I want to be a wildlife biologist, any advise in what i should do to prepare myself?

i'm a sophomore and i'm just looking for any advise at all, about what classes i should take in college, or is there any classes i can take in highschool to help prepare myself? are there certain places that allow me to volunteer so i can get some basic experience? etcI want to be a wildlife biologist, any advise in what i should do to prepare myself?
Take as much biology/chemistry as you can in high school. The more you do the better you will be prepared for college. When you are in college, do a general biology or environmental biology major. Either of those majors will contain the coursework you will need to enter the work field. While in college be sure to study alot and get the best GPA you can. Anything below a 3.0GPA doesn't look good when you are looking to work in biology/sciences. Depending on what you want to do you might need to get a masters of science in the specific field you are interested in. If you don't have a specific field in mind yet don't worry, after a couple years of college you will have a much better idea of what exactly you want to do. I know that alot of enviromental jobs are really competitive right now, so your chances of landing a good job are much better if you have a masters. As for for volunteering, there are tons of opportunities. Your best bet is to contact your local DNR and tell them your situation. They will be happy to set you up with some volunteer work.I want to be a wildlife biologist, any advise in what i should do to prepare myself?
A wildlife biologist is a rewarding profession, but probably not in a monetary sense. You have a number of routes you can take in college to attain that goal.





First, you might approach it from the viewpoint of the job you are after, rather than the major you want to pursue. If you are US based, find out the requirements for being hired by your state's Department of Fish and Wildlife. Find out if your county has jobs for wildlife biologists in their Parks and Recreation Departments. Find out the minimum requirements for the field. Search out people who are considered wildlife biologists and ask what their backgrounds are. A number of wildlife biologists are in the consulting business, and you might interview the person in those companies that makes hires and ask what they are looking for and what responsibilities their biologists take on.





Second, check the various universities/colleges you are interested in and compare their majors and coursework. That information should be online in their catalogues. Modern Biology majors are heavy in prerequisites of math, chemistry (to organic), and physics. There may be other majors that can lead to wildlife biology... such as Geography, which would require less ancillary prerequisites. Geographers work with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and have made great progress in habitat mapping and wildlife planning.





Third, start learning how to identify animals, and **especially** plants in the field. Botanists are a lot less common than zoologists and you would have an edge if you knew well both groups. See if you can help out in a research project in your area involved with a university or state wildlife biologist. That would look good on your resume. See if there are junior naturalist programs in your area under the local Audubon Society or the State Park systems and find out how you can participate.





Fourth, buy the most expensive pair of binoculars you can afford. Don't expect to spend less than $300 for this essential part of your equipment, and it probably would run you about $500 or more for a roof prism, waterproof, name brand binoculars.





Sounds like you are approaching this in the right way.