Marine Biologist

jack_aubry · Jul 13, 2020

I would point you to these two articles my advisor had one posted to his door...

So You Think You Want to be a Marine Biologist? - WiseOceans

So you think you want to be a marine biologist? But do you know what it really takes to work in this field!?

www.wiseoceans.com

SO YOU WANT TO BE A MARINE BIOLOGIST? | SCQ

(In honour of a new science scout badge) The “I’m a marine biologist and, to be honest, I kind of hate dolphins” badge. – – – So you want to be a marine biologist? Well sonny, or sonnette, as the case may be, why don’t you just sit down and let a real marine biologist give you some dang good...

www.scq.ubc.ca

Not trying to discourage you just something to be aware of. Think you probably want to map out being a biologist first. What kind of biology do you want to study? Fisheries, evolution, ecology, micro, molecular. Even if you know you just want to study coral for example there are still major areas of study, genomics, transcriptomics, microbiome, ecology, population structure, taxonomy, diseases, ect.

Once you figure out the basics it will be easier to map out what you need to do to get to where you want to be. If you are planning on getting another bachelor's degree you have the ability to sample different disciplines to figure that part out.

SCReef'n · Jul 13, 2020

Hi Joe
Welcome to R2R!

Ippyroy · Jul 13, 2020

Sounds like the beginning of a great career. Welcome to R2R!

Brandon Smith · Jul 13, 2020

What an interesting adventure

fishguy242 · Jul 13, 2020

hi welcome to the reef going to love it here!!
lots of fun/info/fun/help/fun...
best wishes on your journey

Casket_Case · Jul 13, 2020

Joestajkowski said:
Hello,

I currently have a Bachelors Degree in Human Resources and a full time job. I am seriously considering going back to school to follow my dreams and pursue a career in Marine Biology. I was wondering if there may be any current Marine Biologists or someone who is currently enrolled in a program here on R2R that may be willing to offer some advice or answer some questions.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

Hello! I’m not a Marine Biologist, but I want to be a Marine Scientist. I’ve currently been concentrating on Floridian ecosystems and using primarily Floridian species in my aquarium. From my experience looking at future colleges you can’t really go for just Marine Biology but rather Marine Science that encompasses that. Marine Science will get you the same places if not more than Marine Biogy specifically and it’s offered at more colleges.

chipmunkofdoom2 · Jul 13, 2020

The very first thing you should do is decide if you really want to get a job in the sciences. Academia and science-based careers like marine biology are really challenging. It's difficult to get the education required, it's difficult to get in once you have the education, the pay is almost always lousy, etc.

If you just want to work with fish and corals, you don't need to be a marine biologist to do that. I have a degree in Computer Science and I work part time at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I have no other relevant qualifications besides that I had been keeping aquariums for 10 years at the time I applied

My position is a volunteer position, but there have been opportunities for full time employment. I would never in a million years work at the Aquarium, or any place like it, for my full-time job. The pay for these types of jobs is just not great. There are plenty of full-time employees there who don't like their jobs, and it's easy to see why. The work is really hard, and you spend most of your day doing tasks that have nothing to do with animals. Bureaucracy and administrative work end up taking a majority of your time. I could very easily see myself growing to hate the hobby that I love if I worked there.

Kenneth Wingerter · Jul 13, 2020

jack makes an excellent point above. is it actually marine biology you're interested in, or aquarium science? if it's the latter, i'd suggest you check out one of those programs. i enrolled in the aquarium science program in newport, oregon. and so glad i did. awesome instructors and awesome facilities. https://oregoncoast.edu/aquarium-science-program

PTXReef · Jul 13, 2020

Welcome to R2R! It's definitely NEVER too late and worth the investment if it's something you truly love and enjoy! Happy reefing!

PTXReef · Jul 13, 2020

chipmunkofdoom2 said:
The very first thing you should do is decide if you really want to get a job in the sciences. Academia and science-based careers like marine biology are really challenging. It's difficult to get the education required, it's difficult to get in once you have the education, the pay is almost always lousy, etc.

