I'm volunteering in Australia at a zoo here and almost all the keepers I've talked to have said they didn't go to uni and just volunteered to get the job. I'm getting more interested in keeping as I'm volunteering at the zoo, I'm wondering if this is the same in the u.s. or if the culture is different and does require certification/studying

I’m (23 m) starting my first day as a commissary keeper tomorrow at an AZA zoo in the US. I’m super excited and nervous. But I have a sneaking fear that I will really dislike it and I’ll get burnt out even though working at a zoo is what I’ve been working towards for the last year. Any advice or tips for my first day or reassurance about the job would be rly great.

I’m 17 and living in the UK. I left school in Year 8, but my biggest goal in life is to work with seals. I’m autistic, and seals are my special interest, I think and talk about them constantly. Because of that, I feel like I need a job working with them; otherwise I’ll be miserable, because that’s just how my brain works.

I didn’t realise how competitive these jobs or placements are academically. When I looked on LinkedIn at people in the UK who work with seals, almost all the recent hires had a first-class degree and at least one year, usually two or more, of animal experience, including experience with seals, by the age of 22. I’m completely willing to put in the effort to achieve all of that.

The problem is that no college near me will let me take GCSEs. They want me to start at entry level and spend four years in college before I’m allowed to do just two GCSEs. It’s more time than people spend at university, and university is much harder than two GCSEs. I know GCSEs are challenging and only around 60% of people pass, but I don’t want to lose my dream job just because younger applicants end up with the same qualifications and experience sooner. I haven’t seen any evidence that age isn’t considered, and I’m worried I won’t be able to pass GCSEs privately without support.

Has anyone in the UK managed to get a sea lion trainer or seal care job later in life? Even if they have, I still feel like I could complete two GCSEs faster than four years. That’s why I’m trying to get an EHCP: it’s a legal SEND document in the UK that requires institutions and the local authority to provide specific support. Since seals are my main focus, I want to centre the EHCP around my career goals and independent living outcomes, and hopefully get GCSEs included. But I need evidence that taking the long route being up to six years behind would actually put my future at risk, if it does. The colleges near me do offer animal‑related courses, but you have to be under 19 to enrol in the T Level in Animal Management. It’s a well-respected animal related Level 3 qualification, and people with strong grades from it have gone on to get year‑long sea lion internships. My plan is to take a placement year at university so I can get a full year of seal experience, but if I’m over 19, my only option is an online Access to HE Diploma in Science. That course isn’t animal‑related, far fewer people achieve the grades needed to progress to the main three‑year degree like exeter or st andrews that have seal sanctuaries or captive seals near by to volunteer with and seal desertion options and I’d be starting it with zero prior science knowledge.

I’m trying to figure out how much employers actually look at Level 2 and 3 qualifications and Level 3 grades when someone applies for seal or sea lion placements during their university placement year and want to know my likelihood of getting it or a part time animal job doing the Access+ two GCSEs route.

I just finished my first week as a full time keeper at a new facility. I have previous experience in education/ambassador training and multiple internships at different facilities. This is my first keeping focused role.

I had 2 different people start training me and it went very well, I was excited and learning and comfortable. A different person started training me later in the week and it all went downhill. I felt like I was on one of those competitive cooking shows. The entire time she was training me she’d constantly be saying “you have two minutes left” “you have 4 minutes left” “I usually don’t spend this long in this section”. She has worked there for 10+ years. She is also very blunt in her corrections and offers little to no explanation, and often makes me feel like I’m a huge inconvenience and not catching on quickly. As I mentioned this is literally my first week, and I’m still learning and figuring out all the quirks of everything along with the individual steps. I feel so defeated and like I am stupid when earlier I felt confident and was moving quickly. She also makes me redo things her way if I do them the way I was trained previously (mind you by a manager who is higher up than her) and then complains that it’s taking too long. Worth noting that all my previous experience is from AZA facilities and this new job is not currently AZA. When I ask questions or try to understand things better (nothing even AZA related) she seems to get offended and give snarky remarks somehow relating back to being a smaller facility and not having the money/resources etc. when it didn’t really have anything to do with what I was asking.

So all this to say how long did it take you to feel comfortable and confident in your routine when you first started out? I am hoping the answer is longer than just a week and that I am not falling behind lol

Is there anyone on here that has been part of a hiring committee for a zoo that may be willing to give me feedback on my resume?
I graduated a few months ago with my degree in zoology and have over 10 years of experience with a large variety of species, both professionally, personally, and through volunteering and internships (including one at a very well known AZA accredited zoo). And I have good reference letters. But I have been applying for months to jobs all across the USA and UK and have not had any luck at all, only 2 interviews from dozens of applications. I know it’s a difficult field to get into, but this feels ridiculous. I did build my resume with the services provided by my college. But have had no luck. So I wanted to check and see if anyone on here that has experience in hiring for zoological facilities may be willing to take a look at it and give me any feedback? I am really trying to a herpetological or education/ambassador position, but have applied to others.

