Working with wildlife can be a thrilling adventure steeped in the wonders of the natural world, but entering the field demands a strong personal commitment. With proper training and guidance, students can transform themselves into competitive applicants and forge successful careers. Becoming a Wildlife Professional reveals the best way to become a wildlife management professional.
Becoming a Wildlife Professional is the first comprehensive book to describe the entry-level jobs available for the next generation of wildlife biologists and conservationists. Scott E. Henke and Paul R. Krausman include detailed chapters on how students should prepare for a vocation in the wildlife profession while offering pragmatic advice about applying for and obtaining a job. The core of the book presents over 100 diverse career options that are available to aspiring wildlife workers, including work in biological field research, forestry, rehabilitation, ranching, photography, and refuge management. It also details each position's educational and technical requirements, challenges, salaries, and opportunities for advancement.
Bringing together useful advice from a range of seasoned experts who actually hold these jobs and have used these techniques to secure employment, Becoming a Wildlife Professional conveys important philosophical messages about the responsibilities and challenges of a career in wildlife conservation and management. This how-to manual is an essential text for wildlife science students interested in making themselves marketable for employers across a wide spectrum of wildlife jobs.
Foreword
Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contributors
1 Why Choose a Career in the Wildlife Profession? / Paul R. Krausman and Scott E. Henke
2 Wildlife Undergraduate Education and the University Curriculum / Rick Baydack
3 Advice for a Student Entering the Wildlife Profession: A Professor's Perspective / Scott E. Henke and Paul R. Krausman
4 Skills for Non-Academic Wildlife and Conservation Careers / Eric Winford, Marit Wilkerson, Lauren M. Porensky, Mariah Meek, Iara Lacher, Kelly Garbach, Kristy Deiner, and Jessica L. Blickley
5 Wildlife Careers: From A to Z / Scott E. Henke and numerous wildlife professionals
6 Professional Societies: The Inside Track to Career Success / Winifred B. Kessler
7 The Resume: The Most Important Tool in Your Career Kit / John P. O'loughlin, Paul R. Krausman, and Kerry L. Nicholson
8 The Professional Interview: Preparing for Success / John L. Koprowski and Karen E. Munroe
9 Being a Professional and Acting Professionally / William F. Porter and Kelly F. Millenbah
10 Graduate School: A Professor's Perspective / Fidel Hernandez, Nova J. Silvy, and Kelly M. Stewart
11 Graduate School From the Student Perspective / Monika Burchette, Lindsey Phillips, Holley Kline, Lianne Koczur, Blaise Korzekwa, Shawn Cleveland, and Terra Rentz
12 Professional Diversity: The Key to Conserving Wildlife Diversity / Michael T. Kohl, Serra Hoagland, Ashley R. Gramza, and Jessica A. Homyack
Scott E. Henke is a research scientist and Regents Professor at Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute and Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where he is the chair of the Department of Animal, Rangeland, and Wildlife Sciences.
Paul R. Krausman is emeritus professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona. The past president of The Wildlife Society and the recipient of the 2006 Aldo Leopold Memorial Award, he is the coeditor of Wildlife Management & Conservation: Contemporary Principles & Practices and Essential Readings in Wildlife Management and Conservation.
Contributors:
- Rick Baydack
- Jessica L. Blickley
- Monika Burchette
- Shawn Cleveland
- Kristy Deiner
- Kelly Garbach
- Ashley R. Gramza
- Jim Heffelfinger
- Scott E. Henke
- Fidel Hernández
- Serra J. Hoagland
- Jessica A. Homyack
- Winifred B. Kessler
- Holley Kline
- Lianne Koczur
- Michel T. Kohl
- John L. Koprowski
- Blaise Korzekwa
- Paul R. Krausman
- Iara Lacher
- Mariah H. Meek
- Kelly F. Millenbah
- Karen E. Munroe
- Kerry L. Nicholson
- John P. O'Loughlin
- Lindsey Phillips
- Lauren M. Porensky
- William F. Porter
- Terra Rentz
- Nova J. Silvy
- Kelley M. Stewart
- Marit L. Wilkerson
- Eric Winford
An additional 52 wildlife professionals describe the work of the profession
"Every high school, community college, and university library should consider adding this book to their resource collections."
– ARBAonline
"Becoming a Wildlife Professional is a comprehensive and clearly written guide for students of biology, ecology, and conservation who want to work with wildlife. Particular attention is paid to the education needed to obtain a wildlife professional qualification, but accurate descriptions of most of the careers related to wildlife and conservation are provided [...] The authors encourage students to follow their career path and obtain their dream job and provide useful guidance on how to do it."
– Conservation Biology
"The authors provide sound advice and key principles that will lead students to succeed in academic work and a career, stressing disciplinary, communication, and interpersonal skills [...] The volume's invaluable treatment may indeed encourage more students to pursue rewarding careers that focus on wildlife. Highly recommended."
– Choice
"Billed as 'the first comprehensive book to describe the entry-level jobs available for the next generation of wildlife biologists and conservationists,' this tome covers everything a student could want to know about 100 different career options."
– The Revelator
"This book is [a] treasure trove of advice for high school students through PhD candidates and early professionals. I found the guidance to be informative, practical, and realistic [...] Every high school career counselor, undergraduate student advisor, and graduate student advisor should have a copy of this book to loan to students to get them thinking strategically about pursuing their career."
– Quarterly Review of Biology
"Becoming a Wildlife Professional provides a wealth of guidance and information for aspiring wildlifers [...] To help guide these future professionals, I recommend that all wildlife professors keep a copy of this book readily available, just as most do with copies of their favorite data analysis and techniques texts."
– Journal of Wildlife Management