biologist.
Many conservation biologists collaborate with other scientists and technicians. Once deemed extinct, the Southern White Rhino has now reached a stable population of over 20, This rebound was made possible through conservation efforts in their natural habitats in Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
When conservation biologists control conditions within the environment, sustaining endangered species becomes more achievable. The NOC is developed and updated in partnership with Statistics Canada to coincide with the 5- year census cycles.
Thank you for your patience while we finalize the new and improved version of our website. Conservation Biologist. Conservation biologists protect and restore biodiversity and aim to understand and minimize human impacts on the natural world as well as on scarce animal populations. Through research and observation, conservation biologists help establish plans for maintaining habitats and animal populations at sustainable levels.
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