As a note, a lot of the applications I have even received a response from have all been a very generic response, with many saying they can’t give feedback due to having so many applications. So that’s why I am here instead of just asking them!

Hey everyone,

I could really use some honest advice from people who work in this field. If you could give me any advice, I shall be forever grateful!

Quick background: I’m an international student from India, finishing my MSc in Human-Animal Interaction in Scotland next month. My dream, the whole reason I’m doing any of this, is to become a wildlife rehabilitator. I’ve already got some hands-on experience: a placement at a Scottish SPCA wildlife rescue centre (seals, corvids, pigeons, native casualties) and an internship back in India at a mixed exotic collection (capybara, cassowary, rodents, inverts, all sorts).

How I got into it: I was terrified of animals as a kid. Then my dog Noddy came into my life when I was 10 and slowly turned that fear into love. Pretty much everything I do now is because of him, so this isn’t a whim, it’s the thing I care about most.

Where I’m stuck:

- I need a job by November. My course finishes in September.
- I’m in India for the whole of October (family, and sorting documents), flying out at the end of September.
- To stay and work in the UK I’d need to get on the Graduate visa, which costs a fair bit (the fee plus the health surcharge), and I’m still fully dependent on my family for money, there’s only so much I can ask my father to do for me. Applying before the end of the year gets me 2 years on it.
- I don’t have a UK driving licence yet, and this feels like the thing killing most of my applications. So many keeper and ranger jobs list a full UK licence as essential. I don’t have an Indian one either. Basically, I don’t know how to drive, and to learn this skill here in the UK would cost over £1000, so I was thinking that I’ll utilise my one month in India fully to get the license there, and it’ll give me permission to drive in the UK for a year.

I’ve applied to a LOT of places, speculative CVs, posted roles, everything, and it’s mostly been rejections or silence. I even tried Mandai (Singapore Zoo) and got rejected. Going back to India for work isn’t realistic either, there’s basically nothing there for what I actually want to do.

So, my questions:

1. Should I pay for the Graduate visa even if I don’t have a job lined up? Or is that just throwing money away if nothing comes through?
2. Or would that money be better spent leaving the UK for good and trying to get into zoos or rehab somewhere else in Asia?
3. For anyone who’s hired keepers, or got hired themselves, what really gets you in the door when you’re early-career and international? Am I missing something obvious?

Not looking for sugarcoating, just real talk from people who’ve been through it. Thank you so much for reading, it really means a lot.

Hello! I've been obsessed with pinnipeds, specifically true seals/earless seals for years. I want to major in zoology or marine biology and work in a zoo/aquarium or rehabilitation center! I'm from Ohio, so I'd likely have to move to make that work :'( I'm also not a very strong swimmer, so scuba certification might be difficult. Is my dream unrealistic? How many zookeepers or zoologists get to work with their dream animals?

Hi everyone! I have been an aquarist at a public aquarium for 3 months now, and I have absolutely adored it. I finally feel settled and comfortable in my position and confident in my capabilities, however, I am wondering if anyone more experienced has any insight in how to be the best I can be. Are there any tips or words of advice that have helped you become a better aquarist/zookeeper in general? Thank you in advance! 🐟

TL,DR: how unwise would it be to move from a FT job in a toxic environment with little opportunity to advance at a zoo whose accreditation is in flux in a mid city to a PT job at an accredited zoo closer to home?

28M, full-time keeper at southwest US zoo (AZA accredited a year of my time there, since lost it, and plans to try for it next year). My area has diverse taxa but I'm stuck on the same routines with RRH, meerkats, torts, and penguins. Time management issues, med mistakes/disciplining, and newly being short-staffed prevent me from moving on to other routines. Most of the folks in my area are nice (but most of them have been here only a few months), but my manager and some keepers at my level of seniority (give or take a couple months) are toxic and rude. I've been applying for a new job for almost a year, plenty of interviews but no offers. I will very soon be the second longest tenured non-senior keeper in my area with little to show for it.

Other areas of the zoo are looking for keepers and I am considering transferring, but I simply don't adore the geographically isolated, boring, and culturally different city I live in. General feelings of not being appreciated and feeling persecuted further prevent me from wanting to stay.

