To kick off this blog, I’m going to explain why I decided to get a Master’s degree.
Which in this case, starts with why I DIDN’T want to get a Master’s degree.
It’ll make sense eventually, I promise.
After high school, I spent 6 years getting 2 Bachelor’s degrees and I was tired. When I was finishing my degrees, my main goal post-graduation was getting into internships, and there were some good reasons I didn’t feel the need to get a postgraduate degree.
Why I didn’t want to get a Master’s degree
#1: Not a requirement for my career field.
In general, the basic qualifications needed to get a job as an animal keeper in the U.S. are
- A Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Zoology, Animal Science or another related degree such as an Ecology or Environmental Degree
- Practical experience
Sometimes you can swap the degrees for extensive experience and some places may want something more specific, such as large carnivore experience.
Let’s look at a few examples of jobs and what their requirements are.
San Diego Zoo Research Assistant
Hoofstock Keeper job, Phoenix Zoo
Zookeeper Peoria Zoo
Notice a common theme?
Experience is key.
When it comes to animal care, having the practical experience to do the required job and the responsibility to carry out those tasks safely is emphasized more than an advanced degree. After getting my degree, building up that experience was more important to me than going back to school for a degree that wouldn’t necessarily increase my chance of getting a job and could put me behind on experience.
Number 2: Academic Burnout
I mentioned this before, but I was tired of school. To get into University, I tried to maintain high grades and take as many honors and advanced placement courses as I could in addition to extracurricular activities.
I spent nearly every summer during my college career doing summer classes, working part-time, or doing volunteer work/internships. Now that I was finally coming to the end of 19 years of schooling and hitting that milestone of graduating from University, I was ready for something else. I wanted to start working and gain experience in the field I had been studying for all those years.
Number 3: Cost
I was very lucky and most of my education was covered by financial aid. However, I did not come out of school debt-free.
I was unable to get a job until my 3rd or 4th year of college and the bulk of that money went first towards covering gas for my 3 hour round trip commute to University, and then second towards my rent, food, and gas once I moved closer to school. This wouldn’t have been so bad, but then something unexpected happened.
Despite consistently living in the same state for well over 10 years,
Despite having a paying job and paying state taxes for over a year,
My university reclassified me as an out of state student, more than TRIPLING my tuition. This risked my ability to get into the classes I needed to complete my degree and forced me to take on loans in the meantime to ensure my education would not be interrupted.
Hey look, it’s our old friend, student debt.
I’m getting a little off-topic here. Long story short, after a long, emotional fight, I won and the University had to pay me back the overcharged fees.
The point is, I now had student loans to pay back and no savings since everything had gone towards my living expenses. Coming up on graduation, not only was I looking into internships, but I also had to worry about loan payments. Considering all this, taking on even more debt to pay for an expensive postgraduate degree was not at the top of my list of things to do after graduating.
So What Changed My Mind?
A. Developments in the Amazon
During my year abroad, I came across a news article online. This article was the turning point. It was an article about China’s plans to build a railroad through the Amazon.
When I was in the 3rd grade, I had a teacher that taught us a lot about the rainforest. Everything in the classroom was rainforest themed, and even our lessons and activities related to the rainforest. One that sticks out in my mind is when we were given a paper to color in that formed one piece of an Anaconda. After we all finished coloring, during recess she hung it up on the wall circling the classroom so we could see just how big an Anaconda was. The experiences I had in this class fed my interest and curiosity in the natural world and culminated in University where I was finally able to achieve a dream of visiting the rainforest on a 2-week field course.
All this to say, the Amazon rainforest holds a special place in my heart.
Back then, the rainforest had been under threat from humans and *surprise* that hasn’t changed. The idea of China building a railroad through such a crucial habitat was horrifying. In the article, a professor from James Cook University in Australia had explained why this was a bad idea and would only open up the forest to further damage and exploitation. Glad to see someone with sense, I looked up the University and started reading through the degrees they offered. Seeing some of the concentrations and classes were in areas I was interested in, I started to weigh the idea of going back to school and how I could afford it.
B. Bracing for Competition
Another reason I thought a Master’s degree could be beneficial is to stand out a little more from the competition. Jobs for zookeepers, wildlife biologists, and animal care specialists are highly competitive. This means standing out from other applicants who may have the same education level as me but more experience would be difficult. Getting an advanced degree, I thought, might help me gain some useful skills and give me an edge over other applicants.
C. It’s all About Connections
When searching for a job, networking and building connections are crucial to getting the heads up on job openings, and having a personal connection to vouch for you can make the difference in a sea of applicants. This is true for many jobs but perhaps even more so in the close-knit animal care community. Given my limited experience (at that point I had only volunteered and interned at 1 facility), going to another university for an advanced degree could give me the chance to expand my network of connections. It could even open up field research opportunities which would let me experience a different aspect of the career.
After a lot of thought and a few detours, I made the final decision to get a Master’s degree. In the end, I found a different program at a different university but I am now on the postgraduate path. I am excited to dive into a subject I’m passionate about again and I hope you will come along for the ride.
