A Career as a Zoologist

When the average person thinks about zoology, they usually think about a zoo and or animals. As said in General Zoology, many questions come with this topic. “What is life? In what ways are the various kinds of animals alike or unlike in structure, internal processes, and modes of life? How do animals carry on their activities? How are the many kinds related to one another? In what ways does man resemble and differ from other living things? The answers to many of these questions are provided by the science of zoology.” (General Zoology, page 3). While zoology does involve animals, the general study of zoology is far more complicated then one would imagine. Zoology is a branch of biology that studies the classification, origins, habitats and behaviors of organisms. Someone who studies zoology is a zoologist, and has the tasks of learning about new species and their habitats. It is a job that if mastered, can be one of the most fulfilling and knowledgeable careers someone can obtain.

A zoologist has an extremely long list of duties, fieldwork, and studies they must finish during their career (“Occupation Profile: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists”). Although they must study all biological organisms that they may encounter, a zoologist has the option of branching off into a specified field they would want to study further or even specialize in (“Zoology”). For example, a mammalogist is a zoologist who is specialized in the study of mammals, and a ichthyologist is one who specializes in the study of fish (Storer and Usinger). One of the branches that have become popular is ornithology, the study of birds (Perrins and Harrison). A zoologist must also study the life histories, family trees, genetics, diseases, development, and migra...

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...rtment of Labor. Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists: Occupational Outlook Handbook. Washington D.C.: Postal Square Building, 2012. Print. .

United States. U.S. Department of Labor. Occupation Profile: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists. Minnesota, 2013. Print.

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"Zoology." Dictionary of American History. 2003. .

Storer, Tracy I., and Robert L. Usinger. General Zoology. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1965. Print.

Perrins, Christopher, and C.J.O Harrison. Birds: Their Life, Their Ways, Their World. Pleasantville, NY: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1976. Print.