Few questions for marine biologists

[jgoodrich71]

My first degree was in marine biology. What I found is that many expect you to work for little to nothing until you can get some experience. There were so many applicants for so little jobs. Unless you have parents that can completely support you while in school, so that you can volunteer for jobs to gain experience, you will be much better off.

That was my problem going through school. I worked full time and went to school full time. When I was asked to help with research, it was very limited. Because I could not find the time to gain that experience, when I finished school, I could not find a job.

I went back to get a degree in geology, and had a decent paying job before I had even graduated. Would I rather be doing marine biology? Probably, but I also like to eat, have a roof over my head, and some of those other silly things.

 

[gregg@AMS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10473408#post10473408 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jgoodrich71
My first degree was in marine biology. What I found is that many expect you to work for little to nothing until you can get some experience. There were so many applicants for so little jobs. Unless you have parents that can completely support you while in school, so that you can volunteer for jobs to gain experience, you will be much better off.

That was my problem going through school. I worked full time and went to school full time. When I was asked to help with research, it was very limited. Because I could not find the time to gain that experience, when I finished school, I could not find a job.

I went back to get a degree in geology, and had a decent paying job before I had even graduated. Would I rather be doing marine biology? Probably, but I also like to eat, have a roof over my head, and some of those other silly things.

this is exactly why i recommended going into the zoo/aquarium field....the money is the same, the work is rewarding, but unlike other branches of the field, there are a lot of jobs out there. my program was great when it came to job placement (even though i went in my own direction) and also very good about getting students in contact with curators and research directors all over the world.

now, the beauty of going in a direction such as working in a public aquarium is that its easier to get a job, and if you later decide to go into another direction w/ mar.bio, then you have experience under your belt.

if you like animals and want to make money, then you need to be a vet....those positions usually start at $60-70K, whereas other mar.bio/aquarium/aquaculture jobs are going to start you in the mid-$20-30K.

here's the advice i will give, and its already been offered in this thread. if you truly love it, do it. when you work with something you're passionate about, you never really have to "work". i switched my major from ed. to zoology halfway through my junior year.....while i sometimes regret that b/c of the job stability and summers off, i love reefs, and i love designing reef tanks. sure, sometimes work can be a drag, but at the end of the day, there is nothing else i would rather be doing....well, yes there is, but my wife won't let me do porn. but other than that....

 

[fishyvet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10473717#post10473717 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gregg@AMS
if you like animals and want to make money, then you need to be a vet....those positions usually start at $60-70K, whereas other mar.bio/aquarium/aquaculture jobs are going to start you in the mid-$20-30K.

Homeschool grad myself Vets can work with fish too. There are marine mammal programs in vet school, invertebrate medicine, research opportunities, production fish farming, and ornamental fish medicine.

When I finish my school, I plan on building ornamental fish into my small animal practice.

Just depends on what you think you might be interested in doing. Don't become a veterinarian for the money, do it for the love of animals. Vet school is a huge time commitment and is not cheap (I just hit the $100K mark for my student loans), but it has been well worth it for me.

 

[njrees]

I got my MARB degree in 86. Had a blast in school, but couldn't even live off what I made working for National Marine Fisheries. Jobs were hard to get and they pretty much wouldn't look at you without a masters or higher. Many positions tend to be grant dependent . Very few from my class are in marine fields, but have been able to use the strong biology experience to branch off into science oriented careers.

 

[saltwater4life1]

Thanks guys,
I really would like to work with fish. I mean i can spend hours doing research on the weirdest stuff just because i like learning about fish and how the ocean works. I think working at a zoo would be cool because IMO it's a huge fish tank, I seen our local zoo has an opening for fish research and management but one of the things needed was a major in bio.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

What does everyone think about combining a major in marine bio with a minor in business? I feel like the business aspect opens up a lot of options. I'm planning something along the lines of owning my own aquaculture facility, working at a public aquarium, and/or doing research in the summers or spare time. I feel like I can combine different things to get the money. I might not have the traditional 9-5 monday-friday career but I feel like I can somehow make it work.

 

[greenbean36191]

A buddy of mine did just that and right out of school got a job managing an aquaculture business in the keys with just a BS. I think it's certainly a wise move.

 

[mhltcob]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10471584#post10471584 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gregg@AMS
nick,
i went to michigan state university, which has one of the best zoology and vet med programs in the country. dr. snider was my advisor, and if you would like info, you can email him at snider@msu.edu. i would also check out http://www.aza.org.

good luck.

I went here as well and had classes with Dr. Snider, although my concentration was Marine Biology so he was not my advisor. There are some jobs out there working for a public aquarium. Expect to be competing with 15+ people for entry level jobs.
Get lots of job experience during college. Work at a pet store, participate in research programs at school, and find an internship so you can start making connections. Learn to make a good resume and cover letter to really sell yourself. You want to be very aggressive in your job search, make cold calls if you have too. You will not just have a job handed to you like in some other careers. Like others have said you will make ridiculously low pay. I took a 40% pay cut from my last job (pharma research). I make just enough to get by. However, I currently get to scuba dive often and work with a variety of animals in the closest thing to a stress free environment.

 

[mhltcob]

Forgot to mention that If you are the kind of person that will be looking for a job in one location, forget it. To be successful you will have to be willing to engage in a countrywide job search. It is also helpful if your family is wealthy, or you get married to someone who is wealthy. Seriousily though, it is probably helpful to find a wife/husband who has an easier time finding a job than you do, in a number of different locations. Otherwise it can be impossible to find a job for both of you down the line if a move becomes necessary.

I would personally also start looking on jobsearch websites, aza website, etc. to see what jobs are out there and what interests you exactly. From there I would start building your resume to meet the job's requirements so that you have a descent shot of finding a job when you graduate. This career is definately not for people who tend to slack off. It would probably be helpful to pair your major up with a foreign language, business, or chemistry degree for example. Also I would not look into marine bio if you think that you will work solely with animals and not with people. No matter what you do you will have to learn valuable people skills.

 

[gregg@AMS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10477045#post10477045 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mhltcob
I went here as well and had classes with Dr. Snider, although my concentration was Marine Biology so he was not my advisor.

lucky bastard

 

[gregg@AMS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10475535#post10475535 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltwater4life1
Thanks guys,
I really would like to work with fish. I mean i can spend hours doing research on the weirdest stuff just because i like learning about fish and how the ocean works. I think working at a zoo would be cool because IMO it's a huge fish tank, I seen our local zoo has an opening for fish research and management but one of the things needed was a major in bio.

any job requirement that says BS in bio essentially encapsulates all of biology, so if you have a BS in molecular biology, zoology, marine biology, or whatever, you are peobably qualified for any job that has BS in bio as a requiremnt, since the core classes are all the same.

what you want to do is figure out what you want to specialize in, and go that route. if you would really like to work at a zoo or pub. aquarium, look at schools which feature programs that cater to that job market. michigan state is a good one, and while you're there, you can work @ preuss animal house, which IMO is one of the premier aquarium stores in the country. it blows away anything here in chicago. not only that, but if you work at a good local LFS while you're in school, you will have the advantage of workin concurrently with the very thigs you're studying, and most other people orking there will probably also be students with similar majors.