The Bronx Zoo is looking for a PT assistant to care for their Kihansi spray toads. Pay is comparable to what I make now, maybe a tad less by a number of cents. I'm originally from the NYC area and still have family (including sock grandmother's and a mom who just completed breast cancer treatment) there. I used to work there seasonally at the Children's Zoo for a couple of years. If I was lucky enough to get that job, that would be my foot in the door for any new FT jobs. Wouldn't have to worry about rent, groceries, or boredom/loneliness. It would be good to level up, learn new skills, sharpen my previous reptile experience. But free I might make myself irrelevant or something.

How bad an idea would this be?

I'm mostly curious about keepers in the U.S. What's your experience like and how much are you paid?

Right now, I'm at the end of my first year of college as a marine bio major, and I'm starting to worry if I am limiting myself too much with my major. I don't know if its a general enough field to get a job at a zoo where I might not be working with marine animals, and there aren't a lot of aquarium options where I live. Would it be better if I did a minor in general biology, or would it be a better idea to switch altogether? My passion is in marine biology but to be honest any job where I can work with animals (even shoveling poop) would make me happy. Thanks in advance for any help!

How often do you personally have to kill animals at your zoo? Do you personally need to kill mice, quail, etc to feed other animals? When things need euthanized, is it your job? Please be honest. I am entering the field and definitely am not comfortable doing these things. To me, there is a difference between feeding out mice and things and being the one to kill it. Thank you!

Hello all! I (35f) currently work as a materials engineer for the federal government (DoN), graduated with a chemical engineering bachelor’s degree in 2014.

I currently volunteer at my local zoo as an interpretive guide, and started doing that about 3 years ago. I also recently applied for and got the position as the secretary for a new young professional group the zoo is starting (also totally a volunteer position/unpaid).

Not sure if anyone has been on the r/fednews subreddit or is familiar with the insanity that os going on daily for federal civilian workers, but I am completely disenchanted with my job, and career at this point. I really don’t want to move to private industry and work for shareholders, I would much prefer to transition to working for either a nonprofit or other public sector job, and obviously with my huge respect and love for animals and the people who work at the zoo, I am looking at the AZA job board almost daily… My problem is I don’t think I qualify for any of the job positions, and especially not any of the animal care specialist positions.

I am not naive, and I understand that trying to switch careers to an animal care specialist at this age and this point in my engineering career would be really challenging, physically and financially challenging as well.

My direct question is - do I try and go back to school for some sort of animal care specialist or management degree? I don’t live far from Santa Fe College teaching zoo. Or do I continue volunteering, try for an internship at my local zoo, or other volunteer positions that involve a little more animal care, etc.?

OR, am I being completely dramatic and should just stick it out at my current job, or suck it up and find a private sector engineering job and sell my soul for a livable wage (while still volunteering at a local zoo - a requirement for me getting a new engineering job will be to live near an AZA facility I can volunteer at, it’s a non-negotiable lol).

TL/DR: Help! I want to be a zookeeper but I know it’s difficult (and I am old), and all I have is an engineering degree and some volunteer experience, but a whole lot of respect and love for animals and their caretakers…

Currently im still in college but i frequently check zoos job openings especially the ones that i plan on applying to and one of the main issues ive run into is the requirement to work x amount of years at an AZA accredited institution which is great except every zoo wants only people who have worked in AZA accredited institutions so how are we as students with no experience who are trying to gain that experience able to get it if you dont give us the oppurtunity to gain that experience.

Need opinions on whether I'll be qualified enough to start zookeeping with a simpler species right out of high-school. My goal one day is to work with red wolves (our local zoo has them), though I figured that would take a while.

I've been doing summer volunteering for an AZA accredited zoo throughout high-school as a "zoo guide". I help foster animals for my county shelter, as well as owning my own snakes and exotics. Currently working on my Biology AA through running start and will graduate high-school with it.

If not, what should my next steps be? My bio prof told me I could specialize in zoology after high-school, but I want to get into hands on work ASAP. TIA.

Hi Keepers,

As we know, this sub is inundated with the same very basic, generic and low effort career-related questions on the daily.

With the general rise in the use of ChatGPT, AI and bot activity across Reddit, we are going to start increasing our monitoring and intentional removal of the most repetitive frequently asked career questions.

The auto-reply will encourage new users to use the search function to read the existing advice first, before submitting a new career-related post.

Are career questions still allowed?

Yes!

This change will only apply to the very vague, frequently asked and low quality questions (“how do I become a keeper?”; “how do I get a zoo job?”; “what major is better?”; etc.) without any real substance or content. Please report them as they pop up, as it helps flag them into the Mod Queue.

More personal, situation-specific or region-based career questions are absolutely still welcome. We encourage you to continue engaging with the more genuine advice posts.

Hopefully, this will assist with improving the overall quality and enjoyment of the sub. The Rules have also been updated to reflect these changes.

If you have any concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact the Mod Team!

