marine biology

[justinl]

for the most part, yes i agree that marine sci is fairly low paying. there are however the odd high paying jobs... like a PHd who runs a lab for example.

If you like marine sci, go for it, but be prepared because it won't be terribly easy on you. Ive commited myself to the fish because i cant stand people ... basically, the way i see it, i was meant to be in marine sci research. i may dabble a bit in the ornamental side though... after all i do love the hobby too.

basically what im trying to say is that you have to do some introspective meditation. think about what is important to you. a nice car? big house? a family? the ocean? certain fish? inverts? who are you? can you deal with sitting in a lab all day? in the field all day? there are many considerations, financialbeing but one, but dont forget that this job can be the most amazing job (at least imo). i mean, how many high paid lawyers or business people can claim that they are paid to scuba dive twice a week?

a good way to dip your toes into the marine waters is to volunteer. public aquariums, universities, research facilities... most if not all need volunteers.

btw jaymz, i think it's time to rethink your career choice! lol. i havent yet met a marine biologist who didnt like their job.

 

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10340513#post10340513 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by justinl
i havent yet met a marine biologist who didnt like their job.

He's got a good point there. I may be driving an old truck, and if my wife's business has a bad month, money might be tight. However, the work is good if you like it It comes down to life priorities. If driving new expensive sports car is important, this is the wrong career. If you don't mind driving old vehicles, stinking of fish and/or frozen fish foods, riding on open cockpit boats in the dead of winter to stock clams, riding on those same boats on a beautiful summer day, staring into microscopes and measuring samples etc. , it can be a fun career.

 

[barnett8]

well thanks for dashing a 9th graders hopes and dreams (just kidding). that sounds right up my ally I know that I'm not the original poster but you guys sure helped me with your information.


Thanks!

 

[Jens Kallmeyer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10341015#post10341015 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by barnett8
well thanks for dashing a 9th graders hopes and dreams (just kidding). that sounds right up my ally I know that I'm not the original poster but you guys sure helped me with your information.


Thanks!

At least you can't say now that you haven't been warned!

 

[corbett_n]

I am a marine biologist for the great state of SC and love it. The pay isn't great but the things I get to do at work is amazing sometimes. I primarily work on Sturgeon but I get to work on other projects from Red drum, sharks, corals, shrimp, Turtles, pelagic fish and freshwater fishes. It is so rewarding actually doing something for our fisheries, it almost makes me not feel guilty about having fish and corals as pets. Sometimes, I can't belive the fun and intersting things I get to do at work. It could judt be where I work, but I am appreciated and treated very well.

 

[LockeOak]

I can hop in here. I'm a research assistant in a plant genetics lab, I graduated last year with a BS in Biology and I'm beginning a PhD in Plant Biology (studying the zooxanthellae of corals) next month. To make things clear that's 4 years of college, 1 1/2 years of laboratory jobs and 5-6 years of graduate school for a PhD, then probably 1-3 more years of postdoctoral work before gaining an academic position, if I'm lucky. Lab jobs generally don't pay well, but if you do well academically you can make decent money while doing things that are interesting and worthwhile. As a graduate student I'll be making 20K a year... not a lot, but I can certainly live on it. I figure that I don't make a lot of money but I get to do what I love (science and ecology) and spend a fair amount of my time going to tropical places that most people work horrible hours at horrible jobs with/for horrible people (my friends in banking/finance make 2-3 times what I do but hate their jobs) to afford. Those jobs that require a MS or (more likely) a PhD actually do pay pretty well, especially university professorships after the first few years. A bachelor's degree in the hard sciences is actually not very useful on its own as it is not sufficient for most jobs in the sciences. A Master's degree is great for people that plan to focus on a specific technique or piece of equipment, for example running an electron microscope or gene sequencer or something like that. PhD's are required for researchers, professors, scientists and the like.

 

[02REDZ28]

I started out as a Marine Biology major and changed my mind after two years. I got myself an internship at MOTE Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida and loved it. However, I found that all the people I worked with were broke!! I was working on reef fish biology relating to swim bladder damage resulting from deep sea capture of size restricted species. I got to go fishing every day, do hyperbaric experiments, and work with some fantastic people, but it wasnt for me. I changed my program plans to medical and graduated with a BS in Biology with specialization in microbiology and a BS in Chemistry. I'm now an internationally published neurology researcher working on traumatic brain injury and planning on starting an MD/PhD next year.

You should seriously check out MOTE (www.mote.org) and apply for their internship opportunities! They are the National Shark Research Institute and have 20 some different programs ranging from red tide to red snapper and marine mammals to mariculture. DO IT!!

 

[Toglco]

Hah, all of this almost-negativity, makes me almost not want to say that in about a month I'll be starting the 8-10 years that it will probably take to go from incoming college freshman to PhD.

But it is nice to hear from all the people who do it for love rather than money, and that's definitely my case. I'd much rather spend the next 20 or 30 plus years doing something I love instead of dreading work and trying to find escapes from what I've gotten myself into.

But I will say that it's nice to hear that the PhD's make ok/good money, it means the home aquarium(s) can be that much bigger :lol:


Right now my envisioned career is something like:

College with internships -> PhD -> Work in a lab -> University Professor


Y'know, start low and work my way up over the years.

My only two concerns are dealing with college loans and having time for a family.

 

[Fishbulb2]

Try to minimize you loans. State schools are great nowadays and very affordable. I went to private school for undergrad and racked up a small fortune in student loans. Half my classmates in grad school went to state schools from much less. If I could do it over again, I would have gone to a state school, graduated higher in my class, and ended up in the same place with several 10's of thousands or dollars less in loans. Just my 2 cents.

