Jobs

Internship Program

If you are considering a career in the marine mammal field, our internship program is an excellent way to start.  You will receive valuable experience that will assist you in achieving your future goals.  Our program is designed for college students and recent graduates who are serious about pursuing a career working with marine mammals.  The Gulfarium provides a unique and diverse internship experience.  We house a wide variety of animals including dolphins, sea lions, seals, North American river otters, African black footed penguins, sea turtles, sharks and a multitude of fish species.  You will be exposed to all of these animals, generally in the form of observation, although as you gain experience you will be utilized to assist with sessions and even occasional feeding of some of the animals.  Positions are very limited and fill up quickly.

Program Description
Our interns work directly with the animal training staff and are exposed to all aspects of daily care and training of the animals.  Heavy emphasis is placed on basic tasks such as food preparation, making up buckets, and cleaning of fish kitchen.  You will also be taught how to perform all dive duties which includes scrubbing of our main dolphin pool.  There will be quite a bit of exposure to our guests, you will learn how to direct them, answer questions, watch over the pools, and open and close the show areas.  You will receive valuable experience with public speaking when you learn to narrate our otter and penguin presentations.  You will be taught how to conduct and record animal observations, including counting respirations, and noting behavior.  We will teach you how to feed, care for and interact with our sea turtles.  Interns shadow the trainers and will be exposed to training methods utilizing operant conditioning.  You will learn how we train and maintain our many husbandry behaviors on the animals, and ultimately you will be utilized to assist us with sessions.  In addition to the medical training, we are always working on new behaviors with all of the animals and never stop looking for ways to enrich their lives.  You will be asked to design and implement a toy for enrichment.

Requirements
Internships are unpaid and require a minimum commitment of 3 full days a week for 3 months.  Keep in mind the more time you put into the program, the more you will get out of it.  Candidates must have a positive attitude, good work ethic and a strong willingness to learn.  This job requires long periods of working in all weather conditions as well as lifting objects up to 50 pounds.  Scuba certification is preferred but not required.

Application Procedure
All interested parties must submit the following:
Completed job application - Download HERE
Resume
2 letters of recommendation (college or professional references preferred)

Applications can be mailed to:
Florida’s Gulfarium
Attention: Intern Coordinator
1010 Miracle Strip Parkway SE
Fort Walton Beach, FL  32548

Summer session (May – August)
Fall session (August – November)
Winter session (November – February)
Spring session (February – May)