I am 16 years old....I am really thinking about being a Wildlife Biologist....they don' t get good pay but it would be something that I really love and I could enjoy every single day of it??.....Does anyone really know everything that a Wildlife Biologist does??...LMK if you know....

Im am wondering the same thing, but I am in my second year of college. I still don' t know what I want to do. Being a wildlife biologist is pretty much the only thing I can see myself doing, but the pay stinks. I suggest you get married to some rich chick if you follow this career, that or stay single, which is the path im heading down, but not by choice. All my profs love what they do, and couldn' t see themselves doing anything else. Ill tell ya one thing, there is a lot of desk work involed, and you have to deal with people a lot. If you think you will be on your own, in the wilderness studying elk, you will be in for a suprise. Another thing I have come to see. They are either green peace, or want to hunt. Its kinda funny really. One group wants to protect everything, while the next guy wants to shoot that big elk. Im sure there will be some wildlife guys here that will be able to help you out a lot more.

Good luck in what ever you decide.

My good friend is the Biologist at a Military base in Ga. He has a Masters and does not make alot of money but he does love his work. He said you don' t do it for the money but for the love. I know he does deer aging, weight calculations and such for proper herd management and so on, he prescribes burns for habitat enhancements and so on. I am not sure what all he does but thats some of it. I will say this, he has access to some awesome aerial photos that no one else seems to be able to get. That alone is almost worth the 6 year Masters Degree

BowhuntingMachine,

I' ve heard that happiness is simply having something to look forward to.

Quality of life is not money, it is happiness!

Find something you LOVE to do, figure out a way to do it, be the best you can be at it, and the money will follow.

There are some websites where you can get job descriptions for the various careers out there...as well as colleges/post secondary schools that will offer that major in your state/area. Here in PA the website one website to look-up would be www.pheaamentor.org. There may be a link or links to someplace useful for you on there.

I wanted to go the wildlife biologist route too, but here in PA the competition for wildlife biologist positions is so tough, you have to be the best of the best to even get looked at, and that takes alot of schooling and a lot of money.
I really wanted to go the same route you guys did, i graduated from college with a degree in vertebrate zoology, and in the job hunt I would get hardly anywhere in USFWS or the game commission with that, you needed to have a much higher level of education, possibly masters, Ph.d, etc. Consider how many people in the state you are in want to go that route, and then think about in reality just how many jobs like that there are available, it is a sad state of affairs.
What I ended up doing was going to the PA Game Commission for a while doing GIS/GPS work and jumping in and helping with anything wildlife as much as I could. I made some contacts, and did my work, and all was well. Well the contract on that position came up, and I was going to be out of a job very soon, so I started looking and used game commission higher ups that I had worked with as references, and made sure I had a good resume and ended up getting the job I am in now as an environmental scientist, doing mostly work with wetlands and and GIS.
I would love to take a pay cut and try to find a more wildlife oriented job, but with college debts and general living expenses, it makes it tough. It is a big decision for you to me, you can live very nicely doing something that you enjoy doing but don' t get up daily and go " YESSSSSS I get to go to work today!!! **dance dance dance**" or you can do something you love doing and live at a lower level financially.

I nearly went that route here in Canada ........ after speaking to a director of Wildlife Habitat Canada, I was told the majority of jobs in the related field would be term assignments (6 months typical) ........ fun challenging work when you could get it, but not a lot of money ....... I' m still a firm believer in job satisfaction before high salary ...... go with your heart, and best of luck !