 

[J. Montgomery]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10377258#post10377258 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toglco
College with internships -> PhD -> Work in a lab -> University Professor

I don't remember the exact number, but (I think) only ~20% of PhDs get academic positions as professors. And thats largely dependent upon your ability to write grants.

I'd recommend "college with internships" be changed to "college and working as student helper/independent research in a research lab".

I'd say that an average professor position pays between $65,000-80,000 a year, with Departmental Chairs potentially making up to $250,000 a year (i.e. thats about one in a hundred). And everything in between.

 

[Toglco]

Ah, thanks. Don't have any dreams of being a chair at the moment, but who knows how things will shape up in 15 or 20 years, I'm sure all the people in those positions are very far along into their careers.

 

[Fishbulb2]

My advisor is a chair at UCSD and I don't think he is making a quater million a year. Anyways, I think the 65K-80K is what you should feel comfortable with if you are serious. Also remember, you won't make that until you are typically about 35-40 yo.

 

[Canute]

How about if I'm in my mid-30s and am not concerned about money? I have a high tech background (software development and system administration) and live in the SF Bay Area. I have done well without a degree but am now looking at going back into school. Technology has been my passion but I have done well in chemistry and biology courses. Finishing CS is a strong option, but think I might rather go through something that wouldn't be review to a large extent.

 

[DrDNA]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10378277#post10378277 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishbulb2
Try to minimize you loans. State schools are great nowadays and very affordable. I went to private school for undergrad and racked up a small fortune in student loans. Half my classmates in grad school went to state schools from much less. If I could do it over again, I would have gone to a state school, graduated higher in my class, and ended up in the same place with several 10's of thousands or dollars less in loans. Just my 2 cents.

Yes, without a doubt, use the state schools. Private schools are highly overrated, IMHO. Between the tuition cost of undergrad and then the financial stipends and support of grad school, I think I actually broke even after 8 years of college.

 

[J. Montgomery]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10381326#post10381326 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishbulb2
My advisor is a chair at UCSD and I don't think he is making a quater million a year. Anyways, I think the 65K-80K is what you should feel comfortable with if you are serious. Also remember, you won't make that until you are typically about 35-40 yo.

Salaries at state schools are in the public domain, so you could find out if you wanted to know. Here at Univ. of Virginia, the student newspaper publishes faculty salaries every other year! The Chair of my department (Cell & Developmental Biology) is making >$250,000. Though, ~$150,000 is more common for most departmental chairs.

 

[toonces]

Glad to see the discussion.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work as a marine biologist, and as a hiring manager for NOAA while I was transitioning into the Navy oceanography program.

From that experience, I can definately reiterate what others have said about the money aspect. Let's face it, being a marine biologist is really cool, and it's simply not necessary to offer a large salary to attract very qualified applicants. I think the most telling was an ENTRY level position I advertised for the coral reef conservation program at NOAA where I had hundreds of applicants, including a handful of PhD's. I think I advertised the job at the low $30k's.

In my experience, I'd suggest a) getting a degree in something other than plain 'marine biology'. There is a lot of things marine biologists need to be able to do, and it is easy to have a major in, say chemistry, and still work as a marine biologist. This will keep other options open. b) You'll definately want to look hard at getting an M.S. in marine biology or related field. This will barely keep you competitive. c) Get whatever experience you can. A couple of degrees aren't going to separate you from the pack.

Marine biology is an incredibly competitive field. There are far more people who want to do it than there are decent jobs available. If it's something you're passionate about, then if you pay your dues you can probably be successful at it eventually, but it my be a long, hard, poor road.

Finally, it's easy to say, "I don't care about money, I just want to do something I love." However, I would at least consider that life is going to be quite difficult without enough money when you have a family dependent on your paycheck.

 

[3vilPuffin]

This is all great. For one it seems Im on the right path.

Forgot to introduce myself, my name is Ben and since i can remember Ive been enthralled & frightened by the ocean. Also Im almost 19 and will be attending Texas State university this fall as a bio major... yay.

Anyways i too felt to try to be a marine biologist, however i did realize with a bio undergrad i could possibly pursue med school.. my mom being a nurse for years and years says i write illegibly like a doctor already.(yes one qualification in the bag). and i can always go back to school to simply learn.

But thanks for the information guys. I like to think money doesn't matter but we'll see if i can find a sugar momma too.... hehehe would be nice.
Med School
State School < Hmmmmm....
Marine Bio

 

[billsreef]

For those of you thinking of the undergrad choices between straight bio and marine bio, a good marine bio program will give you just as much regular bio as a straight bio degree program. In some case more. So you even pursue a BS in Marine Bio as a Pre Med degree with maybe an extra course or two. It's not a degree that will close doors to other biology related careers, but will open the doors to both Marine Biology as well as other Biology related careers

 

[3vilPuffin]

Ya I know I was prolly going still dabble in those cool classes anyways and i need to talk to an academic advisor first.... orientation on Mon...

 

[ryan_paskadi]

Marine biology is not so bad. I work in a marine lab and I love it. You have to get a PhD and become a Professor to really benefit but it is worth it. My P.I. spends 2-3 months a year diving and collecting specimens in Australia, France, Italy, Hawaii, and various places in Indonesia. She spends her off time teaching classes, writing grant proposals, and having a good time. I must say from my perspective it is a dream job.