Is wildlife biology a decent career to get into?

Making it as a wildlife biologist is a bit like moving to Hollywood to be a movie star. You're competing with a bunch of other motivated people, and with every person who doesn't know what to do now that they've graduated. You've got to fight for positions and grant money. If you become a superstar and get a tenured professorship you'll have one of the best jobs in the world, but you'll still need to run a sweatshop of post-docs writing grant proposals 20 hours a day.

Typical runner or sockpuppet wrote:

Making it as a wildlife biologist is a bit like moving to Hollywood to be a movie star. You're competing with a bunch of other motivated people, and with every person who doesn't know what to do now that they've graduated. You've got to fight for positions and grant money. If you become a superstar and get a tenured professorship you'll have one of the best jobs in the world, but you'll still need to run a sweatshop of post-docs writing grant proposals 20 hours a day.

This.

I spent 20 years as a biologist and it was a great experience. I did field and lab research on large mammals, habitat mapping, and a couple years of bird research. But at the end I was broke (actually worse) and the prospect of another term position post doc wasn't appealing so I became an environmental planner. The pay and job security are better.

There are jobs out there but you have to be both driven and lucky.

Marine biology is better.

No, but the Department of Agriculture is always looking for entomologists. How do feel about bugs?

Typical runner or sockpuppet wrote:

Making it as a wildlife biologist is a bit like moving to Hollywood to be a movie star. You're competing with a bunch of other motivated people, and with every person who doesn't know what to do now that they've graduated. You've got to fight for positions and grant money. If you become a superstar and get a tenured professorship you'll have one of the best jobs in the world, but you'll still need to run a sweatshop of post-docs writing grant proposals 20 hours a day.

I definitely don't want a PhD or to go into academia. I want a job with fish and game, the forest or park service, or something like that.

Nature Bro wrote:

Typical runner or sockpuppet wrote:

Making it as a wildlife biologist is a bit like moving to Hollywood to be a movie star. You're competing with a bunch of other motivated people, and with every person who doesn't know what to do now that they've graduated. You've got to fight for positions and grant money. If you become a superstar and get a tenured professorship you'll have one of the best jobs in the world, but you'll still need to run a sweatshop of post-docs writing grant proposals 20 hours a day.

I definitely don't want a PhD or to go into academia. I want a job with fish and game, the forest or park service, or something like that.

Oh, that's much more doable. If you join the environmental police in Massachusetts, they'll even give you a license to kill. I mean literally, a license to kill. They take the environment very seriously.

Yo Momma wrote:

No, but the Department of Agriculture is always looking for entomologists. How do feel about bugs?

Greatest wildlife in the world, and there will never be enough people studying them.

But don't be an entomologist. Arachnologist! Spiders is where it's at. Major medical and industrial applications too - venom and silk.

Yo Momma wrote:

No, but the Department of Agriculture is always looking for entomologists. How do feel about bugs?

Only if you have an advanced degree. I suppose you could work seasonally, like I have have many years over, but as far as a career goes, you pretty much need a masters or Ph.D to make it a living. Unless you intern for DNR, Fisheries and Wildlife, or like organization, and get a foot in the door that way.

No it's not.

I have a bs in biology and an ms in wildlife ecology and management.. You're welcome to pm me for advice.

Sorry not sure if email was included

renewed marathoner wrote:

I have a bs in biology and an ms in wildlife ecology and management.. You're welcome to pm me for advice.

You'll need to include an email address in order for that to happen.