marine biologist.

[bill109]

that changes everything..
i mean it would be cool be able to do all that stuff like helping the eco system and helping reefs. but like mnetioned. u miht have the ability to do and and work at a target lol or someplace due to the lack of work available in thw world...
and then i think teen mentioned that u can love ur job alot but might not be able to pay the bills.. which could be a problem. but it so seems that im tbe kind of person that if im not intrested in what i do i struggle somewhat and hev no intrest and the final job comes out awful. where if i did research the m arine biologist it would be an easier life.. and it seems that what i would like to do some day..
but yet im still confused on all this..
btw i will check out that usajob.gov site u mentioned.
thanks again guys.
if anyone els want to give some input im morreee then willing to read it

 

[geridoc]

Bill - just a note of reality. It is one thing to say that you want to be a marine biologist. It is another to actually do it. Are you good in science? If so, then forget it! You need to be great in science to make a career in it. You will have to study organic chemistry, physical chemistry, calculus, geology, and a wide range of biology courses including biochemistry, bioinformatics and molecular biology in order to enter the field successfully. You will need to earn a Ph.D. (national average to degree is around 6 years after college), and probably do a post-doctoral fellowship for 2-4 years. If that sounds like a tough road to hoe, it is. However, for the right person it will be fun, because that person will be doing what he/she has a passion for. For the wrong person, it will be unadulterated hell. Just a word to the wise.

 

[grabbitt]

If marine biologists were paid as well as mechanical engineers, I would be switch majors in a heartbeat. If you're looking for good money, you may want to look somewhere else, but if you feel biology is your thing and it will make you happy regardless of the paycheck, then I wish you the best of luck

 

[ophiura]

A lot of people say it will make them happy, regardless of the paycheck...
Bologna, IMO, if you really think about it and understand the implications.
This is a field where you can rack up A LOT of debt through all that grad school. And not a lot of money could mean not paying the bills, or having very little to scrape by. If you want a family, that could be huge.
Research biologists can be cut throat - grant to grant - every summer in the field, every fall desperate for papers to survive. It is not swimming with the fishies. It is not doing exactly what you love. It is giving in. It is doing what someone will give you money to do, and dozens of others are after that same money.
Marine biology, perhaps more than most others, draws, frankly, "dreamers." The dolphin folks...I don't mean that to be mean. It is true, I've seen it a lot. And it is just not the reality of the field. It is harsh, I know.
BTW, many people in the aquarium business do not want marine biologists. I've been there, experienced it. Uphill battle every day...for $10 an hour. No big bucks. There is a strange thing in this hobby...a lot of respect for "marine biologists." "The guy at my LFS is a marine biologist and he says..." DUDE! THE GUY AT THE LFS IS A MARINE BIOLOGIST! Why!?!?!!?
Why on earth would you spend all that time getting a degree to work at an LFS? Why did I? Because what else was there to do?
I applaud anyone who wants to do this and doesn't care about the "making a living" side. But think REALLY long and hard. Get a REAL dose of reality in terms of what you want and whether it is realistic. Your better bet is fisheries biology in some respects, and guess what, the dreams of reefs and corals will be replaced by fish hatcheries. Great! Someone has to do it, but be sure your expectations are in line with reality!!

 

[choog]

I wanted to be a marine biologist but decided not to because of the job market and money. I'm doing Ocean Engineering now. In order to have much success as a marine biologist, i think you pretty much need to have a PHD. This will be about 10 yrs of school. 4 for undergrad, 2 for masters, and 4 for doctorate. You can say that money is no big deal as long as you're happy, which is Great, but after 10 yrs of student loans, you will paying them off for a long time. College tuition is getting higher literally every semester. If you or your parents really can't afford the college costs you could be over $100,000 dollars in debt before you graduate. Paying these loans back will reduce an already mediocre salary in the beginning of your career. I'm not trying to discourage you, just giving you some things to think about. Good Luck though.

 

[geridoc]

There seems to be a lot of concern about the cost of getting a Ph.D. in marine biology. If you noticed in my screed about the difficulties of getting a Ph.D., there were lots of difficulties, but money was not one of them. I tell all of my students that a graduate degree, especially a Ph.D. (don't bother with a MS, go directly to the doctorate) should be free. Top graduate programs will award doctoral students fellowships or assistantships that will pay a modest stipend plus tuition. If a program wants you to pay tuition, and won't provide stipend support, run, don't walk, away.

 

[ophiura]

This is true, but that stipend can be very modest indeed. I was in Washington DC, and paid around $13,000 a year on a stipend...which isn't much at all there. I didn't rack up $100,000 for sure, but after years and years of trying to pay it off...the interest does add up. So while the education should be free (and it should), the cost of living is still a major factor.
I agree though, don't bother with the Master's, ASSUMING you make a real effort as an undergrad to actually learn to be a scientist. Do summer work, intern, work in someone's lab, even if it is for free.
IMO, a master's degree is almost an apprenticeship - a way to learn to be a scientist. A doctorate implies, at least IME, a bit more of a self sufficiency.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by ophiura
....
Marine biology, perhaps more than most others, draws, frankly, "dreamers." The dolphin folks...I don't mean that to be mean. ....
That has got to be the truest and funniest statement on the forums in a while.
When I was in the Marine Mammal Stranding Network while in college we occasionally got called to live strandings... we'd have 40 volunteers all waiting to help Flipper. When, however, it was a call at 3AM to necropsy a dolphin that had been dead and floating in the ocean for 2 weeks surprisingly it was usually just one Grad student (whose research involved heavy metal toxicity in dolphins) and me...

 

[jerthunter]

Just get a degree in whatever field interests you. From what I have seen, it does not matter what your degree is in, companies just want you to have a 4 year degree. If you want to sail the oceans and dive all the coral reefs the secret is this. Start a company with government grant money, hire a bunch of PhD.'s to work for you and make money. Then use that money to do what you want.