<p>I'm kind of new to the whole college thing (it wasn't previously part of my plan) but finally sucked it up and decided to go, and now I'm trying to figure out what I want to aim for. Currently I'm about to enroll in community college and I'm trying to get a loose plan in place.</p>
<p>What really interests me most is animal behavior: how they communicate, what makes them do the things they do, the tendencies of all sorts of animals, etc etc. I was really drawn to the idea of getting into the field as an animal behaviorist with a focus on wildlife rather than companion animals, but I have no idea of that's realistic job-wise. I was trying to figure out what sorts of careers I could pull from that...I'm really hoping someone might have some advice..?</p>
<p>If I were to go into that sort of field....what major should I take? I was reading the course descriptions and it sounds like some bits of Biology fit and some bits of Animal Science fit. I saw that some colleges offer an Animal Behavior major, but only one in California did and I'm unfortunately limited to my state. I feel like I should have more than one option...plus that school, UCSD, didn't really appeal to me.
I was attracted to Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona, and UC Davis because of their hands-on programs with animals which I feel is the best way to truly understand them, but I don't know if they would be the right fit or not because they all seem more geared towards veterinary or ag business.</p>
<p>I'm also very much open to suggestions of what I could go into with an interest in working with animals. I know I don't want to be a vet, a groomer, or work in the food industry. I have a love for all sorts of animals...horses holding my highest interest, but having owned them my whole life I know there's not any money to be made there without having a ton of it to start with. My eventual goal is to have a boarding stable, but I don't see any way I can get to that goal without having a different career most of my life until I can afford to do that.
I've always been really interested in wildlife, and I'd love to figure a way to make that work, but I'm a bit lost.</p>
<p>I'd really appreciate any suggestions
Thanks!</p>
<p>Most animal focused majors – or careers with animals for that matter will revolve around animal health and welfare. That is – vets, food production, etc. The pet industry is huge – but it’s animal health, feeding, and accessories. There’s training, boarding, grooming and other services for pet owners.</p>
<p>There are animal behaviorists – look at the success of Karen Pryor. She started with clicker training for dolphins and is going strong in at age 80! There are also people who do animal-assisted therapy.</p>
<p>I was an animal science major. My last job before having babies was selling progesterone tests for dairy cattle. After the baby break, I bought a pet shop. I have a young man working for me who did environmental science and biology and works as a wildlife consultant when he’s not working for me. His personal interest is reptiles and fish.</p>
<p>You state several different interests. You need to define these more precisely.</p>
<p>“What really interests me most is animal behavior: how they communicate, what makes them do the things they do, the tendencies of all sorts of animals, etc etc.”
This stated interest most matches a major in zoology or ecology & evolution. Within those majors, you can study animal behavior. </p>
<p>“I was really drawn to the idea of getting into the field as an animal behaviorist with a focus on wildlife rather than companion animals…”
A stated interest in wildlife most matches a major in wildlife ecology.
A stated interest as an animal behaviorist most matches a major in psychology if the department at the school that interest you offer coursework in applied behavior analysis and if anyone on the faculty has an interest in animal training.
Some schools might offer a major in animal behavior, drawing on coursework from zoology or ecology & evolution + psychology.</p>
<p>Maybe you can double major in Psychology + wildlife ecology or zoology/ecology & evolution.</p>
<p>“I have a love for all sorts of animals…horses holding my highest interest…”
“My eventual goal is to have a boarding stable…”
These stated interests sound more like a match with an animal science major. Some schools might offer a specialty track in equine studies. You could combine this with a agribusiness major (in the ag econ dept.)</p>
<p>I don’t know if this would be of interest to you, but you might look at Moorpark College’s Teaching Zoo, , just north of Los Angeles- [Admissions</a> Information - Teaching Zoo - Current Students - Moorpark College](<a href=“http://www.moorparkcollege.edu/current_students/teaching_zoo/admissions.shtml]Admissions”>About the Program | Moorpark College). While Moorpark College is a 2-year community college, admission to the teaching zoo is by separate application, and is quite competitive. It is a 2 year program, but I believe requires year round attendance as well as many extra hours of animal training and care. It is a very unusual program and quite well respected, although definitely not a typical college program. We know several people from our area who have attended and all have had great success with jobs- one is a trainer with Sea World, another a trainer for animals in the movie industry. Just something to consider, especially since you were not originally looking at college as an option.</p>