# Seeking a career in entomology



## Andrew (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, because I've only got one more year of high school left after this one, I'm considering career choices, and naturally, entomology is one of them. I was originally put off the idea on the grounds that it was deathly boring and didn't pay well(&lt;-mainly this one).

Does anyone here have any background in this area? Is there a way to have a successful career(in other words, make a comfortable living) in entomology? If so, how should one go about doing it? :huh:


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## asdsdf (Oct 2, 2007)

Andrew said:


> Well, because I've only got one more year of high school left after this one, I'm considering career choices, and naturally, entomology is one of them. I was originally put off the idea on the grounds that it was deathly boring and didn't pay well(&lt;-mainly this one).Does anyone here have any background in this area? Is there a way to have a successful career(in other words, make a comfortable living) in entomology? If so, how should one go about doing it? :huh:


Well from here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomology, it said that they usually worked at museums. Didn't say anything about pay, but I'm sure you are going to have to memorize all of the latin names(thousands), and have thousands of bug pictures inside of your mind( &lt;_&lt; ).


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## asdsdf (Oct 2, 2007)

Andrew said:


> Well, because I've only got one more year of high school left after this one, I'm considering career choices, and naturally, entomology is one of them. I was originally put off the idea on the grounds that it was deathly boring and didn't pay well(&lt;-mainly this one).Does anyone here have any background in this area? Is there a way to have a successful career(in other words, make a comfortable living) in entomology? If so, how should one go about doing it? :huh:


Here, http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos047.htm#earnings . It has things about zoologists(entomology is a branch of zoology). It says average zoology earnings is 101,000. It's pretty good.


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## joossa (Oct 2, 2007)

I had the same issue when I started college. Most of the graduate students that I have spoken to at my university have advised against it. Most said this because of the low pay and lack of flexibility and variance with jobs.

I say that if you are going to go into the field, it is because of your love for it and not for the pay. Of course, the majority of people go to college in order to get a good paying job. It’s up to you to balance these factors out.


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## Precious (Oct 3, 2007)

Andrew said:


> Well, because I've only got one more year of high school left after this one, I'm considering career choices, and naturally, entomology is one of them. I was originally put off the idea on the grounds that it was deathly boring and didn't pay well(&lt;-mainly this one).Does anyone here have any background in this area? Is there a way to have a successful career(in other words, make a comfortable living) in entomology? If so, how should one go about doing it? :huh:


The Body Farm my friend. http://jeffersonbass.com/ Forensic entomology, very cool.


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## asdsdf (Oct 3, 2007)

Precious said:


> The Body Farm my friend. http://jeffersonbass.com/ Forensic entomology, very cool.


Uhhh....The body farm???? Isn't that where they keep bodies, so they can observe them to see how they rot as insects and bugs eat them? The smell would be awful. It's like a horror film, except these people weren't murdered(I think).

Have you heard of those murderer people? The ones that kill people, and like stuff them in the closet or whatever. The police find them bloated, black, and rotting, and the forensic people have to figure out how old the body is and stuff by the types and amount of bugs that are eating the corpse....


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## Andrew (Oct 3, 2007)

asdsdf said:


> Well from here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomology, it said that they usually worked at museums. Didn't say anything about pay, but I'm sure you are going to have to memorize all of the latin names(thousands), and have thousands of bug pictures inside of your mind( &lt;_&lt; ).


Memorizing names and pictures isn't really a problem...heck, thats what I spend most of my free time doing on the net anyways. :mellow: 



asdsdf said:


> Here, http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos047.htm#earnings . It has things about zoologists(entomology is a branch of zoology). It says average zoology earnings is 101,000. It's pretty good.


Hmmmmmmmmmm..........



joossa said:


> I had the same issue when I started college. Most of the graduate students that I have spoken to at my university have advised against it. Most said this because of the low pay and lack of flexibility and variance with jobs.I say that if you are going to go into the field, it is because of your love for it and not for the pay. Of course, the majority of people go to college in order to get a good paying job. It’s up to you to balance these factors out.


Bah, this is what I was afraid of. I'm not the type of person that could do it purely for the love of it.  Good info there though, thanks.



Precious said:


> The Body Farm my friend. http://jeffersonbass.com/ Forensic entomology, very cool.


