Within in the career field of being a zoologist/wildlife biologist, how hard/easy is it to work for the federal government? Also what would be the perks or benefits of working for the government?

Hi Lucas,

Many local and federal agencies hire zoologists, and in some cases, the agency hiring the zoologist is not always associated with zoology, such as the United States Department of Energy. Zoologists working for government agencies frequently conduct research and are often involved with environmental issues.

County, state and federal agencies employ zoologists in a wide range of positions, and sometimes the hiring agency might not be related directly to zoology. The Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey are two good examples. Many of these jobs involve research, and some can include work in the regulation and enforcement of environmental laws.

Examples of typical job duties for a zoologist are as follows:

Monitoring wildlife health and creating recovery plans;

Communicating with the public by conducting field trips to point out scientific, historic and natural features of a park;

Setting up equipment to monitor and collect pollutants from sites, such as smoke stacks, manufacturing plants and mechanical equipment;

Conducting experimental studies indoors and outdoors;

Studying the origin, interrelationships, classification, life histories, diseases, development, genetics and distribution of organisms in basic research.

In addition to basic biological knowledge, interested students should seek opportunities to demonstrate they can work well with a wide variety of people. Good oral and written communication skills are critical, as many scientists work as part of a team, write research papers or proposals and have contact with clients or customers with nonscience backgrounds.

Experience through internships, undergraduate research or co-op programs is valued highly by employers and graduate schools. Although there are career opportunities for zoologists with only a bachelor’s degree, many professional field biologists hold either a master’s degree or a Ph.D. For this reason, individuals interested in careers in zoology should give careful consideration to graduate study and should research the different jobs available at the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. levels as part of choosing a major of study.

In: http://www.aboutbioscience.org/careers/zoologist

Good Studies!