Finding Fun Careers Working with Animals

If you are interested in a career working with animals, you can begin by volunteering to work with animals. Hands-on experiences, whether they are internships, part-time jobs or volunteer positions, will help you to figure out what you like and what is right for you. Consider volunteer experiences that will expose you to various segments of the field. Pursue positions that deal directly with animals, as well as, those involving research. The experience you earn will help to clarify the capacity in which you want to work with animals, and often is a prerequisite in obtaining employment with pay.

Today, there are many volunteer opportunities available, both locally and internationally. These opportunities range from volunteering in wildlife conservation or at your local humane society to traveling to a distant country to participate in a long-term research project. Volunteering to participate is a great way to get involved in scientific research, promote environmental education, and gain experience working with animals. The volunteer work will give you exposure to many different species of animals while performing a great community service at the same time.

The international volunteer positions available are in dozens of countries and are scheduled at various time throughout the year, and some of them are as follows:

Earthwatch (http://www.earthwatch.org/expedition_search) sponsors dozens of wildlife research, conservation, and educational projects in over 40 countries. They enable volunteers to join expeditions and in doing so participate in the field studies of their choice. Earthwatch publishes an Annual Review which is a good way to find out more about their recent conservation and research projects.

Earth Island Institute (http://www.eii.org/) offers a range of employment and volunteer opportunities in environmental conservation, preservation, and restoration.

Global Vision International (http://www.gvi.co.uk/) is an organization that provides volunteers a way of working to fill voids in environmental research, education, and conservation as well as education and community development. Global Vision International offers a wide range of expeditions, projects, courses, and internships from which to choose.

Also read books and research the internet on animal careers to see how your interests and concern for animals might become a lifelong career. A good website to start your investigation on animal careers is http://www.khake.com/page10.html. Research universities’ websites and talk to admissions counselors or people within the departments at different vet schools that interest you; find out about admissions requirements, statistics, and the admissions process.