What are the requirements of working at a Local Fish store?

[royal gang]

what kind of education do you need?
how much of what you studied do you use at your jobs?(this goes with ALL jobs)
this is to prove to my mom that not all school is necessary...im not saying it's to quit my education but i HAD TO point this out... seriously why do you need to know wtf is inside a frog to draw? act? make models? science? WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[triga22]

IDK. Shouldnt be much Edu. Its a minimum wage job unless the place is huge and beastly. Anyways post 1,100 for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:joy: (I have to do that, its tradition)

 

[royal gang]

congrats

 

[demartini]

Have good knowledge of the hobby, be courteous and polite, have patience with people... a LFS I go to has the most retarded girls working there! One girl didn't even know that the corals were in salt water!!! Uhhh hello! lol
I work at a bank and as long as you can count they will hire you... I'm sure you will have no problem working at a LFS

 

[royal gang]

Originally Posted by DeMartini
Have good knowledge of the hobby, be courteous and polite, have patience with people... a LFS I go to has the most retarded girls working there! One girl didn't even know that the corals were in salt water!!! Uhhh hello! lol
I work at a bank and as long as you can count they will hire you... I'm sure you will have no problem working at a LFS
LOL, funny how stupid some people are, but it dun have to do with school, u can ask what corals are almost anywhere on the internet :thinking:
Originally Posted by DeMartini
I work at a bank and as long as you can count they will hire you.
TOO EASY!!!

 

[stephish]

The people at the LFS I go to are all family, not mine, theirs.
As far as school goes, most of it you use some of it you don't. I'm 38 and currently back in school finishing up a Bio-Chem degree and still wonder why I needed Western Civ and Literature. But I do now know why I needed Cal A & B.

 

[ruaround]

most LFS i know... just a pulse is required...

 

[mrdc]

I have to agree with ru. My stores usually have someone with knowledge but he/she doesn't work every day of the week. Some things that are said to me by the ones I know who don't know so much, really don't haver a clue. I also found that's it's fun to go in and ask questions about things that you already know the answer to and basically quiz the workers on what they know. You can get some really crazy answers.

 

[darknes]

Sure, you don't need any education to work at an LFS or a bank, but that's all you're going to do the rest of your life, making minimum wage.
There are success stories of people that make it well with little to no education, but those are only rare cases. Almost any employer is going to hire someone with a college degree over someone without one, whether they are a better worker or not.
I strongly suggest anyone with the means to go to college to do so. Trust me, they're the greatest 2-4 years of your life.
Also, most of the jobs you listed don't require much education (drawing, acting, etc.), but many of those people make very little. They all have high hopes of making it big, but very few do.

 

[agent707]

To get a job at the LFS, you must have:

1) Very low post count on any and all aquarium forums (none preferred).
2) No idea what "tank cycle" means.
3) Experience in pizza delivery.
4) An understanding that when people ask for "live rock", they are not wanting concert tickets.
Did I miss anything? :notsure:

 

[jam1e]

Originally Posted by Agent707
To get a job at the LFS, you must have:

1) Very low post count on any and all aquarium forums (none preferred).
2) No idea what "tank cycle" means.
3) Experience in pizza delivery.
4) An understanding that when people ask for "live rock", they are not wanting concert tickets.
Did I miss anything? :notsure:

 

[mopar9012]

Originally Posted by Agent707
To get a job at the LFS, you must have:

1) Very low post count on any and all aquarium forums (none preferred).
2) No idea what "tank cycle" means.
3) Experience in pizza delivery.
4) An understanding that when people ask for "live rock", they are not wanting concert tickets.
Did I miss anything? :notsure:

lol...has any of those happened to you?

 

[agent707]

Originally Posted by ROYAL GANG
what kind of education do you need?
how much of what you studied do you use at your jobs?(this goes with ALL jobs)
this is to prove to my mom that not all school is necessary...im not saying it's to quit my education but i HAD TO point this out... seriously why do you need to know wtf is inside a frog to draw? act? make models? science? WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
OK, now for a serious post.
You certainly don't understand what all this learning is for now... (dissecting frogs for example). To you, none of this makes sense.
25 years from now, it will make PERFECT sense. And what you miss out on Now, you will regret in 25 years. BELIEVE ME! You will.
It's all about Brain development. Like why athletes work out. So when they go to perform, their bodies are "conditioned" to perform well.
By learning, you are developing and conditioning your brain. What you actually learn is only half of it. It's more about brain stimulation.

[hr]
I've been working as a programmer for some time now, with only a High school education (I did get some education when I was in the military, but not a lot).
I tell you the truth, it is very tough working with a bunch of EDUCATED people. They clearly have the edge over me. I can tell as things I struggle with, they do with ease.
Not to mention I make a measly 50k vs their 75k salaries... If I had that piece of paper, I would make the 70k too.
My wife, who is 6 years younger than me, she has her BA and she makes 20k more than me... She'll be making 100k before I ever get to 65k probably... I doubt I will ever make it to 100k before I retire...

I suppose I am one of those fortunate ones Darknes mentioned... but if I were REALLY fortunate, I would have gotten a degree 25 years ago... I'd be making 90k by now easily (because of my age.... LOL)
So it's up to you. You can struggle the rest of your life, for little pay.... or GET YOUR BRAIN DEVELOPED and surf through life... WITH money in your pocket.
25 years from now, you WILL thank the people who shared this with you, OR you WILL regret NOT LISTENING to them.
Your choice.
Good luck!

