Wildlife Biologists

[Spurgeon]

Well I have to give a speech on a possible career I may pursue. I decided to research a wildlife biologist. I thought I would check here to see if anyone is one. The types of questions i am going to try to answer are, what college, what classes, why become one, how much money, vacation time, job availability, what the job consists of. Thanks for your help.

 

[muddy]

getting to the biologist level will take much time and patience. if you're planning on staying in iowa to work plan on going to iowa state for schooling otherwise you'll never get hired in this state. it sounds sad, but it's true. also plan on spending a lot of years as a seasonal "summer slave" as they like to call you. you will bump around from station to station before you will get a break. i've known guys in the fisheries side to work for over 7 years as a seasonal aide before they started even getting considered for a professional job in this state. for more immediate emplyment look out west for jobs in other states. like any 4 year degree you'll be concentrating on wildlife courses i'm sure. Ogz went to ISU and has can help you out a bit more as far as specifics on the courses.

good luck, you'll need it. fisheries and wildlife positions are VERY difficult to crack into. i've been trying to get into fisheries since '99 and am still doing hourly jobs for minimal pay.

it's a labor of love. the pay sucks even when you get to where you want to be. the vacation isn't the greatest either. but, when you come home and have been elbow deep in a fish tank or out tagging wood ducks the smile on your face is all that matters.

 

[Shedhuntermd]

Becoming a biologist for Natural Resources was not an easy task. The start pay is around $30,000 and within three years a biologist in my area Maryland should expect to make around 40,000. I went to community college for two years then to a state school for two more, and my degree is Geography and Environmental Planning. I think is very helpful to do internships with the people you wish to work for, that’s how I got in. Good luck with your future and feel free to ask any questions you wish.

 

[Greywolf]

I'm just a naturalist, not a wildlife biologist, but I work with a lot of them. Muddy's right, you have to work summer jobs for several years and pay your dues before you can get on full time. An ISU degree would be a big help too, although I went to UNI and did all right. I ended up working 2 years for the DNR parks in summers and for the state archaeologist in winter. Then 2 years for DNR fisheries and teaching a couple of college classes on the side before I got something full time. The pay's not great, but the "fringe" benefits are - like today I was working in one of the parks and found a nice shed. Vacation is usually about 2 or 3 weeks a year. As far as what the job consists of - biologists for management units spend a lot of time doing habitat work - mowing, tree planting, burning prairies, TSI, food plots, fish structure,etc. If you want to spend more time working with critters (radio collaring bobcats, turkey trapping, population surveys,etc) then you want to get into research biology. Good luck.

 

[Ogz]

If you want to do any of the "fun" stuff regarding wildlife biology, you can plan on at least going after a Masters degree. I have chosen to work outside of my wildlife biology degree to ensure that I can live above the poverty level and that is because I only have a 4 year degree. If you stay in state, ISU is the way to go. If you want to hit the road, look into Georgia, Texas A&M Kingsville, and Stephen F. Austin University in Texas. Good luck.

 

[FurDog]

Confucious say, "Find a job you love, and you shall never have to work a day in your life"

.........as I sit here staring at a computer screen.

Good luck