zookeeper

educator

guest service agent

event assistant

team member

Indianapolis Zoo

I love working at the zoo because I learned much about customer service and cashier work. A typical day was going in and setting up the cash register and dependent upon where you worked, you would either sell entrance tickets or tickets to ride the train. I liked the management but we got new management halfway through the work period so the expectations and rules got changed without the employees knowing. I loved everyone that I worked with. I had no problems with any of them. I think that the hardest part of the job was not knowing whether or not you would have to come in to work or not. It was not always guaranteed that you would have to come in to work that day. The most enjoyable part was watching the kids leave with a smile just as big as it was when they came in.

● Management
Department heads are hands on and absolutely lovely to work with, for the most part. As you get further up the chain, however, it becomes very clear what matters - and it is not necessarily the employees. Sometimes it’s not even the animals.

● Culture
Every face I met at the zoo was a friendly one. However, this is not a work place known for its diversity.

● Overall
My experience working at Indianapolis Zoo was largely a happy one for the first year. On the small scale, within each department, it’s a great environment. Leadership showed its true colors during the pandemic, and it wasn’t beautiful - employee protection was not high on the priority list. You will be asked to perform sometimes inhuman tasks. However, animals are well cared for and much loved by their team members, and conservation IS a driving force behind the company.

I worked as a gift shop associate part time while in college. I had wonderful managers who were willing to answer questions and made sure I got good training before working on my own. My job included stocking merchandise, running the cash register at the main gift shop and kiosks around the zoo, and answering guest questions about the zoo or merchandise. They were very flexible with my schedule which was great since I was a student. The pay was not the best, but you did get the benefit of free admission to the zoo just by showing your employee badge. Overall, it was a great place to start in customer service and I had a lot of fun!

Management was really bad at confronting questionable people with questionable actions. Not a great place to work if you can’t handle drastic weather conditions or being on your feet all day. Guests will constantly treat you badly, definitely not a job for the light hearted. Definitely don’t date coworkers. You don’t make a lot of money, but it’s a fairly easy place to work. 

I worked in the admissions department at the Indy Zoo. It's a wonderful place to work. The staff are fun and encouraging, making you feel like part of a team. The zoo atmosphere is very educational and fun. If you like preserving the earth and its wildlife then you will love being here. In admissions most of the jobs are only part time but you have the opportunity to take shifts in the busy season to basically make it a full time job. I loved every minute of working here and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to have a stress-free and fun job to love.

Unless you’re working with the animals as a keeper- and even then- you will not be paid what the time and labor is worth. The customer service aspect is not a *physically* demanding job, but it is mentally and emotionally draining. Luckily everyone working here is very supportive and fun, managers actively try to keep people engaged and happy- but the pay is brutal if you have bills to pay. And in the off season, you likely won’t get enough hours to even pay for the gas over to your shift.

A typical day at work would consist of me stopping by security to obtain my radio then on the way to clock in. After clocking in I am off to work. Since working here I have learned to be very calm and understand what my guest needs are. Here at the zoo it is very diverse and I meet a lot of people from different places. The hardest part of my job is not being able to be as sensitive to the children and not being able to comfort a child when they are scared. Here at the zoo we have a no contact policy with the kids. The most exciting part of the job is seeing the smiles on my quest faces when they leave the zoo and being able to connect with my guest.

I always enjoy coming to work each and every day. I am not much of a morning person, but that does not matter much when I get there. For the most part everyone is happy to be there. It is very rare that you actually encounter a grouchy person. Management is fantastic, they are always on top of things and getting us what we need. I have yet to find someone that I work with that is not helpful and just completely nice. The most difficult part of my job is making sure that I have everything that I need before I start my day.

a typical work day for me is a meeting before you start you daily duties then we get assigned a area we would clean are areas and test run the rides  then open up  to guest ,ive learned a lot about customer service  and how ti confront and talk to guest the managers were awesome they were always their to help my co worker were good people to work with most of them showed great team work the hardest part of the job  was just being out in the weather and some customers were hard to deal with the most enjoyable part of my job was just being around people and kids

Day-to-day is relatively pleasant. Direct managers are usually good to work with, but it becomes pretty apparent quickly that department directors and higher management have no interest in what their employees really want.

In today's economy and age of constant rising prices, the pay is inadequate and there are no plans to change that. Depending on what department you're in, career growth is extremely limited. Opportunities for promotion rarely come, and when they do, it's not guaranteed that they'll go to internal employees.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Zookeeper 6 salaries reported	$19.94 per hour
Educator 3 salaries reported	$14.33 per hour
Guest service agent 3 salaries reported	$12.67 per hour
Event assistant 2 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Team member 4 salaries reported	$10.00 per hour

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