How I Think I Want to Use My Degree and Why


    I've always known what I wanted to do with my degree, but I've always had this sense of imposter syndrome and have always been worried that I wouldn't fit the bill. I want to work with animals, literally any way I can. My main focus has been to search for a zookeeping job, animal rehabilitation, or even sanctuary work.

    Time and time again people have asked me "what kind of animal do you want to work with?" and my answer has always been "Yes" because there is no one animal that I have my heart set on. I want to do it all, anything and everything I can get my hands on is what I want. Currently I volunteer with raptors, and I love it! Will I stick with an ornithological focus? who knows! I love the animals I work with but of course I'd be ecstatic do have an opportunity to work with carnivores or even elephants, all the way down to teeny little kangaroo rats.

    I've accepted that seeking a zookeeping job will not be the highest paying job out there, but they pay in other ways that I can't even begin to explain. I want to use my degree for fulfillment, not payment. I want to be able to wake up excited that I get to go to work, not that I have to. I feel like that is the type of mentality that animal care jobs seek for because at the end of the day we are not taking care of them for our own benefit, it's all for them. I want to use my degree to be an outstanding wildlife steward for them.

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