There are several careers that involve in animals.  First a student must narrow down what kind of animals he wants to work with: wild, domestic, or exotic.

Once you have narrowed down what type of animals you are interested in, you should then begin to look at what specific area of interest you have in working with them. If you are interested in domestic animal care-taking, for instance, then you should consider such things as pet-sitting, humane society work, kennel attendant, or something related.

If you like the scientific side of things, you could get more into the medical area, and could consider studying to become a veterinarian, veterinary technician, laboratory technician, biologist, genetics specialist or something along those lines.

In the psychology realm, you could consider becoming an animal trainer, animal behavior consultant, or animal psychologist. There are also opportunities for studies on the human and animal bond from within the animal welfare area, and a variety of other types of work with therapy animals and related research from the clinical realm.

If you are interested in wild or exotic animal work, it gets more complicated. You need to ask the same questions as above, and decide where you want to ultimately be in your own country or another one? If you pick a foreign country, you will need to know what the culture is like, what languages are used, and what the political complications may be.

After you have decided what animals or species you are interested in, ask yourself if it is a realistic goal. Carefully review or list those animals that most attract you. Do you want to work with captive animals or wild animals? Any particular species? Marine mammals, terrestrial animals, or do you care? Where will you be in ten years if you are in that work? Do you want indoor or outdoor work?

You will need to really get a good feel about this to see if it is the right area for you, and what you will want to do for a career. For instance, many careers with animals do not pay well. If that is a concern, could you do animal work part-time? What about just helping from a volunteer or docent position? Once you narrow down what kind of work you are interested in and in what capacity, there are a few steps you can take.

One of the first things to do is to start reading related publications; this can be professional journals, books on the subject, and company or organizational reports. Many times your local public library or college/university library will have some of these specialty works. If not, check to see if some of your local professionals will refer you to a professional library source, or perhaps let you look at some of their personal subscriptions.

Another way to find out more about career opportunities, and what the positions in those career areas require, is to subscribe or check into the various scientific journals in that area of interest. Reading about those specific areas will help you find out what it is really like. It will also help you to find out who is doing what kind of work. Often, professional organizations and their publications are hard to find. Many will have student memberships, but you may have to find a sponsor in that profession or organization in order to subscribe or join as an associate/student member. Ask your librarian to point you to the reference books that lists organizations and journal publications related to your interests.

As you begin to read the articles and journals, look to see where the authors have studied or received their degrees, and explore to see if you would be interested in such studies, or in the topics published in that journal. If you aren't interested, then it probably is not an area of study you should pursue.

Before you contact anyone connected with these professional groups, you need to do a bit of research on your own. You will also need to keep your inquiry focused and to the point. Remember that when writing professional people, you will need to respect their time and input by carefully researching and preparing yourself PRIOR to contacting anyone.

Taken from: Unusual Animal Careers Part Two:
Beginning To Research Career Possibilities
Copyright © 1997 By Diana Guerrero  
http://www.arkanimals.com/Career/Career2.html

Listed below are websites that have information about careers with animals:

http://www.arkanimals.com/Career/Career1.html

http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABS/Education/careers_brochure.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~animal/help/careers.html

http://www.vcnet.com/gwhiz/EATMprogram.html

http://cub.wsu.edu/zoologyclub/careers/careers.htm

http://www.nwrawildlife.org/careers/main.asp

http://www.bestfriends.org/nmhp/school/shlpanimaljobs.htm