So basically I just pretend to be that guy from CSI and play around with dead bodies all day? I could do that. :lol: 

Sounds like something you would see on that "dirtiest jobs" show or whatever its called on discovery.

P.S. - Gahhh, what the heck happened to Jesse?


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## OGIGA (Oct 3, 2007)

I had this issue when I decided that I can't do computer science and engineering. Yeah...


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## Rick (Oct 3, 2007)

The job market may be tight for that but there are many places you could potentially work. Musuems, pest control services, government, forensics, universities, etc etc.


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 3, 2007)

I always wanted to be in forensics...so playing with dead bugs could be cool  But really man, who knows where you could go in that field, Bugs are not going to dissapear and as pollution is out of control, maybe one day you will be the one guy who discovers the mantis with two heads! I say go for it! ps and when you are famous, do not forget the little people here who told you to go! :lol:


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## yen_saw (Oct 3, 2007)

Andrew said:


> Well, because I've only got one more year of high school left after this one, I'm considering career choices, and naturally, entomology is one of them. I was originally put off the idea on the grounds that it was deathly boring and didn't pay well(&lt;-mainly this one).Does anyone here have any background in this area? Is there a way to have a successful career(in other words, make a comfortable living) in entomology? If so, how should one go about doing it? :huh:


Go with your heart Andrew. Do something you really like. If you "really" love money, go to energy field, oil and gas especially, you really didn't hear this from me  

Best of luck in chosing your career, no matter what you decide, go far (Phd if possible) and don't regret!


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## Jayson16 (Oct 3, 2007)

What Yen said, make sure you pick something that you love. I have seen people go into jobs that they wanted to make tons of money but there not happy doing it. Did you start looking at colleges yet? see what kind of courses they provide? Im also a junior so I know what your going through. Good luck.


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## Ben.M (Oct 4, 2007)

I want to do something in entomology when i go to college, and i want to do it coz i [SIZE=36pt]luv[/SIZE] entomology  , so go for it


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## thebugwife (Oct 4, 2007)

I met a Guy at the show this weekend and he wanted to buy my dead bugs, mantis in particular, to use them in some sort of DNA studies...you could go into the genetics side of it :blink:


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## Precious (Oct 5, 2007)

My husband is an Environmental Health Specialist (and a republican, go figure) and he has a master's and graduate work required study in "vector control". Basically controlling entities that spread disease: vermin, insects, etc. So, he learned a lot about bugs from people who knew a lot about bugs. There are more bugs on the planet that any other creature and some of them are not merely pests, but carriers of deadly disease. Lots of research on controlling vector bugs. I think the field is wide open and, like any other field, once you begin really getting into the thick of your entomology education you'll learn of jobs you never knew existed. I say just head for a graduate degree and figure it out along the way.


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## asdsdf (Oct 5, 2007)

Precious said:


> My husband is an Environmental Health Specialist (and a republican, go figure) and he has a master's and graduate work required study in "vector control". Basically controlling entities that spread disease: vermin, insects, etc. So, he learned a lot about bugs from people who knew a lot about bugs. There are more bugs on the planet that any other creature and some of them are not merely pests, but carriers of deadly disease. Lots of research on controlling vector bugs. I think the field is wide open and, like any other field, once you begin really getting into the thick of your entomology education you'll learn of jobs you never knew existed. I say just head for a graduate degree and figure it out along the way.


Oooh....That's pretty cool! I like how they control bugs, like the Cork Fly. Have you heard of that? the larvae burrow into an animal or human and eat the flesh. So then they created sterile males that couldn't fertilize the eggs even if they mated, creating infertile eggs, wiping the species out of America. Pretty cool.


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## Andrew (Oct 5, 2007)

Well, right now something within the field of entomology is my goal, so unless something else comes up, this is it. I just need to see what all is available.

Thanks for all of the help guys. Muchly appreciated.


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## Hypoponera (Oct 6, 2007)

OK, let me chime in on this. I have a BS in entomology. It was a cool major with some Very interesting classes! I have to admit that the lecture on forensic entomology did make me sick!

I do not, nor have I ever, made $100,000 a year! You might make that with a PhD and being a top researcher in private industry. $75,000 or so is possible if you are a university prof with tenure and pulling in loads of grant money. The best job I have had was as a pest control specialist in the US Air Force. The worst was working as a pest tech for Terminix!

