Internship: Aquarium Team - CACS
Season: Summer 2025 (Approx June-August)
Location: Center for Animal Care and Sustainability
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, hatcheries, 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, 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 Center for Animal Care and Sustainability team at our offsite facility which oversees quarantine and holding habitats for a wide variety of freshwater and marine fishes and invertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians.
 
Learning Objectives: 

• Effectively perform husbandry and exhibit maintenance skills including diet preparation, feeding, observations, and cleaning tasks.  
• Demonstrate an understanding of aquarium life support systems, water quality theory and testing procedures, and routine habitat maintenance.  
• Identify and explain aquarium protocols around biosecurity and animal welfare. 
• Learn proper quarantine procedures for aquatic animals and show an understanding of how these procedures may differ between species.  

Responsibilities & Projects: 

• Demonstrate commitment to Shedd’s vision, mission and values 
• Complete assigned animal care tasks including diet preparation, feeding, providing enrichment and recording health observations.  
• Conduct in-depth observations of animal behavior and maintain detailed husbandry records. 
• Assist in all aspects of habitat maintenance including cleaning walls/windows and substrate, performing water changes, understanding large and small aquarium life support systems, and monitoring water quality. 
• Assist with quarantine treatments and procedures while following biosecurity protocols.   
• Other projects as assigned 

Qualifications: 

Fields of Interest: Applicants should be interested in a career in animal husbandry. Coursework 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, humid, or cold environments.  
• Comfortable working closely with a variety of aquatic animals possibly including sharks, stingrays, turtles, plankton and corals.  
• 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: Schedule will fall within Monday-Thursday, 7am-3pm.
• 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.