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herpetologist
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by Viperdae on October 2, 2003
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I am planning on farthering my edu. in herptology. i just wanted to say that and that i have two snakes and two geckos. my question is. If i became one what are some jobs that i may be able to get?
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RE: herpetologist
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by Irishviper on October 2, 2003
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Your job availabilities as a herpetologist are very few. Education, and periodically state and federal positions are about it. It's best to be deversified in the biology fields. Especially micro, and genetics. Other than teaching and zoos, not much is really required for a true herpetology position. Take it from a fellow herpetologist. Most zoology fields often end up working with birds, fish, and mammals, and keep their herps as a hobby. Alan
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RE: herpetologist
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by Viperdae on October 2, 2003
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Thanks for replying irishviper. if you dont mind me asking, what do you do as a herpetologist?
nick
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RE: herpetologist
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by Irishviper on October 3, 2003
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Well, currently I'm trying to build up a very large collection of reptiles for the very first and only Texas Reptile museum, and I T.A. at a local university wile I'm working on my next degree. Like I said before, not much in the way of reptiles unless you start something yourself. Alan
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RE: herpetologist
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by Snakeman1982 on October 3, 2003
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Hello Bill,
Here's a couple of websites that should help you out and let you realize what real academic herpetologists are and do? The first two were both written by renowned and respected academic herpetologists.
http://www.ku.edu/~ssar/career.html
http://199.245.200.110/pubs/herpjobs.htm
http://www.labour.gov.za/docs/mycareer/alphabet/h/herpetolog.html
Depending on what type of "herpetologist" you want to be you could go a lot of ways. Many people have their own view of what a herpetologist is. A lot of people use herpetology as a pretty broad term and think that anyone who studies reptiles and amphibians at all are herpetologists. They think that if you own a corn snake and know how to keep him alive for a year and you monitor his behavior that you are a herpetologist. This thinking doesn't fit well with academic herpetologists and most won't even consider a biologist with only a single bachelor's degree a herpetologist. Usually to get academically recognized as a herpetologist you have to publish scientific papers and have to atleast gotten a master's degree in biology with a thesis paper on some aspect of reptile or amphibian study.
For example, Steve Irwin owns a very impressive zoo and has been keeping reptiles and amphibians practically his whole life. He can afford and probably has some of the best herpetology books in the world. He surely has a wealth of information in his brain about reptiles and amphibians. Regardless of what you think of him personally Steve Irwin has probably done more for conservation than anyone else by opening up their eyes and letting them see how wonderful the animals he loves is. Now Steve Irwin also does a lot of studies on the animals he keeps and has many conservation projects dedicated to endangered species, such as the Fiji Island Banded Iguana (Brachylopus fasciatus). I am sure he donates huge amounts of money for conservation and the study of reptiles and amphibians. He has also herped all over the world and caught numerous species. But despite all of this most academic herpetologist don't like him nor think he is a herpetologist. This is because he doesn't so much as have a bachelor's degree and he doesn't publish scientific papers. You never see him hanging out with other herpetologists with Ph.Ds or anything like you would with Mark O'Shea. Personally I think Steve Irwin should be considered a herpetologist professionally. However, although I respect him just as much as many academic herpetologist (sometimes a lot more) I still wouldn't include him into the same category of academic herpetologist that publish in scientific journals. That isn't his passion, it is conservation.
To add to this if you want to be a herpetologist at the University level you need to have excellent grades, internships, and research experience along with letters of recommendation by other herpetologists. Honestly few herpetologists care about what reptiles or amphibians you keep as pets or if you can handle venomous snakes, etc... They want to know what you know as a biologist, which includes physiology, chemistry, physics, anatomy, ecology, systematics, etc... It also includes other aspects of science like ornithology (study of birds), entomology (insects), ichthyology (fish), and even Botany. They might think it is interesting if you have a huge life list of herps that you have seen or caught in the wild but that won't come near to impressing them enough to get into grad school.
I don't like botany but will need to know it. For example, if some person in the southwest tells me that the best place to find night lizards is on and around joshua trees and I don't know what a joshua tree looks like I am going to waste a lot of time looking for them in the wrong place and it would surely affect any research I was doing. So sadly you can't just study herpetology.
My main advice to you is to do good in high school, especially on your ACT or SAT score. Take a lot of science classes and get into a University so you can pursue atleast your bachelor's. Get scholarships before you get out of high school because there probably won't be any after you get into college. Most of the scholarships are based on getting kids into college instead of rewarding them after they get in and do well. Since you are young you are in a good starting point if you truly know what you want to be when you get older because most people starting college don't have a clue. Get some experience in your field and ask around.
Herpetology is one of the most competitive fields you can get into however, and if you are looking for making money you shouldn't think about herpetology because unless you teach at a college or get really lucky, there isn't any. Good Luck.
Robert C. Jadin
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RE: herpetologist
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by BGF on October 3, 2003
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Hi mate
Good on ya for wanting to be a herpetologist. There aren't enough of us.
If you feel passionate enough about it, you will succeed. What you need to do is find an area that really interests you and 'own it'. There are no jobs in herpetology, only niches to be filled. Create your own niche and keep grinding away and it will all work out.
All the best
Bryan
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one simple question
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by zarazna on April 13, 2004
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hello im andrew i have been catchin and handling non venomous snakes around the house and through the neighboorhood. Im 15 going on 16 and mom isnt so clear on snakes, therefore i dont have one yet. i was wondering what i can tell her that would convince her its ok if anyone knows and also what kind of snake would be a good choice for my first. Thanks
Andrew
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