 

[agent707]

Originally Posted by mopar9012
lol...has any of those happened to you?
Most recently, I was in the store getting some food when I overheard a young girl explaining to some guy who was just setting up a new aqaurium...
She said; "If you get <this fish> or <this fish> you'll be able to put them in your tank after a couple of days. They are hardy fish and wont be affected by the cycle."
Customer; "Cycle?"
Girl; "When you set up a new tank, all your levels have to cycle (went on to give a very bad explaination of the cycle)."
Customer; "Oh, I see. So I shouldn't put fish in right away?"
Girl; "You should be ok after a couple of days."
This is where I stepped in.
Me; "Excuse me sir, but maybe I can help. What she's trying to say is that after a couple of days, you can add <those fish> and they will "probably" survive the torchers of HIGH levels of ammonia your tank will have, for only a little while. That if you chose to put any of these other fish in, they will die a horrible death.
But what she failed to tell you, is if you "waite" until your tank has cycled (and I gave him a better explaination of the cycle), you would be able to put ANY of these fish in your tank without subjecting them to "harmful" levels of toxins....etc."
By then, the girl had walked away... He left without intentions of buying any fish for at least 6 weeks. :joy:

 

[kmc]

I had to laugh the other day when I was in a LFS that I don't frequent that often. It is probably the biggest and most "high end" store in the area. The display tanks are incredible. Anyway I went there because I wanted a different opinion than I was getting at the other place I go. Pretty basic question I thought. "What do you guys feed your yellow clown Gobies? Mine will not eat. I've tried frozen Brine, Frozen Mysis, pellets and even phytoplankton". We then proceed to stand in front of a double wide freezer with at least 50 different kinds of food while I get a 10 minute Masters Degree dissertation on the size, in Microns, of all the different food choices. He never did answer the question and I walked out of there knowing more than I wanted to about the latin genus and species names of the queen and fighting conchs but without any food for my Goby.

 

[catawaba]

The ability to recognize a mistake, and to be able to politely correct it.
The ability to recognize people who think they know what they are talking about.

 

[eaglewonj]

Originally Posted by kmc
I had to laugh the other day when I was in a LFS that I don't frequent that often. It is probably the biggest and most "high end" store in the area. The display tanks are incredible. Anyway I went there because I wanted a different opinion than I was getting at the other place I go. Pretty basic question I thought. "What do you guys feed your yellow clown Gobies? Mine will not eat. I've tried frozen Brine, Frozen Mysis, pellets and even phytoplankton". We then proceed to stand in front of a double wide freezer with at least 50 different kinds of food while I get a 10 minute Masters Degree dissertation on the size, in Microns, of all the different food choices. He never did answer the question and I walked out of there knowing more than I wanted to about the latin genus and species names of the queen and fighting conchs but without any food for my Goby.
I have high end store by me and when I got my clowns and gramma, I simply asked what food do you use and reccomend for them, he took one out and handed it to me and explained that it is a good all around food and even how much to give. (He gave me frozen good, but also picked a flake food to use some of also). That was it. He knew the tank size and what is in it and that is all he needed. This particular store is stocked with proffessional or proffessional in training staff for marine biology and fish husbandry. Just about everyone there has a degree or certification in marine ecosystems and livestock or is pursueing one.
So the answer to the question is...depends on the store. Example: The one that begins with a P and ends with CO doesn't seem to require much beyond the ability to put on the blue shirt and fill out an application. The store I referred to before....you better know your stuff, no faking it, the owner has a Ph.D. in Marine fish husbandry or something to that effect, you will not fool him. Every employee has at least one marine tank at home and has been proficient in keeping it. You will not get by with bs and bad advice there. They accept nothing less than the most experienced, enthusiastic and qualified people they can find.
The question is....which store do you want to work in? I know what my choice would be.

 

[watson3]

Originally Posted by ruaround
most LFS i know... just a pulse is required...

Agreed..What else do you want.Half the time you will know more than them

 

[eaglewonj]

Originally Posted by watson3
Agreed..What else do you want.Half the time you will know more than them
I have been to one where the employees could not identify fish. You ask for one and they try to net some random thing in the tank that has that name on it.... Also get interesting things like trying to sell someone tetras as a good starter fish for their salt tank.... (who wants to guess what store that genius was in) Oh and then there is the store where every tank is so nasty and disgusting that you can't see the fish....then you get a look from the top and realize they all have ich...(again anyone wanna guess what store?) All this while the guy in the aquarium section just kinda sits there and says the fish and fine and the tanks are supposed to be that way.
Oh it gets better, like scooping freshwater on the way to the marine tanks to give someone a nemo (not making this crap up) as well as selling someone tetras and then not telling them they can't have that nice nemo in the window to go with the tetras...(little girl thought it was cute...and wanted to put it in with the neons...does the guy say anything...NOPE!)
That's enough for now...

 

[watson3]

YOu also have to figure in is this a Fish only store or a Pet Store..I really do not expect a pet store to know much about their fish..I do not go there for that reason..