Marine Biology Majors
- Thread starter m0nk
- Start date
garnet13aj
Active Member
Ok, I don't have time to read all the posts (studying for an ochem test) but I'd at least like to put in the point that while there may not be an overabundance of jobs in the marine biology field, there are some. I'm actually a environmental and evolution biology major because UW doesn't have a marine bio major, but I'm doing an internship right now in marine ecology and I've met tons of people w/bio majors in the field. None of the said to me, "look, marine biologists are a dying/starving species" get out while you can and major in something worthwhile. In fact, they gave me a lot of advice on what to do to get into the right programs so that one day I can be doing what they're doing...Just wanted to throw that out there.
m0nk
Active Member
Originally Posted by garnet13aj
Ok, I don't have time to read all the posts (studying for an ochem test) but I'd at least like to put in the point that while there may not be an overabundance of jobs in the marine biology field, there are some. I'm actually a environmental and evolution biology major because UW doesn't have a marine bio major, but I'm doing an internship right now in marine ecology and I've met tons of people w/bio majors in the field. None of the said to me, "look, marine biologists are a dying/starving species" get out while you can and major in something worthwhile. In fact, they gave me a lot of advice on what to do to get into the right programs so that one day I can be doing what they're doing...Just wanted to throw that out there.
Cool, thanks for the encouragement. Could you relay what they might suggest for the right programs or advice perhaps on what courses would be best served in the real world job market? I still don't know which direction I'll be heading, but I've got some time to figure it all out. Thanks
Ok, I don't have time to read all the posts (studying for an ochem test) but I'd at least like to put in the point that while there may not be an overabundance of jobs in the marine biology field, there are some. I'm actually a environmental and evolution biology major because UW doesn't have a marine bio major, but I'm doing an internship right now in marine ecology and I've met tons of people w/bio majors in the field. None of the said to me, "look, marine biologists are a dying/starving species" get out while you can and major in something worthwhile. In fact, they gave me a lot of advice on what to do to get into the right programs so that one day I can be doing what they're doing...Just wanted to throw that out there.
Cool, thanks for the encouragement. Could you relay what they might suggest for the right programs or advice perhaps on what courses would be best served in the real world job market? I still don't know which direction I'll be heading, but I've got some time to figure it all out. Thanks
m0nk
Active Member
Bump. Still looking for some additional info and/or testimonials...hehe. I like to take in as much info as I can before making long term plans.
Ophiura, if you happen to look back at this thread, what was your field of study, how far did you go in post-grad work, and what is your current field of work, if I may ask?
Thanks again to everyone who's provided advice, info, and stories!
Ophiura, if you happen to look back at this thread, what was your field of study, how far did you go in post-grad work, and what is your current field of work, if I may ask?
Thanks again to everyone who's provided advice, info, and stories!
ophiura
Active Member
As an undergrad I did a general biology degree, which I strongly recommend, with an emphasis in "organismal" biology...so zoology, ecology, etc. Took as many marine bio opportunities that I could find, including several summer courses (tropical marine bio, marine ecology in Maine). It was as an undergrad that I started research on brittlestars and my association with the USNM.
I began in grad school with an basic oceanography and ichthyology background courses and then switched schools to study marine invertebrate systematics. I worked for more years than I care to admit on my PhD (um,6 or 7) before deciding my husband was more important. Make no mistake, a doctorate requires a lot of sacrifice and often jumping through fiery hoops at the whim of your committee.
My specialty obviously, was brittlestars.
I never had the illusion that I would work in the field, however, as university and research positions are not easy to come by and I wasn't keen on living from grant to grant and seeking tenure somewhere once I got married. It was something my husband and I both wanted to avoid (he has a PhD in geology). One thing I noticed in most of my profs was that they had one kid, if any, and were pretty deeply committed to their research and academic side. I'm not being judgmental there....it was just not what I wanted...once family became a priority. Before that point I was ready to go, though I preferred teaching to all out research.
