Additional Information
If you want to be a zoologist but you think heavy schooling is for the
birds, you may want to choose another career. Zoologists generally have master's
or PhD degrees in biology or zoology. This is because the work is primarily
research.
As well, zoologists are often expected to spend time in post-doctoral positions
getting plenty of laboratory experience before obtaining full-time jobs, say
experts.
"You need at least a [BS] to be called a zoologist," says zoologist James
Ballantyne. "This minimum requirement would allow you to get technical jobs
that would involve minimal supervisory responsibilities and little control
over what you do.
"[A master's degree] would allow you to take more responsibility for the
work, but a PhD is needed for most top jobs where you would be involved in
decision making, designing experiments or studies. In other words, the more
degrees you have, the more control and responsibilities you would have."
Required university courses generally include chemistry or physics, math
and biology. Specialty courses like ecology, genetics and animal behavior
are often thrown into the mix.
If you're still in high school, take lots of math and biology to set a
good foundation for future courses.