Animal Training Career Paths

Animal Training Career PathsAnimal Training Career PathsThere are many possible career options for individuals that have a strong knowledge of animal behavior and an interest in training animals professionally. Here are a few of the most popular options for this career path Marine Mammal Trainer Marine mammal coachs work with a variety of aquatic species including whales, dolphins, sea lions, and seals. They are responsible for training animals to perform behaviors on cue these behaviors are later used as a parte of educational demonstrations and shows, to facilitate veterinary procedures, or to provide general stimulation and exercise. Marine mammal trainers are very active and must be able to meet the strenuous physical demands that go along with this line of work. A degree is not necessarily required, but most trainers have a degree or specialty certificate plus considerable internship experience before landing this highly coveted training position. There are always many more applicants than there are trainer positions available, so a strong background in the marine field is extremely important. Movie Animal Trainer Movie animal trainers work with a wide variety of animal species that are used as a part of the filmmaking industry. In addition to basic animal care duties, movie trainers bring animals to and from the set at designated times, give cues to elicit desired behaviors, and train animals to modify existing behaviors or perform new ones as required by the director for filming purposes. Movie animal trainers must be prepared to work long hours under potentially difficult conditions. A degree is not required, but many movie trainers have extensive training whether it is through a formal program or though completing internships with seasoned professionals in the industry. It is much easier to become involved with movie animal training if you are located near major filming centers, particularly in California or New York. Dog Trainer Dog traini ng is a very accessible career and also a great way for those interested in animal training to enter the field and gain valuable training experience with a familiar species. Dog trainers work with dogs and their owners to facilitate communication, condition dogs to perform behaviors on demand, and apply a variety of techniques to modify aggressive behavior or other undesirable actions. Dog trainers are usually self-employed, though some may find salaried work with professional kennels and boarding facilities. Certification is available through several respected professional organizations, and while formal training is not required to become a dog trainer it does greatly enhance the trainers credentials in the eyes of clients. Horse Trainer Horse trainers can specialize in working with racehorses or show and pleasure horses. Both types of training involve careful management of the horses under a trainers supervision to ensure that they are able to put forth optimal performance in competition. Racehorse trainers focus their efforts on preparing racing breeds (usually Thoroughbreds or Quarter Horses) to put forth their best efforts at the track. Racehorse trainers specially tailor workouts to each horses level of fitness and long-range goals. They also advise exercise riders and jockeys on the horses unique behavioral quirks and preferences. Trainers must be licensed to practice their trade at each track where they compete. Most begin their careers working as barn foremen or assistant trainers, working their way up to having their own stable. Show or pleasure horse trainers are more likely to ride the horses that they train themselves, teaching the horse how to respond to a variety of cues from the leg or rein. These cues signal gait changes, bends, starts and stops, and more. They may also advise the horses owner on riding techniques that will elicit desired responses. Trainers may achieve certification through a wide variety of programs, though no formal cer tification is really necessary for thepursuit of this career path. Extensive experience in a specific discipline of riding is generally the most important factor in a trainers recruitment of clients. Final Word Consider Internships All aspiring animal trainers should consider pursuing any education and training that is available in their particular niche area of interest (such as marine animal training internships). There are many animal behavior internships that would enhance a candidates credentials for a future career in a training related field. Additionally, there are many species-specific internships that are not specifically tailored to animal training but give the candidate an excellent foundation to build on. Animal training positions are not usually easy to come by, but with a strong resume and history of experience a candidate can greatly improve their chances of finding success in the field.