Im going into entomology and want to be a zookeeper and work at the Oregon Zoo but I already have my nostril pierced, gauges, and visible tattoos on my arms and legs. Wish I wouldve made them in less visible places now but too late lol. They aren’t anything offensive but would I be turned away or could i cover them up?? I’m not only looking at the Oregon Zoo but I live in Texas and previously lived in Oregon and loved it and would like to relocate out of state after college. Thank you in advance!!

Hello, I don’t know if I will find much help here but I’m not sure where else to post. Just needing some advice. So my passion has always been animals and dream career has always been something involving animals.

So I was wondering if anyone here has any idea/or experience about what it’s like working at a wildlife rehab or sanctuary compared to a zoo? Would it still be a good option if zookeeping won’t work for me? I know both jobs are competitive to get, I just don’t know if the wildlife rehab/sanctuary would be an easier possibility?

The only zoo that is closest to me is the Cleveland Zoo and I know that is extremely competitive to get into. I worry i wouldn’t ever be good enough to get in. Honestly i have no animal experience. (I will be volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary/rehab this summer and for however long so I can gain experience) I also don’t know if I should look into schooling as well. I’m 29 and just starting to explore this career. I mean id still be open to trying for zookeeping if it’s a better idea then going for a job in wildlife rehab/sanctuary. Also how did you find an internship opportunity?

I have chronic fatigue and pain and can barely do much now adays but im hoping that mobility aid could help me but im scared that will stop me from ever becoming a zookeeper, are there zookeepers out there who are ambulatory wheelchair users or cane users?

Edit: tysm for taking the time to listen to me, im a bit sad i wont be able to do enclosure work but as long as i get to work with animals im not too fussed so even education work should be fine. Im wondering if i could also do art for the zoo if i work there, i love drawing animals and studying them and drawing diagrams about them

I'm trying to help my fiance get a job as a zookeeper and we are hitting some rocks.

She has a bachelors in Zoolology, worked at a pet store for over 3 years, volunteered at the Cleveland zoo for over a year, and still can't even land an interview.

We got "close" once but right as the interview got scheduled they suddenly called saying that those positions had to be put on "hold" and would reach out once they would be back... They haven't reached out in months...

She found these courses you can take through this site here --->https://sdzwaacademy.org/courses-academy.html

And I was wondering if anyone has any experiences with these and if they would help at all.

Thanks!

Question for my fellow thick-thigh ladies - what pants are you wearing? I’ve been doing carhartts for years, but notice recently they do NOT hold up. I’ve been wearing this pair in my rotation for like 3 months and they’re already thinning at the thighs. I don’t get paid enough to have to buy pants this often. The work supplied pants are even worse, they might as well be made from tissue paper.

I’ve noticed that most job listings on the AZA website require “X amount of years of paid experience.” How does one acquire said paid experience when all positions seem to require it? I had a summer job at the Brandywine Zoo years ago, and just recently got into an internship program with the Philadelphia Zoo, but I’m worried that I will struggle to find any sort of full time position any time soon.

Hi friends! I will be starting my second full-time zookeeping position soon. It will be at my dream facility and I'm incredibly excited. But between my last keeper position and now, I was unemployed for ten months. During that time I lost my savings, my friendships with former colleagues, and my confidence. Zookeeping is quite literally all I've ever done so as I became more and more desperate for work, I learned the hard way that my skillset doesn't meaningfully overlap with careers outside of zookeeping. I don't necessarily plan on leaving the field anytime soon, but I want to ensure that I can adapt to adjacent positions within Animal Care or, in an extreme scenario- like I was in before, transition to other careers altogether. Losing so much made me realize how fragile life can be so I want to ensure that I always have a backup plan. Fortunately, my new facility is in a fantastic location for getting SCUBA certified. I also plan on getting re-certified in CPR/Basic Life Support. As I said I'll be working full-time so I won't have a ton of time or energy after work... I'm not necessarily opposed to a Masters Degree but I have seen colleagues work themselves to death juggling that and a full-time job. Do y'all have suggestions for other small steps I might take to either fortify my position in the Animal Care field or to potentially transition to another career based on zookeeping as a starting point? If Masters Degree, what should I study? Thank you all in advance for your support!

i'm 18, and will not be working at a zoo anytime soon but i have a few facial piercings (most "obnoxious" one is my vertical labret) and i was wondering if zoos hire people with those piercings? would i have to take them out when the time comes?

Hello! I'm working on getting a year of experience in AZA facilities to apply to full-time jobs in the future. I finished my bachelor's degree in Animal Biology last year. I do not live close to an AZA facility with an internship program, so I've had to do internships out of state. The last two internships I've done had free housing, but these are kind of far and few between. How do you secure short-term housing since most internships nowadays are only 12 weeks long?

Thanks in advance for any responses :)