Schools or Scams

I was at a family function not too long ago, the one where the definition of "family" is extended to people beyond one-word descriptors (aunt, uncle, cousin, etc).  I was approached by an in-law of some sort who I've never actually had a conversation with, but who knew the only really important thing about me, which is that I work at a zoo.  It turns out that she has her own tangentially-related contact (so, 2x tangential for me) who is hoping to break into the field.  She wanted my advice of some school and program options, mostly to see if I'd at least heard of them and if I knew of anyone who'd successfully graduated from them and landed a job at a zoo.

I was able to satisfy her with a "yes" on both scores, which seemed to satisfy her.  Off she went without further questioning.

If she'd asked more questions, I might have said more, but I wasn't sure how much of my place it was.

Education is one of the more controversial aspects of job-seeking from those already within the profession.  There's a pretty vocal contingent that feels that the four-year degree is an unnecessary, elitist, and (most importantly) expensive requirement that traps many keepers in crushing debt, excludes folks who aren't able to afford college, and doesn't really contribute much to your ability to do the job.  

I won't deny that yes, a lot of the stuff that I learned in school didn't directly apply to my keeper work - even the stuff that was in the animal-related classes themselves.  I did learn a lot about research, critical thinking, project management, teamwork, and other skills which I think are beneficial, but I can certainly understand not wanting to go into debt for those if you don't have to.  Besides, organic chemistry?  Ick.

Another option that exists are specialized zookeeping programs or schools.  There are a handful of them scattered across the country, from the Zoo Sciences program at Delaware Valley College (in partnership with the Elmwood Park Zoo) to the famous Exotic Animal Training and Management (the unfortunately acronymed EAT'M) in California, billing itself as "America's Teaching Zoo."  (Serious question, there are plenty of teaching hospitals - why not more teaching zoos?).  Santa Fe Community College (confusingly located in Florida, not New Mexico), has an AZA accredited zoo on its campus for the education of students.  There is even a zoo in a high school campus in Millbrook, New York - the Trevor Zoo - for those who want to get off on the right professional foot even earlier.

These programs that I've named are all good schools that have placed folks I know in the field.  My distant relation-by-marriage was mostly worried that her friend-of-a-friend was going to be signing up for the zoo-equivalent of Trump University, paying a lot of money and getting zilch in return.  Which, to be far, can happen with legitimate universities as well, though hopefully not deliberately. 

I wish I could give a better answer to the question of "is the degree worth it?"  An unfortunate truth is that there are so many qualified candidates for most zookeeping and aquarist jobs that, even if it isn't really essential, employers can afford to be picky.  So, if there's anything you can do to get that leg up, and this is your dream job, might be worth it.  Or at least, it might be necessary.  At what some of these schools are charging, "worth it" might be a bit loaded of a term.