An ethologist spends a lot of time with animals to learn more about their behavioral tendencies. Animals ranging from domesticated livestock to wild animals can be studied by ethologists.
Read The ultimate guide to finding a Veterinary Tech!
Duties Associated with the job
You must perform the following things as an ecologist:
- To comprehend how animals react when resting, eating, caring for their young, etc., do controlled research on them in lab conditions.
- In order to broaden the scope of the work, seek funding to continue your research and engage with investors.
- Track animal behavior with other scientists, particularly that of rats, rabbits, and mice, for the purpose of testing drugs or observing how certain diseases affect the animals.
How the job Goes
Ethologists spend the majority of their time close to animals in order to observe, research, and record their behavior, whether it has to do with locating possible mates, fending off hazards in the environment, or just living in general. While this is the main focus, you can also examine an animal’s genetic makeup and physiological makeup by simulating a similar environment in a lab.
Daily tasks will vary greatly depending on the type of job you are doing; for example, working with a wildlife research program will need more hands-on duties than working as a research partner in a lab. Most ethologists spend a lot of time doing their research from numerous direct and indirect sources since they plan to publish academic papers in the long run.
Job Scheduling
You must be ok with irregular working hours in difficult terrain if you decide to become an ethologist for a research facility, zoo, or animal sanctuary. In that situation, the work timetable varies according to the volume and caliber of the work. To gather knowledge of an animal’s behavior in its natural environment, you can search for it in isolated river basins or forested regions of the planet. To educate or conduct experiments, you may also work in typical office settings like research institutes, laboratories, colleges, and universities. Similar working hours of 9 am to 5 pm and designated vacation or leave days apply to these duties as they would to those of any academic professional.
Job Growth
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that between 2014 and 2024, employment opportunities in ethology and associated fields will grow by 4%. Those who concentrate on natural habitats, the biotechnological effects of preventing major diseases, and the pursuit of genetics will have lucrative employment. There are several options available if you would rather take a different route in your profession. For instance, you could focus on becoming a veterinarian to treat domesticated farm animals, pets, and occasionally wild animals. If you appreciate the notion of studying microscopic organisms like bacteria or viruses, you can potentially consider a career as a microbiologist.
Common Employers
Employers from many different sectors and businesses are interested in hiring ethologists. You may work for natural wildlife habitats, wildlife conservation initiatives, animal welfare organizations, research organizations, pharmaceutical firms or laboratories, colleges, universities, farms, and zoos, depending on your area of specialization.
Getting Started as an Ethologist
You need at least a bachelor’s degree in an area related to ethology, such as animal science, wildlife management, biology, ecology, veterinary medicine, animal behavior, etc. Working with animal specimens in laboratories under a microscope may be a requirement of the coursework for such programs. The opportunity to combine an internship with direct animal care work is the best aspect of taking classes.
A bachelor’s degree is a fantastic place to start in this sector, but in order to join high-level teams and projects, you must also finish your master’s degree. You need to develop strong biology and math skills if you want to be successful in this field. Additionally, you should feel at ease working directly with various animals and have the utmost regard for them.
Clear written and vocal communication skills, as well as a willingness to go wherever the job takes you, will also help you stand out as an ethologist. This is especially important because you will need to make your language more understandable to experts outside your area of expertise. You should also have a solid understanding of the connections across the sciences and be able to express these concerns clearly because some of the work you do as an ethologist involves working in collaboration with other scientists or researchers.
Salaries for Ethologists
To help you understand more about this career, we’ve given the information below. While the editorial content and advice are based on our research, the wage and growth information on this page is taken from recently released Bureau of Labor Statistics information. The average national salary for this job is $71,830 while the average wage per hour is $35.
What are Ethologists paid compared to other professions?
According to the most recent data on employment across the country, ethnologists can earn an average yearly salary of $71,830, or $35 per hour. On the low end, they can earn $46,180, which equates to $22 an hour, possibly when just starting out or depending on the state you reside in.
How has the job growth for Ethologists compared to other professions?
For a total of 3,200 persons employed in the career nationwide by 2024, 300 positions will change. This is a growth change of 10.3% during the subsequent ten years, providing the career with an above-average national growth rate.
