Wondering if a job related to animals is for you? If the majority of these statements apply to you, you could really like a job working with wildlife.

• It’s important to me to spend time outdoors. I like to camp, hunt, and fish because these outdoor activities let me observe wildlife in their own setting.
• I feel it’s important for people to understand how everything in nature is connected. The health of our earth depends on balance, and I’m interested in making others aware of the need to maintain that balance, for the well-being of both animals and humans.
• I enjoy the stories told by my Elders about when wildlife was plentiful. These stories taught me about animal migration patterns and to respect wildlife and the environment. I know that we should only harvest what we can use. I want others to know this, too.
• I know how to observe different kinds of animals and to recognize patterns of behaviour. I enjoy learning about what animals hunt or graze on and how they raise their young. I’ve hunted and know how to tell if an animal is sick or healthy.
• I want a job that will make a positive contribution to our environment. I like thinking about ways to improve and protect wildlife resources.

If you’re working towards a job connected to wildlife, get started right now. Here are some things you can do:

Explore your interest:

• Shadow someone who works with animals like a conservation biologist, a conservation officer or a wildlife technician.
  For more information on job-shadowing, see the tip sheet on Gaining Related Experience in the Career Journey.
• Get a hunting and fishing licence. You’ll better understand the resources you’ll be protecting by participating in these outdoor sports.
• Ask your Elders for the names of local birds and write the names down in a notebook. Go for a hike and see if you can identify the birds.
• Visit a local wetland with friends and discover the unique plants and animals that live there. Play “eye-spy” to see who can spot the most animals, and give bonus points for correctly identifying the animals’ names.
• Choose “wildlife” as a topic for a school project and research a particular animal. You could chart the population increase or decline of an animal that lives in your area. You could turn your report into a piece for your school newspaper or write a letter to your local newspaper about your findings.
  

Show your personal commitment to planning and building a better future:

• Contact your local movie theatre and ask the manager to show films about wildlife. You could promote the film screenings by making and posting handbills and posters.
• Learn how ordinary activities can put the environment at risk, and take steps to prevent yourself from contributing to these risks. For example, if you like to hike, take care not to disturb nesting birds. If you touch a nest, the mother bird may abandon it and the baby birds will die. Ask your parents to buy non-toxic cleansers, and research alternatives to pesticides, if your parents have a garden.
  

Start developing the experience and knowledge required for an animal-related job:

• Volunteer with Parks Canada. You’ll find out from people in the field what concerns need to be addressed and what you can do to protect the environment.
  
  Contact:
  Parks Canada
  National Office
  25 Eddy Street
  Hull, PQ, K1A 0M5.
  Telephone: 888-773-8888
  email: information@gc.gc.ca
  website: www.parkscanada.ca
  
  
• Join a volunteer wildlife-monitoring program, if one exists in your area.
• Look for summer jobs at your local museum, historic site, cultural centre, park, art gallery, zoo or botanical garden. Having a variety of experiences suggests to employers that you’ve taken advantage of different learning opportunities. General knowledge and work experience is always a benefit.
  

Conservation Biologist
Conservation Officer
Wildlife Technician