Interest in Zoology

warrenaldo

Hi folks,

I have a BSC in IT. And i work in IT - have done since I left college. I am quite happy in my current role - however every now and then i come across a job working with Wildlife in some shape or form. Its something that really interests me.

I dont have the time to go back to college full time. But part-time i would be interested in.

I assume i cant have a BSC in IT and a Masters in Zoology - or can I?

Can anyone outline some options?

Thanks

jw297

Hi,
I'm not sure whether a masters in Zoology exists, as such (unless its a research masters), but something like the taught MSc in biodiversity and conservation in Trinity College might be worth looking into. Not sure what the entrance requirements are though, and as far as I know thats only full-time.
If you just want to test the waters a bit and get some practical experience, then volunteering for an organisation such as Birdwatch Ireland, the Irish Wildlife Trust, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, or Dublin Zoo might be a good place to start.

Saruman

This might be of some interest. Best and possibly the only zoology song ever
http://www.rathergood.com/zoology/

thehairyone

Hi,

A lot of masters courses will accept any primary degree as long as you meet the requisit grade standard, most will require a 2.1 but some will accept a 2.2, either way its worth contacting the head of the course you want to do as in a lot of cases (especially in the environment field) the courses will be under prescribed and they will be happy to take people in who have a primary degree.

Please note it is hard to get to work in this field without a bit of experience so I would suggest you do what one of the other posters suggested, volunteer with some wildlife organisation.

As far as Im aware there is no masters course in Ireland that focuses solely on zoology, your best bet is to do an environmental/conservation masters. Some masters will give you a bit of choice when it comes to subjects so be sure to pick a masters that has the subjects you want to study. Probably the most important aspect of the masters will be the dissertation so again before you pick your masters make sure there are members of staff who share the same interest as you. A talk with the course coordinator will give you the heads up.

I know of a couple of part time postgraduate courses in the ecology field, there is a good one in ucc, a field diploma in ecology, there is also a masters in environmental assessment that could also be part time (not sure though). There is also a part time diploma course in UCD in Environmental Impact Assessment, although not strictly zoological it will put you on the right course. I would also look at Maynooths GIS course (not sure if its masters or diploma or part time or fulltime), again not zoological but something that employers like and a very powerful tool in the environmental field, DIT may have a similar course. I would also look at the various ITs as I know some of them are quite strong in environmental stuff especially Sligo. I would also consider some Environmental Science masters.

Again, I must stress it is a hard field even for graduates with a zoology undergrad degree to get a job in, most people with zoology degrees who want to work in the zoological field get themselves a masters. However with your IT background you may have an advantage in one area, there is a niche for conservationists/zoologists with expertise in database management design and operation, not so much in Ireland but definately the uk. In Ireland a new centre has opened that may have need for such specialists (although they may have them already), see link here;

http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/

For a list of environmental masters in Ireland (by no means comprehensive) click the Launch Environmental Courses List in the following link:

http://www.esaiweb.org/esai_careers.php

Anyway, hope this helps, best of luck with whatever you decide to do.