calling all herpetoligists~

[norman]

what kind of future are you looking at with a herpetology degree? is there lots of stuff out there or is it pretty limited?

pete

[ETET]

Very interesting forum and debate. It looks like herpetologist has two definitions, one is base on academic training vs another base on extensive experience. Personally, I believe both can be herpetologists; its depends on where they are. If you put one in a scientific journal, one with a degree will be mostly referred as a herpetologist; on the other hand in herp community and general public, one with extensive experience should be the one and the one with a degree may be not. My thought is that herpetologist have two streams: one is more academic and another is more on real hands on experience. It really depends on what focus of their work, oh another debate again......


ETET

[marisa]

My thoughts:

If you don't have the degree, you aren't a herpetologist.

Does this mean no degree, know nothing? Of course not. In fact in many cases its the exact opposite as some have mentioned but I don't think anyone should call themselves something they are not. And we as people have decided to make colleges and Universities our way of granting a title to someone and knowing who is credible and has been taught as a such and such. If people just went around calling themselves doctors because they have taken care of injuries in 40,000 people in the last twenty years, then who could we trust? We wouldn't know who is credible, we wouldn't know who had the training at the school or who had an actual degree....that might not matter to some and many would go to anyone who could show the experience, but to many others a degree is a bit of trust. They trust that the school taught this person and the tested them and felt this person was ready for the degree and the priveledge to call themselves "doctor" Just MHO

Marisa

[ReptiZone]

I find it is like a nurse and a doctor the 2 work with the same patients but on diffrent levels.A herpetologists has not just a degree but it is a doctor degree. Like a person that works in a old folks home they see all the same thing a doctor may see but can't do all the things doctors do (give injections and so on) if they were not given a paper buy the government saying they can do this.

Us herpecultralist do this thing at our own risks no haserd pay forget haserd pay no pay at all. herpetologists are doctors at this hobby and get payed to do the thing we do doesn't mean we are les knowlegable just that the government may or may not chose to recognise us and if we get hurt it is our own fault but if a herpetologists gets hurt the government takes care of him/her
cause he/she was hurt at work.

Just my littel definetion

Chondro Python

[BWSmith]

Well, just so we have everything at a glance. Here are the official definitions.

\Her`pe*tol"o*gist\,

n. One versed in herpetology, or the natural history of reptiles.

n : a zoologist who studies reptiles and amphibians


That's it. Those are the definitions. This is definately a good debate, but going by the actual definitions, I have not seen a wrong answer. Everyone is going to have their interpretation.