My husband moved to Houston to start a job and I followed several months later...started at an LFS, then as an aquarist, and now work in data management for a seismic company. Much more promising future there...though one day I would not mind ending up in a consultancy position for deep sea drilling, mining, etc as I primarily studied deep sea brittlestars.
Most of my fellow graduate students have gone on to productive research and academic careers at large museums or universities. But often after several additional years in a postdoc position.
I began in grad school with an basic oceanography and ichthyology background courses and then switched schools to study marine invertebrate systematics. I worked for more years than I care to admit on my PhD (um,6 or 7) before deciding my husband was more important. Make no mistake, a doctorate requires a lot of sacrifice and often jumping through fiery hoops at the whim of your committee.
My specialty obviously, was brittlestars.
I never had the illusion that I would work in the field, however, as university and research positions are not easy to come by and I wasn't keen on living from grant to grant and seeking tenure somewhere once I got married. It was something my husband and I both wanted to avoid (he has a PhD in geology). One thing I noticed in most of my profs was that they had one kid, if any, and were pretty deeply committed to their research and academic side. I'm not being judgmental there....it was just not what I wanted...once family became a priority. Before that point I was ready to go, though I preferred teaching to all out research.
My husband moved to Houston to start a job and I followed several months later...started at an LFS, then as an aquarist, and now work in data management for a seismic company. Much more promising future there...though one day I would not mind ending up in a consultancy position for deep sea drilling, mining, etc as I primarily studied deep sea brittlestars.
Most of my fellow graduate students have gone on to productive research and academic careers at large museums or universities. But often after several additional years in a postdoc position.
jennythebugg
Active Member
i don't know if this helps but they use marine bioogists in the oilfield , they test groundwater at predrill and post drill sites osha ires them as well as just about every oil company has a few of them out in the field, i commend you for going back to school as a single parent,ive been there its tough good luck
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
http://www.raisethenation.org/
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
http://www.raisethenation.org/
m0nk
Active Member
Originally Posted by jennythebugg
i don't know if this helps but they use marine bioogists in the oilfield , they test groundwater at predrill and post drill sites osha ires them as well as just about every oil company has a few of them out in the field, i commend you for going back to school as a single parent,ive been there its tough good luck
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
http://www.raisethenation.org/
Thanks jenny, I'll definitely be using the FAFSA page when the time comes to get more immersed in classes, but the second link has the following in their FAQs:
25. Does your scholarship help fathers?
No. We understand that single fathers are also in need of support. However, we are not currently able to offer financial assistance to single parent fathers. We hope to one day be able to provide such assistance.
Kind of a bummer, since most programs are like this and discriminative of single fathers. It's like no one recognizes that fathers can be single parents too. In fact, this is how backwards PA is, I worked with a guy who shared custody with his wife, however the kids (teenagers, too) lived with him more than 50% of the time. PA ordered him to pay HER child support because he makes more than she does - and she's re-married but the state doesn't even look at the new husband's salary. What's up with that??
i don't know if this helps but they use marine bioogists in the oilfield , they test groundwater at predrill and post drill sites osha ires them as well as just about every oil company has a few of them out in the field, i commend you for going back to school as a single parent,ive been there its tough good luck
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
http://www.raisethenation.org/
Thanks jenny, I'll definitely be using the FAFSA page when the time comes to get more immersed in classes, but the second link has the following in their FAQs:
25. Does your scholarship help fathers?
No. We understand that single fathers are also in need of support. However, we are not currently able to offer financial assistance to single parent fathers. We hope to one day be able to provide such assistance.
