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What To Learn

High School

What high school courses should you take if you're interested in this career? Get your answers from the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources cluster Animal Systems pathway.

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Jim Corbin at the University of Illinois recommends taking chemistry, mathematics, English and biology while you're still in high school. Then get ready to spend at least four years getting a university degree. Most animal behaviorists also have a master's or PhD.

Harold Gonyou is an animal behaviorist. He says your undergraduate degree can be in animal science, biology, psychology, veterinary medicine or zoology. Whatever route you follow into animal behavior, it's important to have a very strong biological background.

"It's quite important to understand genetics and physiology," says Gonyou.

Animal behaviorist Bob DeFranco agrees with that course of study. "Study biopsychology or animal sciences as an undergraduate, and behavioral psychology or a related animal field as a graduate student," he says. "Get experience working in animal behavior as an intern in a zoo, dog training school or related field."

Temple Grandin is a renowned expert in cattle behavior. She warns that as an animal behaviorist, you'll also have to live and work in the real world. Much of the demand for her services comes from slaughterhouses because of the simple fact that agricultural animals are raised for meat production.

"We need practical people," says Grandin. "Too many people say everything is terrible, we should close [the slaughterhouses]. I'm not saying they're perfect, but I'm pleased to say they're making progress."

"Do well in school!" urges applied ethology specialist Joseph Stookey. "Embrace the science courses, such as biology and chemistry, because they are the building blocks and foundation on which you will stack more advanced courses."

Stookey adds that good grades in high school become your ticket to universities and into programs that offer ethology courses.

Students must "realize that one does not become an ethologist with only four years of college and a bachelor of science degree. Ethology is a specialized field. And to become an ethologist requires graduate training at the MS [master's of science] and PhD level before you would be capable of landing a job as a researcher, scientist or teacher in this field," says Stookey.