Why I Want A Career in Wildlife Biology

The career that most interested me was Wildlife Biology. Though it wasn’t very high on my career list, other outdoor related careers were. These included careers such as Forestry and Agricultural Science. These two careers were my 1st and 3rd assessment-based choices.

Foresters mainly keep track of the trees in forests and help restore forests the have been affected by many factors such as humans, change in climate and natural disasters. Foresters usually work outside in the field. Though being outside and working in the field interests me, I am not super interested in a career that is solely based on trees and so specific.

The other career that I took interest in was Agricultural Science. Agricultural scientists mainly study food production and find ways to fix problems in the food production industry. The reason that this specific career is not super interesting to me is because that even though that Agricultural Scientists work outside, I would rather be working in nature, not in labs and farmlands.

Why Wildlife Biology

Considering my other career choices, the career that I have chosen to pursue is Wildlife Biology. Wildlife Biology has always compelled me. Being in nature and studying wildlife has always been something that I have wanted to do. Throughout my whole life have been surrounded by it whether it be hiking and skiing in the Cascades or swimming in the Wenatchee River. I always notice myself wondering about how nature works so perfectly with all the things in it that call it home.

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Wildlife Biologists mainly work outdoors in nature, also known as working in the field. While in the field they observe and study certain species and their migration to new areas.

Furthermore, the job outlook is around 7 percent which is the average raise in all occupations. The salary is around $51,000. Higher ranked Wildlife Biologists can make up to around $90-$100,000 and lower ranked biologists make around $48,000.

Additionally, Wildlife biologists are very important in informing people about nature so we can make decisions that will help protect nature. Wildlife biologists require outside skills, problem solving skills and critical thinking skills. These are some skills I consider myself to have. In my daily life I can usually be found outside whether it be skiing, hiking, or just exploring, I do think that based from the countless hours I’ve spent in the outdoors I can consider myself to have experience and skillfulness when it comes to being outside in nature. As for problem solving and critical thinking skills, I have always been a critical thinker due to my constant curiosity about most things in the world around. Problem solving in my life has always stayed relevant, this is mostly because I lead a very busy life juggling my time between soccer, skiing, school, family life, and my friends. This has taught me to be a problem solver because most nights I’m faced with the issue of not seeming to have enough time to finish all my tasks that need to be finished. I do always find a way to do it though, whether it being waking up an hour early to get a ski session in or staying up an hour late to finish my homework.

In addition to my career, modern Wildlife Biology dates to the turn of the 20th century when hunters and trackers began to kill to many animals which started to disturb the wildlife. This problem became such a big deal that a whole organization named The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy was established. Later in 1940 the Bureau of Biological Survey was established by President Roosevelt. It is known today as the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service is meant to study specific species of animals whether it be their habitat, migration, or other interactions with animals. It was also designed to protect species in their natural habitat. This allowed Wildlife Biologists to fix the overhunting and help return wildlife populations to the amount they once were.

Grizzly Bear in the North Cascades

Recently in the world of Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Biologists are studying the return of the Grizzly bear to the North Cascades. Back in the 1800’s hunters and trappers began to drive Grizzlies out of the North Cascades. This made the pop of grizzly bears endangered. Coincidently, this is around the time when the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service began. Today, Wildlife Biologists are looking for return the Grizzly bear. If there are Grizzles in the North Cascades, it will signify that the pop. of Grizzles are coming back to the original numbers it once was. According to the National Park Service, there have been only two sighted Grizzles in the North Cascades. Wildlife Biologists are hoping to find more though. Wildlife Biologists use barbed wire to find the bears. They hope that the barbed wire will catch Grizzly bear hair which will signify that there are more Grizzlies in the North Cascades. This is just one example of how wildlife Biologists are trying to track animals and help them restore their populations.

For me to be able to be a wildlife biologist, I would need to get a post-secondary education. This would likely be in the form of a 4-year university. Based off learn.org, Montana State and Alaska universities are have some of the top Wildlife Biology programs in the United States. Though Alaska University has many scholarships opportunities and is affordable, Montana State University is one of the oldest and more known Wildlife Biology programs. It also has both a Bachelor’s degree and PhD for that field. Roughly 200 students admit to the program while only 30 get into it. This means it would be difficult to get into the program which means I need to keep working hard in school to get good grades. For an out of state of state student, tuition is around 22,000 dollars. This is expensive when books and supplies will make the cost around 25,000 dollars per year. To be able to go to such an expensive school, I will need to rely on merit scholarships (possible athletic), money that I save up know, and possibly money from family.