PSGB Guide to Jobs with Primates

There are many people who want to work with primates. Unfortunately, finding the right job can be difficult. This article has been written to provide some pointers and advice for anyone who is looking for a career that involves primates.

Like any job where there are a very few opportunities and a large number of potential takers, the key is creative job-hunting. This strategy is fully described in "What color is your parachute" by Richard Bolles, but basically the trick is to arrange it so you are the right person at the right time which is so important for getting that job. Often, it is not what you know but who knows you, and getting to known by the right people requires considerable perseverance.

In all cases, I suggest you talk to your local careers advisory service, whether at school or at an institute of higher education. They are usually extremely helpful and have access to a great deal of information once you've explained to them what a primate actually is.

It may seem, from reading some of this, that the chances of getting a primate job is so slight that it's not worth trying. This simply is not true. You just have to really want to do it. Anyone single minded enough can get there, although it might take a while. If you sell enough T-shirts at PSGB meetings then you will get noticed by someone who will offer you a job.

Primate Care-takers

If you want to spend the greater proportion of your working life actually with primates then one of the animal caring professions is for you. This includes such jobs as zoo keepers, animal technicians and veterinary staff. Most of these jobs require minimal qualifications, although a degree or HND in a biological science will almost certainly be helpful, if not a masters degree in something appropriate.

Zoo keeping jobs are greatly sort after and unless you have any contacts through either friends or family, you are very likely to have to do voluntary work at a zoo until a paid job comes up. Hopefully, by then, you will have impressed them so much that they will take you on. Similarly, any other zoo job, even if it is selling ice cream will at least get your face known so that when the rare opening comes along, you have a better chance of being chosen. The best approach is to contact your local zoo directly. Obviously, if you want to work with primates, then picking a zoo with a large primate collection makes this more likely. "The good zoo guide" by John Ironmonger is a good starting point to find out more about zoos in your area.

Animal technician jobs are either based at commercial research laboratories or universities. These institutions use formal recruiting procedures so that informal contacts are less likely to help. More senior jobs tend to be advertised in "The Guardian" (Wednesdays), "New Scientist", and "Nature", but will require previous experience. More junior posts will include training and are generally advertised in the local press, with job requirements and salaries aimed at the school leaver level.

In the UK, most zoos and research establishments do not have resident veterinary staff - rather, they call in people from a local general practice, or perhaps from a nearby veterinary school. In other countries, such as the USA, resident veterinary help is much more common. In the UK, veterinary students can take various courses and chose to specialise in exotic animal care, and with luck and perseverance can end up working in a practice that services a local zoo or research colony. Your local careers advisory service will be able to tell you about how to follow this career path.

Researcher/Academic

In the UK, most of the people who describe themselves as working with primates fit into this category (at least according to the PSGB survey). They actually spend a good deal of their time not actually working with primates since the other aspects of the job (writing grant applications, teaching, writing papers, analysing results) are rather more time consuming.

Primatologists come from a wide variety of backgrounds and find themselves in a similarly wide variety of University departments and commercial establishments. The career path is fairly clear though - at some stage (first degree or subsequent higher degrees) you need to work with primates. There are some degree courses where primates study is almost obligatory, such as Physical Anthropology, and many others where it is optional. In these courses the primate exposure depends very much on the institution and the staff available (such as Zoology and Psychology).

Captive primates

This includes work with zoo and laboratory based primates. There is a great deal less competition for research posts in these areas. At first degree level, some primate exposure can be guaranteed on a Physical Anthropology course. The primate component on Psychology, Zoology and other biology courses depends entirely on the staff at the institution. This is something that you can discover by looking at the various research directories (e.g. "Current Research in Britain"), or more simply by phoning the relevant department and asking.

For higher degrees, there are lists of taught masters courses and research specialities (e.g. "British universities' guide to graduate study") and there are more specific primate resources such as the "International Directory of Primatology". Often the best way to get a place though, is to rely on the contacts that you have made during your first degree. Here is an area again where creative job hunting is necessary.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork always seems to be the holy grail for those wanting a career in primatology - the spartan lifestyle notwithstanding. The route in is ostensibly very similar to those for captive primate work with the "PSGB Field Studies Supplement" being an excellent source of information. However, there is very much more competition for fieldwork based research and you need to do something to stick out from the crowd.

