The idea for today’s post came from a television commercial. So, the next time your Mom yells at you for being lazy and watching TV instead of looking for a job, tell her that being a couch potato is part of your job search repertoire. Seriously. We know that a ton of college students are watching TV with a laptop on their lap, and hopefully you’re one of them. If you’re in the right mindset, you’ll realize that no matter what you’re watching, you’ll be absolutely bombarded with new job ideas. Take these ideas, do a Google search, and find a job! You know what? We might just write an article about using the tube to find a job. (Update: We did, here’s The Couch Potato’s Guide to Job Search.)

Besides advertising with TV commercials, the American Association of Zoos & Aquariums is a non-profit organization that accredits – see if you can guess – zoos and aquariums. The AZA and their team of experts ensure that accredited zoos and aquariums meet extremely high standards. “Fewer than 10% of the approximately 2,400 animal exhibitors licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture are AZA accredited,” so their seal of approval isn’t something that they throw around lightly. We looked around the AZA’s website for information about their jobs and couldn’t find anything, but cold calling might be worth a try. On the other hand, the AZA has a wealth of job listings for the zoos and aquariums that they accredit. Since many of the organizations that AZA approves are also non-profits, we thought you’d like to know more about these jobs working with animals.

Now, not all of AZA’s job listings are from non-profits, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you need to look closely at the zoo or aquarium that is actually listing the job. Obviously, Walt Disney World is not a non-profit, but the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary and the Houston Zoo are. Positions in the AZA Job Listings range from Research Analyst to Aquarist. There are also a ton of internships available, which may be a reasonable option for new college grads who want to get into zoology or related animal care fields. Jobs are listed in chronological order, so scroll down to the bottom for the newest listings. Don’t be afraid to visit the websites of the institutions that are listed and look for jobs that aren’t posted on the AZA website. You could even use the AZA’s list as your cold calling list.

Note: On April 27th we revisited entry-level jobs at the American Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• The American Association of Zoos & Aquariums Home Page
• Jobs at AZA Accredited Institutions
• General Information on Careers at Zoos and Aquariums
• The American Association of Zoos & Aquariums Accreditation Standards

Tell us about your favorite childhood zoo experience in the comments.

We've identified American Association of Zoos & Aquariums as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• animals
• nationwide
• non-profit
• zoology

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Jobs Near You

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4 responses to “American Association of Zoos & Aquariums”

1. shann346 says:

   January 28, 2008 at 7:39 am

   i’ve seen that commercial — for GEICO!! i think it’s great that you are writing about careers and sites that most job seekers wouldn’t even have thought of! you never know where you’ll find that next job.

   Reply
2. sarah says:

   February 21, 2008 at 4:14 pm

   Which aquarium is that commercial filmed at? It looks like Monterey Bay Aquarium to me, but I can’t tell!! Any idea??

   Reply
3. Willy Franzen says:

   February 22, 2008 at 11:08 am

   I tried a few searches to find an answer your question, but this post was the first thing that came up in Google. Maybe someone who knows can add a comment.

   Reply
4. Kristin says:

   June 19, 2008 at 5:48 pm

   I too Googled it, and this was the first thing that came up. I thought it looked like the jellyfish exhibit at the NEAQ.

   Reply