If you just want to work with fish and corals, you don't need to be a marine biologist to do that. I have a degree in Computer Science and I work part time at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I have no other relevant qualifications besides that I had been keeping aquariums for 10 years at the time I applied

My position is a volunteer position, but there have been opportunities for full time employment. I would never in a million years work at the Aquarium, or any place like it, for my full-time job. The pay for these types of jobs is just not great. There are plenty of full-time employees there who don't like their jobs, and it's easy to see why. The work is really hard, and you spend most of your day doing tasks that have nothing to do with animals. Bureaucracy and administrative work end up taking a majority of your time. I could very easily see myself growing to hate the hobby that I love if I worked there.

This is why I majored in general biology. Very true!

Joestajkowski · Jul 13, 2020

PTXReef said:
This is why I majored in general biology. Very true!

GREAT info and much appreciated. I admittedly have very minimal knowledge on the various specializations and career paths. However, I am not interested in the field because I want to swim with dolphins or become an animal trainer. I truly do thoroughly enjoy learning about water chemistry, observing behaviors and analyzing data. I would actually prefer to be in a lab/behind a computer much more than being in the water. I think that might be a good thing.

Joestajkowski · Jul 13, 2020

chipmunkofdoom2 said:
The very first thing you should do is decide if you really want to get a job in the sciences. Academia and science-based careers like marine biology are really challenging. It's difficult to get the education required, it's difficult to get in once you have the education, the pay is almost always lousy, etc.

If you just want to work with fish and corals, you don't need to be a marine biologist to do that. I have a degree in Computer Science and I work part time at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I have no other relevant qualifications besides that I had been keeping aquariums for 10 years at the time I applied

My position is a volunteer position, but there have been opportunities for full time employment. I would never in a million years work at the Aquarium, or any place like it, for my full-time job. The pay for these types of jobs is just not great. There are plenty of full-time employees there who don't like their jobs, and it's easy to see why. The work is really hard, and you spend most of your day doing tasks that have nothing to do with animals. Bureaucracy and administrative work end up taking a majority of your time. I could very easily see myself growing to hate the hobby that I love if I worked there.

GREAT info and much appreciated. I admittedly have very minimal knowledge on the various specializations and career paths. However, I am not interested in the field because I want to swim with dolphins or become an animal trainer. I truly do thoroughly enjoy learning about water chemistry, observing behaviors and analyzing data. I would actually prefer to be in a lab/behind a computer much more than being in the water. I think that might be a good thing.

Chopstikz · Jul 13, 2020

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

Joestajkowski · Jul 13, 2020

jack_aubry said:
I would point you to these two articles my advisor had one posted to his door...

So You Think You Want to be a Marine Biologist? - WiseOceans

So you think you want to be a marine biologist? But do you know what it really takes to work in this field!?

www.wiseoceans.com

SO YOU WANT TO BE A MARINE BIOLOGIST? | SCQ

(In honour of a new science scout badge) The “I’m a marine biologist and, to be honest, I kind of hate dolphins” badge. – – – So you want to be a marine biologist? Well sonny, or sonnette, as the case may be, why don’t you just sit down and let a real marine biologist give you some dang good...

www.scq.ubc.ca

Not trying to discourage you just something to be aware of. Think you probably want to map out being a biologist first. What kind of biology do you want to study? Fisheries, evolution, ecology, micro, molecular. Even if you know you just want to study coral for example there are still major areas of study, genomics, transcriptomics, microbiome, ecology, population structure, taxonomy, diseases, ect.

Once you figure out the basics it will be easier to map out what you need to do to get to where you want to be. If you are planning on getting another bachelor's degree you have the ability to sample different disciplines to figure that part out.

Super helpful, thank you. I know that I am more interested in lab work than being in the water. I of course would enjoy being in the field for observation and collection but wouldn’t want to spend the majority of my time under water. I do like corals but I don’t believe I would enjoy specializing there as from what I understand, it is a lot of Latin memorization and can be a bit mind numbing.Through my research I stumbled upon a two year associate of science degree in aquarium science from Oregon Coast Community College and I’m intrigued by what they list as the learning outcomes of the program. Seems like very solid basics to build upon.

