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Wow, I can't believe how negative many of the comments on this subject are.
I had a similar question when I was in elementary school and of course, none of the school staff had any clue even for career day. When I finally got to the graduate level, I decided to study wetland ecology instead, but went to a university with a faculty that was striong on the herp side of things. So here's some suggestions I can give you from my experiences.
First, a herpetologist is simply a person who specializes in Reptiles and amphibians. Chances are you are not sure exactly what you want to do in this field, but you obviously are interested in general terms. The first thing you need to decide is if you are interested as in just a hobby, or can you see yourself working in herpetology in the scientific field. If you are interested in sciences then university is the way to go.
There are many specific studies in herpetology (after you complete your PhD) such as evolution and ecology, teaching, nomenclature, phisiology, genetics etc. These are a few specializations but the list is probably as long as your imagination. If this is way you want to go then look for a university with a strong biological sciences cirriculum. Take lots of sciences and do well. Don't limit yourself, take anything and everything you can in biology including herpetology, evolution, ecology, statistics, microbiology (this is important to learn DNA analysis) etc.
Look for graduate schools preferably away from where you live (unless there is a great program in your home town) It seems that many schools prefer their graduate students to have diversity in where they live as it broadens your persective. When looking for a graduate school research the professors. You can easily do this on line now. Search for herpetologists, scientific papers, books by PhDs, then trace them back to where they are working. The only way to specialize is go get a graduate committee that specializes in your selected field.
What many people in this thread have said is true. You may be able to make more money as a plumber...but so what. If this is truly what you want to do then do it. With a masters degree in biology there are jobs out there that may not relate directly to herpetology, the the job market is not dry and your education will not necessarily go to waste, Federal and Provincial governments, Non Government Agencies, Consultants, zoos, museums all hire biologists and this is why it is important to take as many courses as possible. At the PhD level you can go on to research and teach at a university, or work at a higher level in a museum, zoo etc.
Good Luck! Just remember that researching this now is the most important thing to do. You don't want to complete 7 - 10 years of school just to decide this really isn't what I want to do, or get yourself into a program, then realize that you should have gone to a different school because your graduate committee doesn't have the background to sufficiently support you in your area of expertise.
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