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college
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by bush_viper17 on October 18, 2004
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Hi, Im going to get my G.E.D. soon. Would I be able to go to college with a G.E.D. and take the same courses as someone with a diploma? A college im interested in is GSW in Georgia. What courses would I take to become a herpetologist or zoologist? I want to specialize in reptiles but I love all animals and would like to take courses dealing with other animals, especially marine wildlife and mammals. thank you....Jeremy
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by Scootertrash on October 18, 2004
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A good starting point would be starting work on a bachelors degree in either biology or wildlife management. I think GSW offers the biology but not sure about wildlife management. And yes, you can go to college if you have a GED and not a diploma. Take the SAT. When i went to college, the college I went to wanted all of my highschool transcripts. I sent them along with my SAT scores. I don't really know what they would require of you since you don't have complete highschool transcripts. Probably a copy of your GED test scores and SAT scores. Hope this helps. Just call the school and ask them what they would require just to be sure.
Clayton
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RE: college
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by bush_viper17 on October 18, 2004
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o.k. THank you. I really would love to go to college and help wildlife and learn in the process. And another thing, I heard that schools go on field trips. Have you been on a field trip with the college? if so what do you do on a field trip?
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by Snakeman1982 on October 18, 2004
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Hey Jeremy.
SAT or ACT is very necessary. There are a lot of students that were homeschooled who didn't get a formal degree but got GEDs. Many of them got scholarships and tuition waivers due to their ACT scores. The scores on those exams will ultimately determine many of the classes you'll take. If you score low on certain section of the exam but still make it into the college, then you may have to take zero level classes that won't give you any college credit but will allow you to take harder classes.
I'll expand on this in a few hours but I actually have to get back to my cellular biology class. Feel free to e-mail me if you want more info than I give later. This is my final year as an undergrad so I know a lot of the classes it takes, etc... to get a bachelor's in biology.
Robert
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RE: college
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by Snakeman1982 on October 19, 2004
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Hey Jeremy,
I am not familiar with GSW but everyone who gets a degree from a university has to pass the same classes whether you got a GED or a diploma. The classes to take may vary a little from University to university however. Basically, you'll take 12-15 hours a semester (sometimes more). You'll need at least 125 hours or so, which usually takes about 4-5 years fulltime. The worst part about college is that close to 60 hours of course work will be general requirement classes (i.e. history, government, english, college algebra, speech, etc...). Those classes are a waste of time and it is mainly so the University can take your money. They are also there because it is suppose to make you more well rounded and so you have ample time to decide what you want to major in. Basically it is just more high school junk. Most other countries don't require those classes for their universities which is why they get their bachelor's degrees in 3 years.
Anyway, usually in order to be academically recognized as a herpetologist you'll need to get at least a bachelor's degree in biology, zoology, or a closely related field. In order to get a degree in biology you have to take chemistry, physics, statistics, ecology, physiology, cellular biology, genetics, etc... You will never take general biology in order to get a biology degree. Gen. Biology is usually for non-majors and it isn't in depth enough for a biology major. Basically whenever you come out with a bachelor's degree you are a decent biologist. I am getting a double major in biology so I will have at least 80 hours of just science classes whenever I am finished. It will have taken me almost 5 years when I finish in May.
Another thing you should probably know is that in academia you are always a biologist first and a herpetologist second. There really isn't a job market for herpetologists at all. Any classified adds in the biological field ask for an ecologist, or physiologist, or may even get more specific than that like behavioral ecologist or molecular biologist with experience isotope research. So most herpetologists in the academic world are a systematists, physiologist, conservationist, or whatever, but there study animals (model organisms) just so happen to be herps. For example, Dr. Bryan Fry, who many of you may know from this site, is what we would all surely call a herpetologist. But he got his Ph.D in Biochemistry. He does a lot of work with snake venoms but he is a biochemist who uses venoms as his research subject. So he wouldn't get a job as a herpetologist, he would get it as a biochemist.
Yes, you should be able to take at least a couple of field classes (i.e. herpetology, ornithology (birds), entomology(insects), etc...). This may depend on where you go however as to what classes they offer.
Yes, there will be field trips associated with many classes. I have been on a lot of field trips with my University. Certain classes go on field trips throughout the semester. Mostly, they are small in-state trips but they are fun and you learn a lot. For example, in Ornithology I had to wake up at 4:30am in order to meet my fellow classmates at our science building at 5 so we could be in the field and birding at our field site by 6:30am. We also took manditory weekend field trips to areas 5 or more hours away on occasion. So depending on what the class, you can certainly have field trips. In herpetology, we went down to another University in Texas to hang out with other herpetologists and herpetology students. We also caught a bunch of native Texas herps to show the class.
Some of the larger universities are associated with OTS (Organization for Tropical Studies). These Universities allow students to travel abroad and conduct research in areas like Costa Rica. Sometimes after a student graduates they will let them go on the trips for free if they'll assist in teaching the tropical courses. But your first couple of trips to the tropics you will surely have to pay out of your own pocket.
My University sends students to Belize about twice a year for a tropical ecology class in the rainforest and a class on coral reefs. But that isn't associated with OTS. All of these tropical courses are very expensive however, and you have to pay for your own flights. So I don't think they really worth the money but I'm also not a touristy type person.
If you are interested in Marine biology classes, often times you can take classes during the summer and travel to marine laboratories set up by other Universities. Although these classes are taught by other universities you can still get the credits transferred over and they should count towards your biology degree. These classes are just like the tropical classes however, in that they are very expensive.
Here's a big worry you have to think about though. Biology is a very difficult major and whenever you get out you can do very few things with it. If you don't go to graduate school to get your master's or Ph.D, or you don't go into the medical field, it will be very hard for you to get a job in biology. The government doesn't give out a lot of money towards the biological sciences. If you want a good job at a zoo, then a bachelor's degree should get you there. Other than that there aren't a whole lot of jobs for people with only a bachelor's degree. At least half of the people I know who graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology did not get biological jobs whenever they got done. Those that do get jobs like that work in either the fish and game service (which can be cool for some but very seldom herp related) or they work for environmental consultant companies that survey land for large corporations who want to build there. Neither job pays as well as other professions with bachelor's degrees. Some can get jobs with the government like corps of engineers, and USGeological Survey, but those are hard to get.
Usually, people who get degrees in biology that don't go on to further their education in biology or medicine end up taking jobs that don't relate to biology. The sad thing is that there is very little money in biology and those that do get the grants to do research have Ph.Ds and are associated with a University or museum. Some are at zoos but I believe few of them get any government funding for their research. With a bachelor's degree some of the only real field research you can do is internships or technicians. These usually pay barely over minimum wage and you are studying under another biologist with an advanced degree. The main problem with internships is that they are very seasonal. Usually there are very few internships in between mid-october to mid-march. So you would have to find other work in between those months, especially if all you did were herps.
The further you go in college, the more doors will be opened for you. I suggest meeting with some of the biologists at the Universities or colleges you would like to attend. Ask about their classes, major program, opportunities afterwards, what type of jobs their graduating students are getting, etc... That may decide what area you choose to get into. Because there are different types of biology programs as well.
Here's a few websites for you to check out:
http://cnah.org/careers.asp?id=1
http://www.ku.edu/~ssar/career.html
http://www.ku.edu/~ssar/careerfaq.html
http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/career.html
http://www.labour.gov.za/docs/mycareer/alphabet/h/herpetolog.html
The last link sucks and I don't know if they know what they are talking about. It is somewhat correct but forget everything they say about "applied" and "pure" herpetologists.
Hope this all helps a little. Good luck. Feel free to e-mail me if you have more questions.
Robert
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