Your big break is never coming (do this instead)

Yur big break is never coming (do this instead)Your big break is never coming (do this instead)Most of us are waiting for our Big Break. And thats the worst way to succeed. Lets look at one of historys most successful artists to see why - and what we should do instead.- - - When a young Michelangelo Buonarroti approached Domenico Ghirlandaio, the famous Florentine artist, he must have had a lump in his throat.The boy welches barely a teenager and about to ask one of Florences most fashionable painters to train him. Whats more, his father Lodavico welches pressuring him into being the familys sole breadwinner, which did bedrngnis jibe with his own ambitions of becoming a sculptor.In a monumental moment for both men, the aspiring artist met his elder with what must have been a combination of both fear and respect. Many young Florentines would have been honored to even meet the man, but the boy wanted more.As the story goes, Michelangelo bedrngnis only asked for an apprenticeship but had the audacity to request compensation.This was outrageous. In the Renaissance, apprentices did not get paid. If anything, they paid their way through their education. Anyone in Ghirlandaios senderaum witnessing the event would have stared at the boys request with abject horror.Whatever the master must have felt - at first outrage and maybe then amusement - he surprised everyone, maybe even Michelangelo, by accepting the offer. The boy got to work and quickly learned to paint under the tutelage of his new master.It was about a year or two later that Michelangelo left the studio of Ghirlandaio to continue his apprenticeship in the Medici palace at the personal request of Lorenzo de Medici, one of the wealthiest art patrons at the time.And thus, a star was born.Dont wait for your big breakStories like this often get dismissed as happy coincidences. Serendipity. We tend to think of what happened to Michelangelo as a Big Break, that wonderful moment when someone discovers your tale nt and makes all your dreams come true.Many of us wait for such a moment, and when it doesnt come we assume it was never meant to be. And everything about that assumption is wrong.As Walter Matthau once said to a young actor who had recently moved to Hollywood and was waiting for his Big Break Kid, its not the one big break. Its the fifty big breaks.Its not the one big break that counts. Its the fifty breaks.As I wrote in Real Artists Dont Starve, the Big Break is a myth. Something we tell themselves out of laziness and fear of the work ahead. If Big Breaks do happen, wed be better off not counting on them and focusing on what we can control - the work.So what should we do if not wait for our Big Break? We should do what Michelangelo did. We should practice, and we should prepare.Practice when no ones watchingLong before entering Ghirlandaios studio, Michelangelo was practicing. He was not waiting for his Big Break he was doing the work. Before he was an actual apprentice, he was a cting like an apprentice.That meant learning from whomever he could from. He knew he wanted to be an artist and that he could not become great on his own, no matter how talented he might be. No amount of natural ability can compete with diligent practice. So the boy used the opportunities that were available to him.Michelangelo had cousins who worked in a nearby quarry every day. In fact, he was raised by this family for a short time in his youth. This allowed him the chance to familiarize himself with stone, a skill that would be invaluable to him later in life as a sculptor.He adopted the attitude of a student, learning from anyone who could teach him. So when an opportunity came, he would be ready.Thats what being an apprentice is all about not just making big asks but taking the work seriously from the beginning. What will make you stand out from the crowd is not just the audacity to ask but the humility to learn.What will make you stand out from the crowd is not just the audaci ty to ask but the humility to learn.All that practice paid off, because in no time, Michelangelo began to stand out amongst his peers. Soon, he was being recommended by Ghirlandaio to study under Bertoldo di Giovanni, an Italian sculptor who had studied under the great Donatello.That simple move to the palace changed the young artists fate forever. But it never would have happened had he not been practicing the whole time.If you wait for your Big Break, when it comes, you will squander it. We cant control when or how these moments come but we can be ready for them - first by practicing, then by making the most of them.Prepare for lucky momentsSo if Big Breaks dont exist, does this mean we should