Jump to content

indecisiveemu

Members
  • Posts

    7
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

indecisiveemu's Achievements

Decaf

Decaf (2/10)

0

Reputation

  1. Having always been really interested in animal behavior and having a bachelors in psychology, I've decided I want to eventually go back to school to study animal behavior. I'm finding that there seem to be many different areas of animal behavior and approaches from different fields, and I was wondering if anyone could explain some basic differences? For instance, I've seen animal behavior, ethology, animal psychology, behavioral psychology, behavioral ecology, sociobiology, applied animal behavior science, etc. And of course graduate programs in these can be found in every department- biology, ecology, zoology, psychology, wildlife biology. So I'm not sure where to even start. My background is mainly psychology and evolutionary anthropology (though I'm working on improving my background in biology and chemistry over the next year) so as of right now I'm especially interested in behavior, cognition and social interactions from an evolutionary perspective. I'm especially interested in primates and canines. Most of the research I'm seeing from possible schools though is at the molecular level, dealing with fish and insects. Not sure if that's just the schools I'm looking at (I'm looking at mostly state schools in NC and CA for financial reasons). Careerwise, I think I'd like to eventually work for a zoo, conservation center, national park or u.s. forest service. So I'm not sure whether to focus more on zoology or wildlife. Does one encompass the other? Would a degree in one be better for working in either field? Is a thesis degree even necessary for these careers? (how would the application process for non-thesis degrees even work?) I'm starting to wonder if my career interests, my research interests, and my budget just don't overlap and I need to make some sacrifices somewhere. Or perhaps instead of a master's I should just get a second bachelor's instead. I'm not exactly sure what the difference would be in career options between a bachelor's and master's. Thank you so much for any sort of advice or input whatsoever!
  2. Okay, thanks! That sounds doable, and a year seems like a good goal. That's what I was hoping to hear. As for the field experience, does it have to be specifically research experience or is any animal experience helpful? Currently, I have a couple years experience working with reindeer in a zoo-type setting and I just started volunteering both with an equine vet and at Duke's lemur center. I'm hoping if I stick with the lemur center it might lead to more opportunities helping out with research or a paid position.
  3. Thank you for replying. I should've clarified though, I have a BA in psychology, so I don't have the science background that someone with a BS in biology would. Would it still be possible for me to take a couple basic biology and chemistry classes at a community college to make up for this, or do I really need a bachelor's in a science? I know it's not the ideal degree to have, but it wasn't really part of the plan at the time. The only thing I might have going for me is that I'm interested in studying animal behavior, which ties in with psychology.
  4. Was wondering if anyone could recommend what basic coursework one should have before applying to a masters program in wildlife bio. I have a bachelors already but it is in a different field so I was hoping I could take classes at a nearby college to start building up my science background. But I'm wondering exactly how much I will need and specifically which courses, as I'm not sure where to start or how long I can expect this to take. One school I'm particularly interested in is Humboldt, so I looked up the prereqs for their graduate classes, but based on how many there are, with extensive prereqs in very specific upper division wildlife courses, not just general bio/chem, it looks like I would need to complete another entire bachelors degree before applying. Is this true? I was under the impression that applying with an undergraduate degree from another field was fairly common, but it doesn't look very possible at Humboldt? I've tried e-mailing and calling the department to ask but have had no response yet.
  5. Thank you, that is helpful! Good to know it sounds doable at least. I haven't had any luck finding any sort of relevant employment but I'll keep looking- hopefully I can at least find somewhere to volunteer.
  6. Hi all, sorry in advance for all my questions, but I'd appreciate any input! I graduated several years ago from UC Davis with a BA in psychology. For various reasons, I obliterated my GPA my first two years, then changed my major and slowly dragged it back up to a 3.1 by the end of my fourth year. I was happy just to graduate with a degree and had no plans for grad school. Now I'm considering going back to school and finding something I'm a little more passionate about to study and start a career in. I've been obsessed with animals my whole life and keep ending up back at animal jobs, since animal care and behavior are the only thing I have experience in and am passionate about, but I've found that I am still stuck at mostly seasonal or dead-end minimum wage entry level jobs. This and my desire to work outdoors and my love of nature have me considering the Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology masters program at North Carolina State University, but I have no idea where to begin. I know my GPA is not very competitive, my degree is pretty unrelated, and I have no letters of recommendation. The website states that many applicants come from different fields though and that there are no specific coursework requirements. Their GRE scores don't look too impressive either, so maybe I could make up for my GPA with my GRE scores? Or maybe I'm in way over my head? I have no idea how competitive this program actually is. I contacted the school, hoping to find an advisor to talk to about specific course requirements, but was directed to the director of the program, who advised me to direct my questions to the faculty members, as my admission will depend directly on one of them agreeing to mentor me and each of them have their own expectations and requirements for admission. So, I have a few questions. 1. Does applying to this masters even sound feasible in my position or would I need to go back and get another bachelors before even considering this? 2. If it is feasible, what should I do next? Would I need a more solid science background at a community college first? (mine is pretty basic) Are there volunteer opportunities or some way to find wildlife biology experience? Should I contact faculty members? What would I say? Having no background specifically in wildlife biology, I'm not exactly sure how I would even choose what area I would want to specialize in yet, and I wouldn't want to make a poor impression with my clueless questions and lack of direction so far. 3. How would I go about getting letters of recommendation? Not only is my degree in the wrong field, but I was in mostly large classes of a hundred students or more and was a very quiet student, and the professors have had hundreds of students since, so I seriously doubt any of my professors would even remember me. 4. The director of the program mentioned in his email that "Admission is competitive and faculty most often take students only when they have external funding" Does this mean you need scholarships/fellowships to apply, or simply that the school will not be funding your degree and it will be out of pocket? And if I need a fellowship, what is the best way to go about finding one? Currently I am studying for the GRE, trying to find a job as a veterinary assistant, and applying to volunteer at Duke's lemur center. Thanks for reading my rambling post and please excuse my ignorance.. I greatly appreciate any advice! I'm open to different ideas too.. I'm also extremely interested in animal behavior, evolutionary anthropology, primatology, etc, but wildlife bio seemed like it would offer the most job prospects.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use