I'm very interested in being a wildlife biologist because animals fascinate me, and I know I would love a career spent studying them and helping them. That being said, I'm an all around nature lover and would find most careers spent studying nature in one way or another both intellectually exciting and extremely rewarding. I'm interested in animals in particular because I find the idea of studying animals in their natural habitats very exciting and adventurous, and I'm an extremely adventurous person. I'm 21 years old and getting ready to finish up at community college, and I'm going to join the Air force as a Pararescue Jumper for 6 years or so either before or after I earn my bachelors, I've not yet decided. (Any advice regarding whether I should obtain my bachelors before or after my time in the Air Force is appreciated, as well, but know that I have no intention of being an officer. Pararescue is enlisted only, and I'm not interested in being a CRO.) I'm interested in earning my Masters in order to be eligible for more intensive and specific work, in addition to the marginally higher pay. By the time I earn my bachelors, I'll be 32 years old. I'm leading up to a few questions here, so here they are:
1)One of my life goals is to have a family, and I want to make sure I'll be able to support said family with my career. From what I've read, wildlife biologists start off making very little money. I'm wondering if the income picks up after a little while, enough to where I'll be able to support my family, (including my mother, before too long...), and put my kids through college, have money for retirement, etc.
2)As I mentioned before, the reason I'm interested in wildlife biology is because I'm attracted to the natural world and I want to better understand/protect it. That being said, I'm not afraid to admit money is definitely a driving factor in my career choice. Do any of you have some ideas as to careers in natural science that would allow me to follow my passion and study the natural world while making a comfortable amount of money? Notice I said "comfortable;" I'm well aware of the fact that careers in wildlife biology are rewarding for reasons other than monetary compensation, but again, see aforementioned reasons for my desire for a decent income. Any ideas for careers will be appreciated and considered, but those involving something adventurous, (like speleology, for example), will most definitely pique my interest.
I appreciate any input, but I'm really hoping for feedback from some people with experience in this kind of thing. Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully answer.
1)One of my life goals is to have a family, and I want to make sure I'll be able to support said family with my career. From what I've read, wildlife biologists start off making very little money. I'm wondering if the income picks up after a little while, enough to where I'll be able to support my family, (including my mother, before too long...), and put my kids through college, have money for retirement, etc.
2)As I mentioned before, the reason I'm interested in wildlife biology is because I'm attracted to the natural world and I want to better understand/protect it. That being said, I'm not afraid to admit money is definitely a driving factor in my career choice. Do any of you have some ideas as to careers in natural science that would allow me to follow my passion and study the natural world while making a comfortable amount of money? Notice I said "comfortable;" I'm well aware of the fact that careers in wildlife biology are rewarding for reasons other than monetary compensation, but again, see aforementioned reasons for my desire for a decent income. Any ideas for careers will be appreciated and considered, but those involving something adventurous, (like speleology, for example), will most definitely pique my interest.
I appreciate any input, but I'm really hoping for feedback from some people with experience in this kind of thing. Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully answer.