Internship: Aquarium Team - Wild Reef
Season: Summer 2025 (Approx June-August)
Location: Onsite
Application Deadline: March 17 at 4pm CST
 
Shedd Internship Program
Shedd Aquarium's Internship Program aims to provide meaningful career exploration for those seeking professions in non-profits, animal care, conservation, research, and beyond.  We hope to inspire and develop future professionals as diverse as the aquatic world we care for.

These opportunities are geared toward those that are new to the field and just starting to establish a career. They have the skills and knowledge, but not necessarily the real-world application.

We welcome applications from all levels of experience, including those seeking career exploration or changes, gap year students, freshmen, sophomores, and those seeking first internships.

Department Overview: 
This career learning opportunity is designed to introduce aquarist experiences necessary for those looking to pursue a future career in aquaria, fisheries, conservation, and the general animal husbandry industry. The Aquarium Team is responsible for all aspects of animal husbandry and habitat maintenance for a wide variety of fish, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, and birds.  Interns will assist with animal care, enrichment and behavioral observation, life support, water quality monitoring, and cleaning. Interns may also complete a research or observational project to further their understanding and career goals. This position will work directly with the Wild Reef team and will be focusing primarily on coral husbandry.  
 
Learning Objectives: 

• Effectively perform husbandry and exhibit maintenance skills including diet preparation, feeding, observations, and cleaning tasks.  
• Learn basic water quality parameters for coral systems, and how to maintain and correct them. 
• Demonstrate an understanding of life support system functions and maintenance in coral habitats.    
• Learn about maintaining a coral collection through fragging and reproduction.  

Responsibilities & Projects: 

• Demonstrate commitment to Shedd’s vision, mission and values
• Complete assigned animal care tasks including diet preparation, feeding, water quality sampling, and daily system checks.  
• Conduct in-depth observations of animal health and maintain detailed husbandry records. 
• Assist in all aspects of habitat maintenance including cleaning walls/windows, performing water changes, and understanding habitat life support systems. 
• Assist with daily monitoring and correction of water quality. 
• Other projects as assigned 

Qualifications: 

Fields of Interest: Applicants should be interested in a career in animal husbandry or conservation. Course work in the biological sciences or some animal care experience is preferred.
 
Skills/Characteristics: 

• Able to spend long periods of time standing, walking, and bending.  
• Able to perform physical tasks like climbing a ladder and lifting up to 50 lbs. 
• Comfortable working in hot and humid environments.  
• Comfortable working closely with a variety of aquatic animals.  
• Attentive with good observational skills and able to communicate effectively with the team (verbal and written). 
• Must be at least 18 years old.
• Have a high school diploma or GED. 

On-boarding
All interns attend one full day orientation. These are held in person on select Mondays from 9am-5pm. This is required, even if you will not normally be scheduled on Mondays.

Time & Compensation: 

• This is a non-exempt, temporary position that pays $17 per hour
• We anticipate this position will be scheduled for 24-30 hours per week for 10-12 weeks, pending business needs and individual performance.
• Preferred schedule: Must be available within a Tuesday-Saturday schedule.  Shifts start between 7am and 7:30am.  Schedule may include weekends and holidays.
• Set schedule based on intern availability. 

Reasonable Accommodations:
Shedd Aquarium is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodations for any part of the employment process, please email us at internship@sheddaquarium.org.
 
We strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ community, Veterans and active duty military, parents, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from all cultural backgrounds to apply. Shedd Aquarium is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team.