marine biologist.

bill109

bill109

Active Member
hello
so its tie to start thinking about college. =( but i was looking into the airforce or a marine biologist. i no this is going to take a ton of research and what not buut arent there a few on the boards?
i no im not the smartest person but... ne thing is possible no?
just curious here.. any info u can give me would be great.
thanks for your time
-bill109
 
jon321

jon321

Member
The general consensus seems to be that there are too many marine biologists and not enough jobs to go around. I am currently in my 4th year of general biology and have been working with the government during the summers. It pays good, has amazing benefits, and leaves lots of room to grow. Id stick with a general biology degree and have a little bit of everything, but Im in Canada and maby its different up here.
Jon
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jon321
The general consensus seems to be that there are too many marine biologists and not enough jobs to go around. I am currently in my 4th year of general biology and have been working with the government during the summers. It pays good, has amazing benefits, and leaves lots of room to grow. Id stick with a general biology degree and have a little bit of everything, but Im in Canada and maby its different up here.
Jon
to many marine biologistst? and yet they say the ocean is so big..
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
if you are looking at it to make big bucks than a degree in this feild isnt what you really want to look at. if you are doing it because of the love in marine biology then go for it.
Mike
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
if you are looking at it to make big bucks than a degree in this feild isnt what you really want to look at. if you are doing it because of the love in marine biology then go for it.
Mike
im not looking to make a ton of money. some money would be nice but i just find the marine biologist part of it to be a job that i wont mind going to everyday where its better to like ur job then to go years and years to hate it..
btw what do they make.. on average

thanks again.
anyone els have any info/adivce.
 
jon321

jon321

Member
That varies depending on the job the marine biologist has and how long the marine biologist has had the job. A marine biologist who works as a
scientist makes very little to start out, about 25,000 to 30,000 per year,
but makes more as they advance in their career, maybe 40,000 or 50,000 or more. There is no set standard, but most scientists do not make a lot of
money. Marine biologists who work as teachers, at aquariums, or in
industry could make more to start out, and eventually make as much as
75,000 per year. The average scientist starting out after their PhD makes
about 35,000 per year, on average for all sciences, according to one source
I saw recently. Not very much, but the work is pretty rewarding and
interesting!
Was found on the internet in a questions and answers marine biology forum.
Jon
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jon321
That varies depending on the job the marine biologist has and how long the marine biologist has had the job. A marine biologist who works as a
scientist makes very little to start out, about 25,000 to 30,000 per year,
but makes more as they advance in their career, maybe 40,000 or 50,000 or more. There is no set standard, but most scientists do not make a lot of
money. Marine biologists who work as teachers, at aquariums, or in
industry could make more to start out, and eventually make as much as
75,000 per year. The average scientist starting out after their PhD makes
about 35,000 per year, on average for all sciences, according to one source
I saw recently. Not very much, but the work is pretty rewarding and
interesting!
Was found on the internet in a questions and answers marine biology forum.
Jon
thanks for the info.
this seems like a alright idea. but maybe not the best. im not really sure what i want to do yet. and to be honest im kinda confused in it all. its like u need to focus on ur work in school now but plan for the future.. man im not likeing lol
-bill109
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
I'm going to be a marine biologist.

just wonderin here.. could you tell me why u want to be a marine biologist?
apparently money isnt the factor..
thanks again
=bill109
 
geridoc

geridoc

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Jon321
That varies depending on the job the marine biologist has and how long the marine biologist has had the job. A marine biologist who works as a
scientist makes very little to start out, about 25,000 to 30,000 per year,
but makes more as they advance in their career, maybe 40,000 or 50,000 or more. There is no set standard, but most scientists do not make a lot of
money. Marine biologists who work as teachers, at aquariums, or in
industry could make more to start out, and eventually make as much as
75,000 per year. The average scientist starting out after their PhD makes
about 35,000 per year, on average for all sciences, according to one source
I saw recently. Not very much, but the work is pretty rewarding and
interesting!
Was found on the internet in a questions and answers marine biology forum.
Jon
I don't know where these salaries come from, but at our university we start Ph.D. holders at between $55,000 and $65,000/year. The sum mentioned above would not be considered a competitive offer in the sciences, and I don't know any institution that would make such a low offer. Right now, peak earners in our department (Biological Sciences) make over $100,000 in salary, and can supplement that with consulting income on the outside that can be up to half as much again.
 
teen

teen

Active Member
doing something because you love to do it is cool and all, but what it comes down to is if you can pay the bills or not.
im in my second year of college. i started out as a marine biology major and realized it wasnt taking me anywhere, so i switched to liberal arts (not that thats getting me anywhere either, but why waste all that time/money on classes that will be useless when i would have ultimately decided to change majors anyway?) i switched becasue everybody i spoke to told me that if i went for strictly marine bio, id live a life of well... basically poverty. and who wants that? they all told me my best bet would be to get a degree in biology and become a teacher or something like that, and thats not what i want to do.
ive realized id rather be the guy driving that new porsche rather than worrying if my old jeep ive been driving since high school is gunna start in the morning to get me to the job i love so much.
unless you know someone in the field or something and you have a definite place to work when college is done with, id look elsewhere for a major.
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by bill109
just wonderin here.. could you tell me why u want to be a marine biologist?
apparently money isnt the factor..
thanks again
=bill109
I want to be a Marine Biologist because I like the ocean and would like to got around the world to reefs and look at everything there is in the ocean and study about them and such. Id like to save reefs from being destroyed and such. Stop people from polluting the ocean. Why do you want to be a Marine Biologist?
 
piscian

piscian

Member
I know 2 people with marine biology degrees that can't find work in the field. One works for the post office and the other for Target. I don't want to tell you what to do with your life, but I would think long and hard before going into this field of work. IMHO
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by Piscian
I know 2 people with marine biology degrees that can't find work in the field. One works for the post office and the other for Target. I don't want to tell you what to do with your life, but I would think long and hard before going into this field of work. IMHO
Hmmmm.....
 
teen

teen

Active Member
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
I want to be a Marine Biologist because I like the ocean and would like to got around the world to reefs and look at everything there is in the ocean and study about them and such. Id like to save reefs from being destroyed and such. Stop people from polluting the ocean. Why do you want to be a Marine Biologist?

i hate to rain on your parade, but i highly doubt thats how it will end up for you.
you'll most likely be stuck in a lab, studying samples of mud you collected from somewhere like the east river. or watching a small tank with some little invertabrate or fish native to an area thats highly polluted.
i doubt you'll be sailing the ocenas pulling over to snorkel on coral reefs. i mean it is possible, becuase somebody gotta do it, but the odds are against you.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by Piscian
I know 2 people with marine biology degrees that can't find work in the field. One works for the post office and the other for Target. I don't want to tell you what to do with your life, but I would think long and hard before going into this field of work. IMHO

Phew! At least I work in data management!

There are a LOT of marine biologists out there. I agree to get a general biology background and specialize. It is a HIGHLY competitive field and remember a PhD can be another 4-8 years...and that is not including if you do a Master's.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
The Marine Biology field will pick up. Commercial regulation is becoming more strict, commercial fisheries are in many ways still in there infancy, and world food supplies will need to be supplemented (further) from the oceans if the Bio-fuel craze catches on.
In a related story, I actually had an interview Friday with NOAA for an inspector position in Dallas. Ophiura has a lot more experience and knowledge in the field... I just got my basic Bio degree with an emphasis in Marine Bio.
Check USAjobs.gov webpage for careers in the biology field. That would be a good first step in researching careers and pay rates.
It's great to have a dream to study and discover new reefs. Remember though.. someone has to be willing to pay you to do that.
 
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