The longer I've been in the field, however, the more I find myself being asked another question. This is a question posed by people who are where I was fifteen years ago, just getting ready to break into the field. They've already figured out the "why", and have explained it themselves to their own friends, families, and teachers. What they're having trouble with is the "how". Some people ask casually, thinking that it might be a fun summer job. For others, this is their passion, the life that they've dreamed of. This is the job that they want.
Find a zoo. Fill out an application. Sit for an interview. Accept the job. Done, right? Well, not quite so easy. I am convinced that there is no job which is so competitive for as little as it pays as the keeping field. A position at a large zoo like the National Zoo or the Bronx Zoo may attract several hundred applicants; even my tiny little zoo can have 100 people vying for a single animal keeper opening. It can be an enormous challenge getting yourself noticed and rising to the top of the pile.
Todays post, then, is devoted to answering the new most frequent question I get asked at work (besides "Where are the bathrooms?" and "Which way are the monkeys?") - How do I become a zookeeper?
1.) Hit the Books
Doctors go to medical school, lawyers go to law school. Police and firefighters and soldiers have their academies. But what about zookeepers? Do they need schooling, beyond high school? And if so, where, and in what field?
A generation or two ago, schooling at a level beyond high school wasn't deemed necessary for a career in keeping - it may have even been a liability, as managers and curators might have felt threatened by a book-smart newbie who thought they knew everything. In theory, most zoos and aquariums require their entry-level keepers to have at least a high school diploma, but competition for the relatively scarce openings means that a bachelor's degree is almost a requirement. Degrees should be in something animal related, obviously - zoology, biology, animal sciences, or a related field.
Why the degree? Why the student loans for a job that pays zilch? Much of the job is routine work, it's true - preparing diets, scrubbing water bowls, and, of course, cleaning up poop. You can do just that and do 90% of a keeper's bare-minimum job requirements... but that other 10% makes a huge difference. Keepers need to know about the natural history and behavior of their charges in order to take the best care of them. They need to understand nutrition, reproductive biology, anatomy, and basic veterinary medicine. These days, a knowledge of behavior, especially as it can be applied towards training and enrichment, is often essential. At the very least, a keeper often needs the academic skills to investigate and research problems they may face - and this job throws a lot of weird problems at you.
Based on my personal observations, I'd say aquarists, invertebrate keepers, and reptile/amphibian keepers tend to be the most academically inclined, the result of needing to know so much detailed information about such a wide variety of species (a large mammal keeper might care for half a dozen species in a month... a reptile keeper might hundreds). Bird keepers tend to be next, followed by small mammal, than large mammal.
A lot of visitors are surprised that I went to school at all... let alone that I have more higher education than they do.
2.) Get Dirt (and worse) on Your Hands
In my second year of college, I was enrolled in a Domestic Animal Biology class, filled mostly with pre-vets. Part of the class was lecture, part was lab, and part was actual animal care. A small barn, stocked with pigs and calves, chickens and sheep, and one ornery old horse, was set aside for us to care for, with mandatory, regularly scheduled chores being part of the class. An astonishing percentage of my classmates washed out. They could rattle of anatomy and reproductive data no problem, but give them a shovel and point them towards a pasture of horse dung? Give them a slop bucket and tell them to go into a pen with some frisky, hungry, occasionally bitey pigs? No thank you.
A lot of people think they want to be zookeepers, until the realities set in. It's dirty and smelly. It's cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and often rainy in between. You work holidays and weekends. You get bitten and scratched and pooped on and peed on. Animals that you care for get old, and pass away... or young and seemingly healthy ones surprise you and die. Animals that you get attached to get sent to other facilities. You get paid a pittance.
The best way to show potential employers that you want the job is to do the job. Volunteer. Intern. Work part time. If there isn't a zoo or aquarium near you, try a nature center, or a rehabber, or a pet shelter, or a vet's office, or basically anything that shows that you can handle the work. Employers want employees who have a realistic idea of what the job will be like. Not someone who thinks that they will play with animals all day, but someone who understands the challenges of the job and accepts them. Not only will you build up a resume and give yourself experiences to draw upon later in life, you may shock yourself and find out that you don't like doing it at all! Then you can change your direction before it's too late.
An extra tip for would-be aquarists or marine mammal keepers - get SCUBA certified.
3). Show Your Passion
The hardest to quantify, but the most important. I've known great keepers with a PhD and great keepers with a GED. I've met keepers who had tons of experience, yet still managed to stink at their jobs, and ones who had no prior experience and manage to rock the job anyway. I've never met a great... or even good... or even tolerable, really, keeper who didn't have passion. If you want to be a zookeeper or an aquarist, be prepared to show it. Part of that is by preparing yourself through education and experience. That's what will get you an interview. Passion is what can help you carry that interview and turn it into a job offer.
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