Herpatoligist Money ?

[KRONYK94]

Thanks Man, I love Reptiles and I wont to work with them the rest of my life ..... If I make it, Its because of you.. you set me on the right track and I thank youu for that !

no problems man always willing to give some more advice.

 

[Kitah]

Animals mean absolutely everything to me, and I didn't want to work in any other 'area'. Unfortunately, there aren't that many high paying jobs in this area, but it doesn't phase me- so long as I have enough money to get by comfortable (I don't need a mansion, I don't need a ferarri lol) I'm happy.

Do what you really want to, and what will make you happy- theres no point going out and getting a high paid job if you hate every second of your time at work, even if it funds your reptile collection etc. If you enjoy your work, you'll be happier

Also, as others have said- go out now and get as much experience as you can. Most things to do with animals requires a lot of trust, so if you get in now and show that your willing to work, your willing to learn, and show that you are trustworthy, it will most certainly be a step in the right direction! It also opens up more career opportunities for you (e.g. I think Aus. zoo gets a lot of their new employee's from volunteers that have shown they were hard working and dedicated)

Goodluck

 

[horto28]

stick to ya guns mate! if ya start uni STAY there, too many of my mates started and dropped out its not funny!!!! i fall into the catergory of "ones that hate their job" i make a reasonable living but id trade it for a good job i love. Nothing is more painful than getting up every day to go to a job you dont enjoy! Stick to uni, whatever the field, its only 4,5 or 6 years a very small percentage to live happy for the rest of ya years

 

[KRONYK94]

stick to ya guns mate! if ya start uni STAY there, too many of my mates started and dropped out its not funny!!!! i fall into the catergory of "ones that hate their job" i make a reasonable living but id trade it for a good job i love. Nothing is more painful than getting up every day to go to a job you dont enjoy! Stick to uni, whatever the field, its only 4,5 or 6 years a very small percentage to live happy for the rest of ya years

but the down side is the money you have to pay back after it.

but get a high paying job like layer something round that area you will pay it of in no time.

but stick to what you want to do don't let anyone change your mind or stop you.

 

[Kitah]

It's not that bad, really.... It sounds it, but its not My course costs about $3700 a semester (so $7400 a year) just for being enrolled in my subjects- this is a 5yr course, and I've just finished my 3rd year. So, I currently owe something like $22,200 so far, and by the time I finish that will be $37,000 Its a lot of money, but you only start to pay it back, slowly, after you reach a certain income threshold, and then it just comes out of your pay at a certain rate, depending on your income. So, its not really as daunting as it seems. Most courses are cheaper than mine too, I think.

For me it will be well worth it to have a job I'll love As said above, don't let anyone change your mind for you- let them give their opinions and advice, but you need to think it all over, evaluate it all, and come to your own decision. Other peoples opinions and advice can be helpful to weigh up your options, just don't feel as though you have to do exactly as they say. IF however you say, start a uni course, finish the first year and decide its not for you- by all means, change. Everyone changes as they go, you may discover its not what you thought it was, or may find a different area or pathway you may want to follow.

 

[Elapidae1]

I know a lot of people that went to uni and couldn't get work in there desired field and then the work they could get was under payed and then they find themselves in there mid 20s with low payed jobs and uni bills to pay off while a lot of blokes I know left school at 15 - 16 and have already payed of half there house by the time the others have finished uni. Follow your dreams but make sure to take a look through the other doorways on the journey there.

 

[AMY22]

Starting now will give you more opportunity in the future. You don’t have to know what you want to do exactly but if you have an idea of the area (i.e. something with reptiles), then you can begin to gain knowledge. At 13 there aren’t too many opportunities to get out and do stuff, but start researching reptiles on your own so you have your OWN knowledge. You can get a tonne of qualifications, but it’s the personal knowledge you have that will show your passion.
In my life I’ve gone through a range of things I’ve wanted to do, I’ve wanted to be a farmer, a conservationist, a wildlife researcher, a vet... Your ideas may change over time but that is totally fine. I have been told by people ‘you won’t get work in that area, it’s impossible because everyone wants to do it’. Well first of all, no it’s not impossible or that area of work would not exist. Second of all, people can feel free to keep that negative attitude because the more people who think like that and give up, the more opportunities there will be for me.

