MissLissa
Avid Member
As someone who works in reptile research and academia: I don't have much advice on getting a chameleon- I think that is better left for when you have your career off the ground- but I can at least bring some honest experience to the herpetologist part.
Good luck getting a "PhD in Chameleons". That literally does not exist. Comparative anatomy? Sure. Biological systems? Sure. Wildlife population management? Absolutely! Rainforest ecology? Yes! Chameleons? Nope. That would be like having a PhD in "Dogs".
A herpetologist is not someone who "works with" reptiles and amphibians, like at a zoo or some such; it is a very specific term referring to someone who has a career in the research of reptiles and amphibians. This is often less glamorous or interesting than you would think (unless you are like me, and enjoy looking at a zillion microscopic samples of the exact same kind of tissue day in and out, for months. It's also helpful if you are really, really into repetitive data entry, lists and graphs).
If you really wanna be a herpetologist:
1. Make sure you get good grades throughout high school, and get active in your local herpetocultural scene. Right. Now. Not online. Actual, honest-to-Darwin people. Join your local herp group. Volunteer with a reptile rescue, work at a exotic vet clinic, etc. In many places, experience may trump mild academic achievement differences in resumes, especially when you are competing for highly sought after research assistant positions, etc, later in your career. Make sure you keep your experience relevant and up to date- one year of reptile experience when you are 15 is no good if you are now 25!
2. Make sure you are 100% okay with never, ever being rich (most research positions do not pay what they used to, with the economy the way it is- and what they used to pay was not great to start with), working long grueling hours often being bored out of your skull (livened only when the much dumber grad student accidentally leaves a rattlesnake enclosure unlocked and then be ready for 15 minutes of sheer panic followed by mountains of paperwork... and a lifetime of obsessively rechecking locked cages three times, then once more to make sure), as well as constantly being bitten/pooped on, FOREVER. Because once you have dedicated this much time, energy, money etc. to a single career path, you will have basically ruined your resume for any other work. Trust me. One peek at my resume and no high-powered lucrative business type would hire me. A zoo curator? Sure. Someone who can actually pay something more than a barely livable wage? Nope.
3. Be prepared for death threats. Herpetology generally resides under the "animal research" category, and people be cray-cray about that stuff. One time we had a bunch of envelopes mailed to our employees, and someone had glued razors to the inside of the top of the envelopes, and put white powder on the inside. A couple people had their fingers sliced up, and we had to be in quarantine for a while to make sure the powder wasn't anthrax or some such. It was corn starch, but it could have been anything. We've had bomb threats, our cars vandalized, etc. Our facility is literally a top secret, classified, you-will-be-fired-and-jailed-if-you-reveal-it kind of place. That goes for most animal research facilities. If you can't keep a secret, or handle literally the world thinking you are an Evil Horrible Monster of Monsterousness, then a different career might be a good decision.
4. Do not - DO NOT- saddle yourself with a variety of high-needs animals who require your presence for multiple hours a day, be they reptile, mammal, avian, fish, etc. Because university will ruin you. Trust me. If you think you are busy now, as a 13 year old, just wait- it gets so much worse. During university- when I was studying full time, working part time, keeping up my CE credits and animal-related volunteer work, as well as living on my own- I literally started balding, gained 15 pounds, and broke three teeth from stress, malnutrition and lack of sleep. This doesn't even touch on the financial difficulties of being an adult and a student at the same time. That is not the time to have even a handful of animals further draining your resources- whether that is money, time away from studying, or sheer energy and will to get off the couch when you are not at lecture/studying/exams/part-time job/etc. Many, many people who work full-time in an animal field do not come home to a house full of cool animals, because the care of them (even if it's wonderful) is demanding and very few people want to work all day, then come home and do the same kind of work for a similar number of hours. The chef goes home, but doesn't want to make dinner for his family. Savvy?
Anyways. Good luck.
You're going to need it.
Good luck getting a "PhD in Chameleons". That literally does not exist. Comparative anatomy? Sure. Biological systems? Sure. Wildlife population management? Absolutely! Rainforest ecology? Yes! Chameleons? Nope. That would be like having a PhD in "Dogs".
A herpetologist is not someone who "works with" reptiles and amphibians, like at a zoo or some such; it is a very specific term referring to someone who has a career in the research of reptiles and amphibians. This is often less glamorous or interesting than you would think (unless you are like me, and enjoy looking at a zillion microscopic samples of the exact same kind of tissue day in and out, for months. It's also helpful if you are really, really into repetitive data entry, lists and graphs).
If you really wanna be a herpetologist:
1. Make sure you get good grades throughout high school, and get active in your local herpetocultural scene. Right. Now. Not online. Actual, honest-to-Darwin people. Join your local herp group. Volunteer with a reptile rescue, work at a exotic vet clinic, etc. In many places, experience may trump mild academic achievement differences in resumes, especially when you are competing for highly sought after research assistant positions, etc, later in your career. Make sure you keep your experience relevant and up to date- one year of reptile experience when you are 15 is no good if you are now 25!
2. Make sure you are 100% okay with never, ever being rich (most research positions do not pay what they used to, with the economy the way it is- and what they used to pay was not great to start with), working long grueling hours often being bored out of your skull (livened only when the much dumber grad student accidentally leaves a rattlesnake enclosure unlocked and then be ready for 15 minutes of sheer panic followed by mountains of paperwork... and a lifetime of obsessively rechecking locked cages three times, then once more to make sure), as well as constantly being bitten/pooped on, FOREVER. Because once you have dedicated this much time, energy, money etc. to a single career path, you will have basically ruined your resume for any other work. Trust me. One peek at my resume and no high-powered lucrative business type would hire me. A zoo curator? Sure. Someone who can actually pay something more than a barely livable wage? Nope.
3. Be prepared for death threats. Herpetology generally resides under the "animal research" category, and people be cray-cray about that stuff. One time we had a bunch of envelopes mailed to our employees, and someone had glued razors to the inside of the top of the envelopes, and put white powder on the inside. A couple people had their fingers sliced up, and we had to be in quarantine for a while to make sure the powder wasn't anthrax or some such. It was corn starch, but it could have been anything. We've had bomb threats, our cars vandalized, etc. Our facility is literally a top secret, classified, you-will-be-fired-and-jailed-if-you-reveal-it kind of place. That goes for most animal research facilities. If you can't keep a secret, or handle literally the world thinking you are an Evil Horrible Monster of Monsterousness, then a different career might be a good decision.
4. Do not - DO NOT- saddle yourself with a variety of high-needs animals who require your presence for multiple hours a day, be they reptile, mammal, avian, fish, etc. Because university will ruin you. Trust me. If you think you are busy now, as a 13 year old, just wait- it gets so much worse. During university- when I was studying full time, working part time, keeping up my CE credits and animal-related volunteer work, as well as living on my own- I literally started balding, gained 15 pounds, and broke three teeth from stress, malnutrition and lack of sleep. This doesn't even touch on the financial difficulties of being an adult and a student at the same time. That is not the time to have even a handful of animals further draining your resources- whether that is money, time away from studying, or sheer energy and will to get off the couch when you are not at lecture/studying/exams/part-time job/etc. Many, many people who work full-time in an animal field do not come home to a house full of cool animals, because the care of them (even if it's wonderful) is demanding and very few people want to work all day, then come home and do the same kind of work for a similar number of hours. The chef goes home, but doesn't want to make dinner for his family. Savvy?
Anyways. Good luck.
You're going to need it.
