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Some questions.: |
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Danny13 Senior Member Joined: 03 Oct 2004 No. of posts: 52  View other posts by Danny13 |
Posted: 02 Dec 2004 Hi, i am very interested in doing herpetology as a career but it is very hard as you must know to get into this line of work. I am currently in year 11 at highschool and will be taking my gcse exams shortly. I am in the top group for science and maths and will be taking the higher tier in both. In my module science tests i got very good results, these included 2 high B's and 4 A's also i attained full marks for my chemistry AT1, A* (experiment and write up). I am taking in college, A levels in maths and all three sciences. I guess what im getting at is what level of qualification is necessary to ensure a good job in herpetological based work because i am under the impression that it is a highly saught after job. I am mostly interested in venemous snakes and the uses for venom in medecine and other uses but because mainland Britain only has 6 native species i dont think it will be easy to follow this type of work. Also is it true that Tony is the leading expert on vipera berus berus? thanks a lot Daniel |
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Wolfgang Wuster Senior Member Joined: 23 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 326 View other posts by Wolfgang Wuster |
Posted: 02 Dec 2004 Hi Daniel, First, you need to understand that there is no qualification that will ensure you a career in herpetology - you really need to carve out your own niche and that takes not only qualifications, but also persistence and a fair dollop of luck. In the first instance, make sure you continue to do well at school, then apply for a course that interests you at a University with staff with herpetological or venom-related interests. Make sure you do well there, and use the opportunity to network, join societies, etc. After that, it's really up to you to seize opportunities - if you want to go into research, a postgraduate degree, esp. PhD, is really pretty essential, but again, finding one is a matter of luck,and whether you get a relevant job afterwards is also a matter of luck and persistence. I would also strongly advise you not to restrict your horizons to Great Britain, there are quite a few scholarships etc. around for students to do a psostgrad. degree in Australia and the States, where the herpetological opportunities are considerably more numerous. Hope this is of some help. Cheers, WW Wolfgang Wüster School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor http://sbsweb.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/ |
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Danny13 Senior Member Joined: 03 Oct 2004 No. of posts: 52 View other posts by Danny13 |
Posted: 02 Dec 2004 Thankyou. I have also thought about volenteering for english nature, preferably helping with the distribution surveys for herps. I would like to get out there and meet the people and get to know what they do and how they work. Do you think i should apply myself more? Also, has anyone else done courses in other countries? Cheers again. |
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Wolfgang Wuster Senior Member Joined: 23 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 326 View other posts by Wolfgang Wuster |
Posted: 03 Dec 2004 If you want to get more involved with field herpetology, surveying, etc., then I would suggest joining some of the existing societies, e.g., the British Herpetological Society or your local county Amphibian and Reptile Group (contact details from Froglife ) Hope this helps. Cheers, WW Wolfgang Wüster School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor http://sbsweb.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/ |
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Danny13 Senior Member Joined: 03 Oct 2004 No. of posts: 52 View other posts by Danny13 |
Posted: 04 Dec 2004 Hi I have a question about toxinology. What are the following: Myotoxins, procoagulants, anticoagulants, haemorrhagins, necrotoxins, nephrotoxins and cardiotoxins. Am i right in thinking that neurotoxins effext motor and relay neurons and haemotoxins destroy tissue, clot the blood, may thin the blood and destroy blood cells? Thanks again. |
- Some questions. |