If you want to make money in entomology, get a PhD. Also, plan on spending 150 hours a week working in someone else's lab until you get a lab of your own. And that could take years! Pay particular attention in English 101 and 102 as you need to be able to write grant proposals. Being awarded huge amounts of grant money is what really gets you tenure!

Basically, study entomology because it is something you find interesting! Your chances of making a lot of money in the field are slim. It's kinda like being a teacher. You do it because you like it. Not to get rich!


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## chun (Oct 6, 2007)

I'm currently reading biology (bsc) at University of Bristol, England at the moment, graduating next year. I'm planning on applying to do a Msc in Applied Entomology. Can anyone suggest any good universities in the States for applied entomology as i might have to consider moving to the states to finish my education (it'll also be an experience moving to another country)

cheers


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## Hypoponera (Oct 6, 2007)

I went to the University of Arizona, University of Arizona ento dept.

New Mexico State University and Perdue University both have ento depts. There are atleast 3 other universities that have ento depts but I do not know the names. I will try to find those for you tonight. They are in California, Florida and Utah I believe. I will also try to hunt down some links to them.


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## Morpheus uk (Oct 12, 2007)

Im being bombarded with "what do you want to do after you live school?" queshtons and i dont really know, want to do summut in entomolgy but by the sound of it it aint that good, i just saw a documentry when a bunch of people went to uncharted land to discover new species of animals, which is what id want to do but invertebrates, so what would thet be called? a load of bollucks or a real job cause i cant really remember the program  

Well i reckon im failing both maths and english all of a sudden due to sh1##y shakespear and algerbra, im doin ok in science on the other hand, so i think i`ll probably fail everything get a ###### job end on strrets and then end it all from a bridge, ain i cheerful?


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## joossa (Oct 12, 2007)

^LOL. :lol: You definitely need to be good in math (and chemistry and physics and other subjects) when getting a degree in any science field. Undergrads at my university say that you are blessed if you are a bio major and can graduate in 4 years.


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## Hypoponera (Oct 13, 2007)

joossa said:


> Undergrads at my university say that you are blessed if you are a bio major and can graduate in 4 years.


What a load of ######!! :lol: I actually managed to pick up a BA with a major in bio and minor in earth and planetary sciences in only 3 years. Of course that degree came AFTER the 4 1/2 years it took to get the BS in entomology. That's right, 3 years in addition to all the Chemistry, physics and tons of bio classes I had already taken. And all those earier classes DID transfer. I really think the whole "general ed" bit is a scam. It just seems to be a great way for the universities to get more money out of students. I have taken more the a few general ed classes that proved to be just a waste of my time and money.


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## chun (Oct 14, 2007)

btw, thanks for the useful link Hypoponera, a real help!

I'm currently helping my supervisor investigating the transmission of Agiostrongylus vasorum (canine heartworm) from intermediate host (molluscs) to canines for my dissertation. Going to be really ambitious and see if i can get a straight phD in parasitology (although, i'll need to brown-nose quite a fair bit  ).

I really dont know what to do with my life after i get my qualifications. I'm still quite naive in thinking i'll be happy (as i am loving my course at the moment, the more i learn (more like the more i dont know), the more interesting it gets) with relatively rubbish pay considering how much time and effort invested on my education. An electrician finishing school when they're 16, do a few years of apprenticeship could earn £30-40k by the time they're 22. I'm 21, and i'm earning peanuts. I'd also like to think it's not all about the money, but realistically, that will never be true. Well, i'm an ambitious person, i like to be the best at whatever i do, hopefully i'll do alright for myself. If not, i'll just have to marry a rich (and hot) wife with my charmingly good looks :lol: 

Need to apply for a Msc Entomology in less than 2 weeks, my CV is turd!!!


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## Mantis Keeper (Oct 15, 2007)

University of Florida has an entomology program that I heard was pretty good.


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## MantisD (Oct 24, 2007)

Mantis Keeper said:


> University of Florida has an entomology program that I heard was pretty good.


UF does have a good program. Although I can't say too much more as they are a major rival.

To make a comfortable living in the sciences you might want to consider work as a professor (teaching and doing research). They generally make good salaries, but entomology is highly specialized and the job market could be tight.


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