In the first place, look at your resources. When you are looking at volunteer jobs, you will tend to find that your most valuable resource is going to be your time. Look at your schedule as it stands and figure out what you can choose to add in and when. When you are looking towards making sure that you have a good spate of volunteer activity, make sure that you do not run yourself dry. Too many people will over-commit themselves and then find that they start to hate the activity, not because of the activity itself but because they are finding that they are in a place where they need to seriously reconsider what their priorities are and where their time is going.
When you are looking at choosing the right volunteer jobs involving animals, think about what you are best suited to do. For instance, are you looking to make sure that you can work one on one with various animals, or do you think that you would feel better working with people to make sure that they make the right kinds of decisions when it comes to the animal that they choose to take home? There are many different options that you can choose from when you are looking at volunteering at an animal shelter. When you are looking at volunteering at an animal shelter, however, you will find that you need to think about making sure that you have insurance. Having insurance is something that most shelters look for, and you will find that this can help keep things simple should you get bitten or otherwise injured.
When you are thinking about getting an animal volunteer job, you will find that while you may not be able to come in regularly, you still may be able to make a lot of difference in some animals' lives, and this is where fostering comes in. Many different shelters often find that they have more animals than they can adequately house, and when you are looking to make a difference but can't go to the shelter, you may still be able to open your home to an animal that needs one. As a foster parent, you will find that most if not all of the animal's needs are paid for, and you just need to take the animal into your home until it can be adopted. You may find that you are asked to take the animal to meet and greets to see if there are people out there who are willing to adopt it on a permanent basis.
If you are seriously considering an animal volunteer job, you should also consider what your options are when it comes to wildlife rehabilitation. In the first place, this is a more demanding position, simply by virtue of it being concerned with animals that are not domesticated. There may be some training that you need to complete and you may be required to put in some mandatory hours every week as well. You may also find that working with wildlife may require some initial animal volunteer work with domesticated animals beforehand. This is excellent volunteer work should you decide to make a life-long career in this field.
To get the kind of volunteer job that you are after, start at the humane shelters in your area. Find the ones that have a philosophy that you would not mind sharing and see what it takes to volunteer. Often you will discover that you will be able to start fairly soon. Start small, with a schedule that seems on the short side to you, and then build up if you would like to. You will soon find that there are many different things that you can do in order to make sure that you have the right kind of workload.
Working with animals is an extremely rewarding experience and you will find that it is something that can push you towards the career that you are after. Think about what choices you have in your area and think about how you can help.