Experience

Working and living in the jungle is often not as glamorous as it might look on David Attenborough videos. A prospective supervisor is likely to want to know beforehand that you are prepared for what is coming. So even that two week trek across Kenya that you did as an undergraduate is valuable experience. Even better would be that university expedition that you organised. Or the two year's VSO…

Foreign Languages

One of the best ways to get a fieldwork job in Brazil is fluency in Portuguese. Most primates do not live in English speaking countries and a good knowledge of the relevant foreign languages is enormously useful and very likely to get your CV noticed. If you can combine this with travel experience in the local area then things are really looking up.

Other skills

If you can fix a land-rover with a coat-hanger whilst doing a kitchen table appendectomy then the job is yours. But seriously, these extra skills are extremely useful whilst doing fieldwork. Doctors, dentists, hairdressers, mechanics, electricians, pilots, computer technicians and TV repairers are thin on the ground in most primate habitats and these other skills are as likely to tip the balance in your favour as anything else.

Miscellaneous

There are a number of other career options that can lead to working with primates. There are bound to be more than the ones I have listed here, but these are some suggestions.

Environmental Jobs

Primates are often "flagship species" for tropical conservation projects. So, any conservation/environment job is likely to have a primate related component. Obviously, these sort of jobs in non-primate countries such as the UK are unlikely to involve any direct work with primates, but work with the major charities ("World Wide Fund for Nature", "Friends of the Earth" to name but two) is international in scope. In addition, there are much smaller local charity groups in host countries such as the various primate rehabilitation groups in Africa and South East Asia that require whatever help they can get. A good source of information about these smaller groups is the "International Directory of Primatology". Charitable organisations of all types rely heavily on volunteer work, and offering your services free of charge is a very good way of obtaining the valuable experience required for the paid jobs.

There are an ever growing number of courses in environment and conservation issues. These are listed in the "Directory of Environment Courses" and you should be able to get more information from your careers service.

Media Jobs

There is considerable media interest in primates: television documentaries; scientific and popular journalism; photography. There are a number of courses in film-making, media studies, journalism and photography that your careers service can tell you about. However, be warned, that getting any sort of career in these areas is very competitive even before you try and specialise in primates!

Tourist Jobs

There are a growing number of travel companies that offer African and Asian guided safaris and working as a courier is certainly one way of getting to spend a lot of time with primates. The essential qualification here is experience traveling in the country concerned and familiarity with local languages and customs. Contacting the firms concerned will tell you their recruitment criteria, and if you can afford it, going on one or two of these type of holidays will let you see what it is like and what is required.

Sources of Information

"Primate Info Net" (PIN) on the World Wide Web has a primate jobs section, and also a wealth of other primate related information. It is also the home of the "International Directory of Primatology" and has a listing of primate related talks and conferences. The same organisation also hosts "Primate-Talk". A mailing list that discusses primate related topics. A very good source of general advice. Information about how to subscribe to this service is available on-line.

Careers services, as mentioned before have a great deal of information both in the form of directories of courses and more general job hunting help such as how to impress at interviews and how to write CV's. They do not tend to have the specialist knowledge for primate specific jobs, but they are certainly well informed on broader categories such as jobs with animals and conservation careers.

Conferences and meetings are to be thoroughly recommended as good places to meet people involved with primates. What you find out over a drink in the bar is often far more useful than any of the more formal methods, and you will also get to find out what it is really like. Primate conferences, unlike many other academic conferences, are not very expensive, especially not for students, and are well worth attending. The PSGB Spring meetings are ideal since they are rather less formal than the Winter meetings and there tends to be more time available.

So, do not get disheartened. Get out there; get involved; get noticed; and get that job you want!

Bill Sellers

Bibliography

1. Bolles, Richard Nelson. What color is your parachute?: a practical manual for job-hunters & career-changers. Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 1996.
2. Ironmonger, John. The good zoo guide. London: HarperCollins, 1992.
3. Current research in Britain. Harlow, Essex: Longman, 1993.
4. British universities' guide to graduate study, 1993-94: the official guide to taught postgraduate courses at UK universities and higher education colleges. London: Higher Education Business Enterprises (HEBE) for the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom and the Standing Conference of Principals, 1993.
5. International directory of primatology. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, 1992.
6. Directory of Environmental Courses 1994-1996. London: The Environment Council, 1996.