Joestajkowski · Jul 13, 2020

Kenneth Wingerter said:
jack makes an excellent point above. is it actually marine biology you're interested in, or aquarium science? if it's the latter, i'd suggest you check out one of those programs. i enrolled in the aquarium science program in newport, oregon. and so glad i did. awesome instructors and awesome facilities. https://oregoncoast.edu/aquarium-science-program

This is very interesting! Did you finish the two year program? The learning outcomes they list for this program seem to be very in line with where I would want to get started.

RobB'z Reef · Jul 13, 2020

Joestajkowski said:
Hello,

I currently have a Bachelors Degree in Human Resources and a full time job. I am seriously considering going back to school to follow my dreams and pursue a career in Marine Biology. I was wondering if there may be any current Marine Biologists or someone who is currently enrolled in a program here on R2R that may be willing to offer some advice or answer some questions.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

welcome!

jk_s124 · Jul 13, 2020

Welcome!

Kenneth Wingerter · Jul 13, 2020

Joestajkowski said:
This is very interesting! Did you finish the two year program? The learning outcomes they list for this program seem to be very in line with where I would want to get started.

i already had a bachelor of science degree in biology when i enrolled, so i only had to do the one-year program. the two-year students had to take all the classes i did, but i didn't have to take (repeat) all the classes they did, if that makes sense. it's no cakewalk; fun as hell, but they work you hard. they offer a scholarship program worth looking into that pays for a substantial portion of the tuition. the program is pretty highly regarded throughout the industry, and job placement for graduates is impressively high.

i lived on campus, which is on the bay (full of sea lions and the occasional killer whale) and smack-dab between hatfield marine science center and the oregon coast aquarium (which is world-class). so you work in well-equipped labs (including with dr tim miller-morgan, a renowned aquatic veterinarian) as well as the aquarium which is huge (you'll get to work w large sharks, rays, etc.). but then there's also the gorgeous coast itself, where you do tons of field work including animal collection.

as you can probably see, i loved it and got a lot out of it. despite working in the industry for over 10 years before i entered the program, i still learned tons. i mean, hatfield has an entire library exclusively devoted to aquarium and fisheries related material... i'd also just throw in that newport is an exceptionally amazing town; seafood, awesome beer, whalewatching, hiking, salmon fishing, the list goes on. i SERIOUSLY recommend.

Fishbro · Jul 13, 2020

Welcome to R2R!!!

Mattg023 · Jul 13, 2020

jack_aubry said:
I would point you to these two articles my advisor had one posted to his door...

So You Think You Want to be a Marine Biologist? - WiseOceans

So you think you want to be a marine biologist? But do you know what it really takes to work in this field!?

www.wiseoceans.com

SO YOU WANT TO BE A MARINE BIOLOGIST? | SCQ

(In honour of a new science scout badge) The “I’m a marine biologist and, to be honest, I kind of hate dolphins” badge. – – – So you want to be a marine biologist? Well sonny, or sonnette, as the case may be, why don’t you just sit down and let a real marine biologist give you some dang good...

www.scq.ubc.ca

Not trying to discourage you just something to be aware of. Think you probably want to map out being a biologist first. What kind of biology do you want to study? Fisheries, evolution, ecology, micro, molecular. Even if you know you just want to study coral for example there are still major areas of study, genomics, transcriptomics, microbiome, ecology, population structure, taxonomy, diseases, ect.

Once you figure out the basics it will be easier to map out what you need to do to get to where you want to be. If you are planning on getting another bachelor's degree you have the ability to sample different disciplines to figure that part out.

Awesome advice... great article for someone thinking about the field. When most people hear that I’m a marine biologist/ fisheries biologist they think I work at sea world and swim with dolphins all day, which is very far from the truth! Lol. If you really have a passion for it, go for it. Through time and experience you’ll figure out if it’s really for you, and if so, what areas you enjoy most. it’s a lot more than meets the eye.
By the way, from the few things OP originally listed you were interested in, maybe check out the field of aquaculture... definitely an up and coming area of the field that has a very bright future.