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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Tell me about Marine Biology
Hey all. Relatively new to this board. Was thinking about going back to school for marine biology, but wanted to research first, get tips, future careers, best schools for the program, etc. before going headfirst into something I could change my mind about later. Any info would be appreciated!
Re: Tell me about Marine Biology
So you want to go into marine biology without knowing anything about it?
I'd talk to a career counselor at an area school, or one with a marine biology program. See if any professors can talk about it with you. Or see if you can discuss it with someone at a local aquarium. You're going to get a way better response than posting on a career board.
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
Most people that I know about who want to go into marine biology are:
1)Super young
2) Female
3) Convinced that this degree will enable them to work with cool dolphins and stuff.
I'm guessing that you fall into this category as well, correct?
I don't believe that the job market for marine biologists is that big right now. You will obviously have to live near a major body of water to have the best chance at landing a job. Many marine biologists work with plant life and bacterias in the water.......not so much the animals. Not every marine biologist works for SeaWorld.....most of them are doing pretty unglamorous and dirty work doing things like measuring contamination levels.
Like the previous person said, Marine Biology is an extremely competitive field. Most people think of "Marine Biology" as working with dolphins and whales etc, which are jobs that are super hard to get but it can be possible. I know people who have done marine biology and gotten jobs as trainers at parks but they were incredably presistant, and they were willing to start at the bottom (cleaning and working with outreach and volunterring) and working their way up. Most big parks have volunteer opportunities and programs, they just may not be exactly what you want to start with.
There is also a research side to Marine Biology, such as doing research on larvae, coral reefs, fishes etc. These jobs include a lot of science, mostly microbiology. A lot of this research is done by graduate students at large research labs. If you have a science background and are interested in this kind of research, try applying to grad school, or check the internet for research fellowship or volunteer opportunities. You can probably also work at these labs with a B.S. but again I think most of the positions are based on experience so you would have to work your way up.
Hope that this helps!
A friend has a degree in Marine Biology from a prestigious school.
She works at a lighthouse selling souveniers.
I have a friend that has a masters in biology with a concentration in marine biology. His undergrad is in geology and he is working on a doctorate in geology (can't quite remember). Anyway, the marine biology compliments his primary area of research. He has gotten some neat side jobs with his marine biology background, like some a research/consulting job in the Bahamas, teaching summer marine biology classes at Duke on an island of the coast, and working at the zoo as an educator. His career will be in academia - researching and teaching.
My uncle has a degree in marine biology (undergrad), and he really enjoyed earning the degree, but he's never used his major as more than a hobby. He was an officer in the Merchant Marines.
From my friend, I get the feeling you need to be a very outdoorsy type of person to enjoy the field. One with bugs and creepy crawlies more so than with dolphins.
I'm always tempted to tell people (girls) who want to be marine biologists that they don't need a four-year degree to flip burgers at McDonalds.
Basically , you have to do your own research. So thing you have not done and want us to do for you.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=so+you+want+to++be+a+marine+biologst&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=
This clear since you do not even know what schools are good. lets see Texas A&M, Scripps (good luck on that one), U of Mi etc. A marine biologist does not have t o live by a large body of water. In fact there are plenty of marine biologists that study rivers etc. Ohh, you are not going to make any $$ in it unless you have a PHD
I am not a Marine Biologist, but I am a Molecular Biologist. I obtained my B.S. in Molecular Biology and am working on a PhD in Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics: Molecular Biology. Generally people go into biology related fields to 1. get a profesional doctorate (M.D., D.V.M., D.D.S., ect), or 2. get a research doctorate (PhD). or 3. Teach at the High School Level (Teaching Certificate). All require addition schooling after you get your B.S./B.A. in Biology. If you do not get into one of these programs after your B.S. or masters, then your career choice are VERY limited and the pay is not very good. Is is not wise to get your B.S. in Marine Biology as Marine Biology is a graduate school field and if you do not get into graduate school, you maybe left out of a job. To become a Marine Biologist, you need to get your PhD. You can get your B.S. in Biology or Zoology, and apply to a PhD program that has strong researchers in Marine Biology. As an undersgraduate, try to get research experience in the marine biology field or work for an aquarium. The classes you will need to take will most likely involve: General Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Statistics, Ecology, Calculus, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemisty, and you will need to excell in those classes and they are not easy. When applying to a PhD program you need a high GPA and GRE scores, but these can be made up for with extensive research experience as an undergrad. It would be great if you could get into a Marine Biology Internships for the summers. You will need to find a graduate school that has a researcher who will agree to fund your dissertation work in Marine Biology. Hope that helps.
Also, don't let these people get you down! People did that to me when I told them I wanted to be a Biologist too... well guess what!!! I am a Biologist!!!! All you need to know is that you can do it!! And if you dont do well in your first few Biology and Chemistry classes, there is always time to change your major! You just HAVE to work hard, study non-stop, get connections with researchers and gain lab experience. And if for some reason you don't get into a PhD program, enter a Masters program and try again after that. Luckly I didnt need to get my masters degree.
Another biologist here (cell/molec). Marine biology is a very competitive and low-paying branch of the field to get into. Be prepared that if you truly want to get into the 'cool' careers, you'll need to be at the top of your class, probably with an advanced degree, and very good at interviewing/networking.
Don't get me wrong. I was into zoology as an undergrad and my first internship was at a nationally-known aquarium doing research. It can be done. I loved it. It was unpaid, as were all their internships. Salaries for full employees were maybe the low 30's. Because despite the fact that IRL the jobs are quite dirty, they sound very romantic and people want them.
In cell with just a BS I *started* at 40, and now make much more (with an MS). I still love zoology but I just didn't want to sacrifice my standard of living that much.
If you are interested in biology in general, the branches with the best job prospects are generally those on the biotech side - cell, molecular, micro, genetics, informatics. If you want to consider teaching biology in HS, there are tons of jobs out there, and you could choose any focus you wanted for your BS (including ecology or marine). You would just need to also take any education courses needed to apply for the certificate.
Thanks for the helpful info to you and the poster below
and as for other PP's who didn't have very much crucial information to add, I would like to say that no where did I have any mention of just wanting to "play with dolphins" and run around with some romanticized idea of a marine biologist in my head. I am the type of person that, if I choose to put my mind to something, I commit fully and wouldn't back out simply because the activities/jobs are too menial or dirty. Everyone has to start somewhere. For those of you who really did provide other helpful hints, thanks so much!
I wanted to ask on this board, since, as some of you wrongly assumed, I have done outside research on my own and wanted to add to it by asking anyone who may have real-world experience in any avenue I can think of. Certainly so I can have as much information and ammo as possible when gearing up to possibly make a major life change decision for my education.
Thanks for all of your comments and information! I definitely appreciate it.