# I really don't know what to do..



## beckyl92 (Jun 12, 2009)

im going uni next year and ive been studying music since i was 11. this pass year or so ive become extremely passionate about animals and i really want to study zoology but its the fact that ive done music for all these years.. ive realised its more of a hobby than career.

has anyone studied anything animal related at uni? if you have please tell me what its like.

another thing, my parents have payed for all these private music lessons so i think they would be pretty angry :/


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## revmdn (Jun 12, 2009)

You have to do what you like. Your parents may not like it, witch I fully understand, but it's your life to live.


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## PhilinYuma (Jun 12, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> im going uni next year and ive been studying music since i was 11. this pass year or so ive become extremely passionate about animals and i really want to study zoology but its the fact that ive done music for all these years.. ive realised its more of a hobby than career.has anyone studied anything animal related at uni? if you have please tell me what its like.
> 
> another thing, my parents have payed for all these private music lessons so i think they would be pretty angry :/


This is a very serious question and requires a serious answer.

First, a word to American members, before you give well meant advice based on the American educational system. The Englsish system is very different!

First, Becky, I imagine that you have just graduated college with a number of A levels. What subjects did you pass in? Were they all music related? Were any of them in biology? If not, I think that you would find it hard to gain admission to uni to read zoology; you would be two years behind.

What instrument(s) do you play? Are you really good at one of them (i.e., have you won any competitions or scholarships)? If not, a career as a performance musician might still elude you even if you take your degree. Or do you wish to study musicology, which would most probably mean teaching music at a school. Does that interest you?

Does your interest in zoology extend to extracurricular study? How many zoology related texts have you purchased on your own? The answer to that question may provide as good an answer as any on how well you would succeed in taking a zoology degree.

I am particularly touched by this question. As a doctoral candidate in English, working on my dissertation, I shared a library carrel with a young woman, and it turned out that we both had taken a BS in biology before switching to the Arts side. One day she remarked how much she had enjoyed zoology and had once thought of becoming a field entomologist but that being admitted to candidacy had "closed that door for ever." This made us both so depressed that we jumped into her car, left "dry" Evanston for Chicago (they share city limits) and got ourselves pissed to the gills!

You, however are eighteen and will complete your degree in three years. You might consider taking your music degree and sitting in on at least a few zoology lectures to see how well you understand/enjoy them. How are your math skills; do you like statistics?

Have fun and let us know what you decide!


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## beckyl92 (Jun 12, 2009)

PhilinYuma said:


> This is a very serious question and requires a serious answer.First, a word to American members, before you give well meant advice based on the American educational system. The Englsish system is very different!
> 
> First, Becky, I imagine that you have just graduated college with a number of A levels. What subjects did you pass in? Were they all music related? Were any of them in biology? If not, I think that you would find it hard to gain admission to uni to read zoology; you would be two years behind.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply  ive been looking at other courses and I think im interested in Wildlife &amp; Practical Conservation. It sounds so fun/interesting. Its the practical side of it like animal rescue and traveling to different countries e.g  You need maths and english GCSE which I got. (biology was worth 2 GCSES and i passed one of them). You also need to get B C C from college to do the course and im targeted A B B. I haven't finished college yet, it'll be september 2010 when I go to uni but you have to apply in around september 2009.

I play the guitar and have done for 6 years. ive been told im pretty good. I was looking at teaching music but to be honest when I think about doing music for the rest of my life its not such a nice feeling. On the other hand, working with animals I would love so much. And im 16 hehe  17 on 23/08/92 so I got into my education year by 1 week. Oh and I hate maths!


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 12, 2009)

I wanted to, but couldn't read all of what Phil said, to tired and a bug bite me and I itch! So why not combine music and see if it sooths the savage insect? Surely there are BIG grants available for that kind of field.


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## PhilinYuma (Jun 12, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> Thanks for the reply  ive been looking at other courses and I think im interested in Wildlife &amp; Practical Conservation. It sounds so fun/interesting. Its the practical side of it like animal rescue and traveling to different countries e.g  You need maths and english GCSE which I got. (biology was worth 2 GCSES and i passed one of them). You also need to get B C C from college to do the course and im targeted A B B. I haven't finished college yet, it'll be september 2010 when I go to uni but you have to apply in around september 2009. I play the guitar and have done for 6 years. ive been told im pretty good. I was looking at teaching music but to be honest when I think about doing music for the rest of my life its not such a nice feeling. On the other hand, working with animals I would love so much. And im 16 hehe  17 on 23/08/92 so I got into my education year by 1 week. Oh and I hate maths!


Oh wow! What a difference two years makes when you are 16! That's a whole different story! It sounds though, as if you might want to consider a vetinary degree instead of a BS in zoology. Had you thought of that? The RVC used to go around the country recruiting (!) and you might want to check them out or perhaps you could shoot for Cambridge. I think that you would still have to do stats for that, but no maths per se.

A grand niece has just completed her degree in England, and I shall be hooking up with her in a few weeks, so perhaps I can get some more ideas then.

