herpetology

Question
Hi my name is sian crossingham, i live in NSW Australia. i am very interested in herpetology, i have a passion for all animals but reptiles is my choice. i have a keepers and breeders license and keep several reptiles, i am currently doing my certificate 4 in veterinary nursing, although i extremely want to pursue a career in herpetology, i am very ambitious towards having a career in working with reptiles. can you tell me what i have to do to start this career and what steps i need to take to get into this field of work?? it would be greatly appreciated if you could answer my question.
thank you

Answer
Hi Sian. I will take a shot at this, as I can tell you how you would do it in the US. The first step would be a university degree in zoology, biology, or biochemistry. Then you would need to take the aptitude test which would be the GREs in the US, I'm unsure of the equivalent there. Then you apply to the universities that you want to do grad work at. Then you get a masters degree and PH.D. in herpetology. There are 4 Australian universities in the top 50 ranked internationally. I am unsure which would be he best for zoology, but I bet any would be ok. University of Melbourne, Australia National University, University of Sydney, and the University of Queensland. I'm thinking the university of Sydney might be the closest to you, but I am unsure. I am guessing just because Sydney is in NSW. Good luck with it! Nicole