Bare in mind that working with animals is not all working with animals, there is a lot of boring stuff as well, when you start studying you will see that. When I began studying a few years ago, we originally had 30 people in the class, at the end of the year there was 14 people left.

You could and gain some knowledge now and try too get a job in a pet shop when you are about 17, although it may not the exact area you want to work, having any sort of job in the animal industry will better qualify you for what you do want to do. And at 17, you will earn less in a pet shop than you will when you are over 21, so employees are sometimes more eager to hire. Then from there you can start with a tafe course and end up at uni. Also do volunteer work as well, you need to have experience to have the opportunity to study, it is extremely competitive so you need to fight for the position.
Starting early is the best opportunity, I started out when I was 9 years old, and I kept volunteering and studying to gain experience and knowledge. You NEVER know what will come of it, when I was 20 I got sponsored to go to California for a month to do environmental volunteering- salmon habitat restoration, fire track work, etc., my flights, food, accommodation and transport all paid for. All because I stuck to it. There are SO many places you can start, even if it’s not in the exact area, certain fields can relate, i.e. if you wanted to work with reptiles in the wild then environmental knowledge will be good.

And remember- STAY IN SCHOOL!

*end lecture*

 

[FAY]

Very few people get to have a job that they really love.
I hate mine( actually don't mind the job, just the people that you have to deal with)....but on that note, it pays the bills and funds what I really love.
I personally just love looking after my own animals.I know working in a zoo if someone didn't treat an animal as well as I did I would get pretty annoyed.

 

[snakehandler]

Working with reptiles is such a large area and the money varies depending on what you do. You can work on crocodile farms as a farm hand, do displays and demonstrations, research, own a pet store, all of it will vary in terms of job satisfaction and degree to which you work with the animals.

As mentioned there is more to working with reptiles that the fun stuff, we spend about 2 days a week just cleaning, then there is feeding and culling food, paper work can be ridiculous. Sometimes it is better to get into a related field such as field ecology or environmental science, you will still get exposure to reptiles but you can keep the rest as a profitable hobby where you breed and sell reptiles.

As the owner of a reptile based business I do not always look for people with letters after their name, degrees or other titles, but I also look at the character of the person, their drive, motivation and willingness to learn. By starting your research now you are showing the type of drive we are looking for in our staff. PM me for more specific details if you wish!

 

[MMP97]

Okaay If I own a pet store .. how much a year ?...enough to survive ??

 

[dtulip10]

depends on a lot of factors... location....what will the store specialize in.

i am good friends with a reptile and fish shop owner here in Newcastle and he makes a good living but he has good staff and good knowledge and does work long hours.

 

[KRONYK94]

Okaay If I own a pet store .. how much a year ?...enough to survive ??

well that really depends on where you are if your in the country you wont have as much money as a shop in a popular area.

also to open a store you have to do a bissness corse you need to learn how to make profit how to compete and.
what you sell/stock eg.
dogs
cats
snakes etc
lizards

if you are selling reptiles you need a license and you need to make sure the other person has a license other wise it a big fine.

before you can make a living out of it you have to pay off the shop front aswell. unless you are renting the front.

owning a shop is hard work but once you have done all of the hard stuff it becomes a bit easer once you paid of the front you don't need to worry about you shop getting taken off you water electricity and gass you need to pay monthly.

 

[AMY22]

You could earn good money owning a pet shop as long as you do it properly, there is a lot of competition in that area. You need to look at what others are selling and what people want and at the same time provide good knowledge. A lot of pet shops are becoming real franchises over recent years and are forgetting that it’s about the animals first, not the money. A lot people want to work in pet shops because you can earn a lot of money, as I said up to $22 an hour.

 

[MMP97]

Yeaah I wont to own a pet shops because I love animals.. Reptiles the most.. I dont care about money as much as good homes for animals ...