That leaves parents pissed off at your "wasting" all those years on guitar. Tell them that such a delightful and rewarding experience, made possible only by their forethought, encouragement and sacrifice, could never be wasted, and that you will continue to use the skills that you have acquired all of your life, but you will never be another Andrés Segovia, and you don't fancy teaching snotty nosed kids in secondary school or busking in the London Underground (is that still allowed?) for the rest of your life. Instead, you want to increase humanity's love and understanding of animals and help preserve their ever decreasing habitats. I don't know what the rents' tolerance for BS (and I don't mean Batchelor of Science!) is; you should know best how far you can go!  

And once again, the very best of luck, and keep us informed, over the years, of how you are progressing.


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## beckyl92 (Jun 13, 2009)

PhilinYuma said:


> Oh wow! What a difference two years makes when you are 16! That's a whole different story! It sounds though, as if you might want to consider a vetinary degree instead of a BS in zoology. Had you thought of that? The RVC used to go around the country recruiting (!) and you might want to check them out or perhaps you could shoot for Cambridge. I think that you would still have to do stats for that, but no maths per se. A grand niece has just completed her degree in England, and I shall be hooking up with her in a few weeks, so perhaps I can get some more ideas then.
> 
> That leaves parents pissed off at your "wasting" all those years on guitar. Tell them that such a delightful and rewarding experience, made possible only by their forethought, encouragement and sacrifice, could never be wasted, and that you will continue to use the skills that you have acquired all of your life, but you will never be another Andrés Segovia, and you don't fancy teaching snotty nosed kids in secondary school or busking in the London Underground (is that still allowed?) for the rest of your life. Instead, you want to increase humanity's love and understanding of animals and help preserve their ever decreasing habitats. I don't know what the rents' tolerance for BS (and I don't mean Batchelor of Science!) is; you should know best how far you can go!
> 
> And once again, the very best of luck, and keep us informed, over the years, of how you are progressing.


ive decided im gonna do it. im always gonna play guitar and maybe even maybe become a guitar teacher for extra money as well as my day time job  

and don't worry I will!  thanks


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## Katnapper (Jun 13, 2009)

Becky, you'll find it's not so easy to make such a big decision. I was struggling with that question at your age, and I still haven't decided what I want to do when I grow up! The good thing is... no matter what you choose, things tend to sort themselves out, and you go on.  Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.


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## beckyl92 (Jun 13, 2009)

Katnapper said:


> Becky, you'll find it's not so easy to make such a big decision. I was struggling with that question at your age, and I still haven't decided what I want to do when I grow up! The good thing is... no matter what you choose, things tend to sort themselves out, and you go on.  Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.


Thanks  

im gonna do wildlife and practical conservation


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## Rick (Jun 13, 2009)

I recently went back to school finally. I am trying to eventually get a degree in something that will allow me to hopefully do wildlife conservation, management, etc. Guess what I have to do a lot of? Math. I despise math but looks like there is no way around it.


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## beckyl92 (Jun 13, 2009)

Rick said:


> I recently went back to school finally. I am trying to eventually get a degree in something that will allow me to hopefully do wildlife conservation, management, etc. Guess what I have to do a lot of? Math. I despise math but looks like there is no way around it.


luckily my brother has a masters degree in maths so ill beable to get some help


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## Rick (Jun 13, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> luckily my brother has a masters degree in maths so ill beable to get some help


That's good. My wife is very good at it and has been helping. For some reason it takes awhile for me to get it.


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## OGIGA (Jun 13, 2009)

I think I have to ask "Will you really like it?" I entered college as computer science and engineering because, yes, I was/am the geekiest person among the people I know. I like programming, settings things up, whatever. Anyway, in college, I found that I didn't like the classes so I switched my major to economics (and loved it). My career now... I work in a technology company, mainly doing programming. Funny, huh?


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## beckyl92 (Sep 28, 2009)

just wanna give you an update and let you know i finally know what im doing and what i need to do to reach it.

ive been doing voluntary work at the RSPCA and i love it.

im off to uni next year either doing wildlife and practical conservation or wildlife conservation/ zoo biology. whilst im at uni im gonna volunteer in a zoo.

theeen hopefully ill get onto a trainee course to become an RSPCA inpector as i think animal cruelty sucks and want to try and help in every way thats possible.


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## sbugir (Sep 28, 2009)

I say do what you want... I'm somewhat going through the same ordeal. In terms of what I want to do in college. I used to be really into mechanical design and programming, but now I have no idea what I want to do and it really is bugging me. As for zoology, if you need info, I'll let my sis type here  she's going for a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology.


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## Kruszakus (Sep 28, 2009)

I'd stick to the principle of least effort. Choose a vocation where you don't have to huff and puff that much. That's why English Philology was my first and only choice - I knew I would have an easy start. Classes were mostly pleasant... and mostly boring. People were mostly easygoing... and even more boring... Come to think of it, I kinda wasted a couple of years there...

Oh well, just stick by what you feel more passionate about.


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## Ntsees (Sep 28, 2009)

lemmiwinks said:


> ...a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology...


Oooo, that's me right there!

(to BeckyL) Yeah, like what everyone else says, just do what you like. For me, I've grown up raising fish, birds, crustaceans, frogs, lizards, and eventually mantids. There was no question about it that I wanted to major in biology when I went to college. And that's how it turned out - a BS in general/organismic biology &lt;---that's what they called it.


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