rule out the role of luck in success? Of course not.We all get lucky at some point, sometimes without realizing it until after the fact. But luck is a fickle friend. As soon as you find her, Lady Luck will leave you when you need her the most.Luck is a fickle friend and unfaithful mistress. As soon as you find her, Lady Luck will leave you when you need her the most.You cant count on luck. What you can do, however, is prepare for the likelihood that good fortune will visit you at some point.In his book Great by Choice, author Jim Collins compares the performance of enduringly great companies to average companies. Collins demonstrates that the more successful companies had about the same amount of luck (defined as unlikely but fortunate events) as less successful companies.What separated the successes from the failures was the fact that the successful companies got a return on their luck and the unsuccessful ones did not. In other words, they did something with the opportunity they had.Opportunities come - either by putting ourselves in the right place at the right time or simply by sticking around long enough. But good opportunities lead to great work when we make the most of them.When Lorenzo asked Ghirlandaio what two apprentices he should bring into the palace, th e painter recommended two artists Michelangelo and a friend. But history only remembers one - the one who used his opportunity and leveraged it for a lifetime of creative success.In the palace, Michelangelo was educated alongside the Medici children who would eventually become popes and princes and wealth art patrons. He befriended them, and apparently the friendship paid off.After leaving the palace, Michelangelo began earning ten times what other artists of his era were making. He would go on to become the wealthiest artist of his time, earning a fortune worth nearly $50 million today.This doesnt mean you can plan or orchestrate these moments. You cant. But if you work hard and understand that luck comes to us all, you can be ready to get a return on your luck.Lastly, be patientFew things in life come easy. And if they do, they rarely stay. So plan for the work, not the break. Because you can control that. Just be prepared to be invisible for a while.Because nobody notices you wh en youre getting up at five a.m. for an entire year to write on a blog no one reads.Nobody cares about you when youre doing free gigs in dive bars seven days a week just for the exposure.And nobody sees you pulling all nighters just to get the website working.Except of course, when they do. When the hard work pays off and people tell you how you just came out of nowhere. But by then, its too late. The myth is already born.Now, you have thousands of fans, and people tell you that, kid, youre a natural. And of course, you agree with them, because it feels good.Be prepared to be invisible for a while.But you did not come out of nowhere. You came from the same place they did. You just didnt stay there. You didnt take a leap. You built a bridge. You put yourself in the right place at the right time and did the work.You didnt wait for luck. You looked for it. You practiced and prepared for those opportunities. And when the time was right, you were ready to make the most of whatever chance you got.Of course, that took time. Maybe its still taking time. For now, you are patient, focusing on what you can control. Its a slog, but a beautiful one and in the end will be worth it.Good things come to those who workSo now you know. There are no Big Breaks, only tiny drips of effort that lead to waves of momentum. The harder things are, the longer they last, and the more you appreciate them.We cant wait for luck. But we can prepare for it, understanding that there will be many lucky - and unlucky - breaks throughout our lives. But its not luck that leads to success. Its perseverance.Its not luck that leads to success. Its perseverance.The choice, then, is up to you. Finding your fifty breaks will not be easy or quick, but if you persevere, it will happen.Your job is to show up and do your work consistently and well enough that its worth noticing. Practice, prepare, and be patient.Good things grow over time with care and intention. Dont wait for your Big Break. Recognize the one you already have. And make the most of it.The world is waiting (but you shouldnt be).Bonus You can listen to my interview with Caleb Rexius, a videographer, where he talks more about this idea of making your big break.Ready to do the work and get noticed?Starting a blog is one of the best ways to practice in public as I call it. Sign up for a free training on how to start a blog and grow it to thousands of subscribers.This article first appeared on Medium.

Resilience is a career advantage 5 strategies for your career toolbox

Resilience is a career advantage 5 strategies for your career toolboxResilience is a career advantage 5 strategies for your career toolboxVolatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous - for many, this describes their work environment perfectly. This environment requires us to be resilient - to take charge of our careers and lives and ride the waves of change instead of letting them drown us. Being resilient boosts our ability to manage career obstacles, make sense of organizational changes, and manage transition, while continuing to be productive and satisfied in our careers.Over my twenty years as a career and leadership coach, I have often heard clients describe their busy careers as out of control and impossible to manage. Some are workaholics who have become tired of feeling like they are putting their personal lives - family, hobbies, exercise - on the back burner. Some are successes in their field who equate being able to keep going with being resilient. But being resilient does not mean you put your head down and power through. Being resilient means you have the skills to handle change and to recover and recharge yourself so you have the energy needed for a productive, engaging career and life.The flip side of resilience is burnout. The American Psychological Associations David Ballard, PsyD, describes job burnout as an extended period of time where someone experiences exhaustion and a lack of interest in things, resulting in a decline in their job performance. 1 The symptoms are different for everyone, but there are clear warning signs. Do you feel exhausted many days? Do you lack motivation? Is your internal drive not as strong as it used to be? Do you feel constantly frustrated? Are you having difficulty focusing on your work? Burnout can be caused by a number of factors, including a high-pressure work environment, unclear job expectations, too many responsibilities, lifestyle choices and certain personality traits. Being connected 24/7 is also a factor in burnout, and a connection has been found between not receiving recognition for good work and burnout.My focus on resilience has its roots in one of my own career transitions. When the Fortune 500 company for whom I provided coaching services was acquired by another company, I was told my services were no longer needed. In order to provide a proper transition for the employees I was already coaching, I was granted an additional three months and worked with many employees whose jobs had been eliminated and with others who decided to explore new career paths.As I made the journey with them, I saw that some were thrown off by this major change and began to second-guess their competence even though they had had very successful careers. By comparison, individuals with career resilience were able to navigate much mora effectively through the process. I identified five common strategies that these resilient people possessed as part of their career toolbox. These became my Benatti Resili ency Model.The Benatti Resiliency Model consists of five strategiesWell-being physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Self-care to enhance your health and well-being yields immediate benefits. You will be mora productive and energized.Self-awareness purpose, mindset, and type. Your purpose defines the direction in which you would like to see your career and life move. Having the mindset that you have control over your personal and professional achievements helps you move forward. Knowing the natural gifts and challenges of your personality type is key to functioning well in the workplace.Brand attributes, impact, and reputation. Brand doesnt just differentiate you in the marketplace knowing your brand lets you be more visible and proactive in your career.Connection cultivating relationships. Strong relationships are the strongest predictor of life and career satisfaction. 2Innovation challenging yourself. Introducing new challenges, interests, or competencies into your career and life keeps you recharged and resilient.In every session, my leadership coaching focuses on developing resiliency strategies. Clients often say, I dont need resiliency strategies. I have it all under control. Yet when I bewerbungsinterview their colleagues and direct reports as part of the coaching process, I hear another story. Their coworkers describe them as addicted to urgency and often out of focus - not the image they think theyre projecting at all While stress has several positive motivational benefits, in unhealthy amounts it can interfere with your career and personal life in many ways.I treat resilience as a business competency, and all my clients work through the Benatti Resiliency Model. We know how important time management, project management, and leadership are, but how can we be effective in our careers if we do not have the ability to bounce back and deal with change? If you do not focus on your resilience as a key career competency, you will at some point become b ored, burned out, or exhausted. You will not have the energy to propel your career in the direction you want, or worse, you may find yourself downsized with nowhere to turn. When you focus on your resilience, you will have more positive energy to deal with challenges and a more balanced life.Beth Benatti Kennedy, MS LMFT brings more than twenty years of experience to her role as a leadership and executive coach, resiliency-training expert, and speaker. With an extensive background in career development, she coaches high-potential individuals on how to use their influence strategically, collaborate effectively, and focus on innovation. Her new book, Career Recharge Five Strategies to boost Resilience and Beat Burnout, was published in October.FootnotesLisa M. Gerry, 10 Signs Youre Burning Out And What to Do about It, Forbes (April 1, 2013), accessed June 26, 2017,Carolyn Gregoire, The 75-Year Study That Found the Secrets to a Fulfilling Life, HuffPost, accessed October 30, 2017.