Kind of a bummer, since most programs are like this and discriminative of single fathers. It's like no one recognizes that fathers can be single parents too. In fact, this is how backwards PA is, I worked with a guy who shared custody with his wife, however the kids (teenagers, too) lived with him more than 50% of the time. PA ordered him to pay HER child support because he makes more than she does - and she's re-married but the state doesn't even look at the new husband's salary. What's up with that??
m0nk
Active Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
As an undergrad I did a general biology degree, which I strongly recommend, with an emphasis in "organismal" biology...so zoology, ecology, etc. Took as many marine bio opportunities that I could find, including several summer courses (tropical marine bio, marine ecology in Maine). It was as an undergrad that I started research on brittlestars and my association with the USNM.
I began in grad school with an basic oceanography and ichthyology background courses and then switched schools to study marine invertebrate systematics. I worked for more years than I care to admit on my PhD (um,6 or 7) before deciding my husband was more important. Make no mistake, a doctorate requires a lot of sacrifice and often jumping through fiery hoops at the whim of your committee.
My specialty obviously, was brittlestars.
I never had the illusion that I would work in the field, however, as university and research positions are not easy to come by and I wasn't keen on living from grant to grant and seeking tenure somewhere once I got married. It was something my husband and I both wanted to avoid (he has a PhD in geology). One thing I noticed in most of my profs was that they had one kid, if any, and were pretty deeply committed to their research and academic side. I'm not being judgmental there....it was just not what I wanted...once family became a priority. Before that point I was ready to go, though I preferred teaching to all out research.
My husband moved to Houston to start a job and I followed several months later...started at an LFS, then as an aquarist, and now work in data management for a seismic company. Much more promising future there...though one day I would not mind ending up in a consultancy position for deep sea drilling, mining, etc as I primarily studied deep sea brittlestars.
Most of my fellow graduate students have gone on to productive research and academic careers at large museums or universities. But often after several additional years in a postdoc position.
Thank you for sharing this, I really appreciate it. My dad sorta sacrificed his relationship with my sisters and I because all throughout our childhood he was immersed in getting his doctorate. The marriage went too, eventually, which kinda threw life into a weird spin that brought quite a few bad experiences. This all led up to the fact that I never went to college when I should have, which I'm now trying to correct, but I agree that the work required for a PhD isn't for me. I don't want to put my son through that.
I know that if I eventually get to start over at Millersville (coincidentally, this is where my dad teaches comp-sci) there's a marine biology track (many grads are working over at That Fish Place in Lancaster), but I'm thinking of either double majoring (if I can afford all the extra credits), or majoring in general bio and getting in some of the marine courses as electives or something. From what I've heard from you and others here, as well as read out on other sites over the past week, I currently don't have much illusion that I'll work in the field, at least not until getting some post-grad work done, but I've got some time to figure things out since all this is going to take probably 8-10 years...haha.
As an undergrad I did a general biology degree, which I strongly recommend, with an emphasis in "organismal" biology...so zoology, ecology, etc. Took as many marine bio opportunities that I could find, including several summer courses (tropical marine bio, marine ecology in Maine). It was as an undergrad that I started research on brittlestars and my association with the USNM.
I began in grad school with an basic oceanography and ichthyology background courses and then switched schools to study marine invertebrate systematics. I worked for more years than I care to admit on my PhD (um,6 or 7) before deciding my husband was more important. Make no mistake, a doctorate requires a lot of sacrifice and often jumping through fiery hoops at the whim of your committee.
My specialty obviously, was brittlestars.
I never had the illusion that I would work in the field, however, as university and research positions are not easy to come by and I wasn't keen on living from grant to grant and seeking tenure somewhere once I got married. It was something my husband and I both wanted to avoid (he has a PhD in geology). One thing I noticed in most of my profs was that they had one kid, if any, and were pretty deeply committed to their research and academic side. I'm not being judgmental there....it was just not what I wanted...once family became a priority. Before that point I was ready to go, though I preferred teaching to all out research.
My husband moved to Houston to start a job and I followed several months later...started at an LFS, then as an aquarist, and now work in data management for a seismic company. Much more promising future there...though one day I would not mind ending up in a consultancy position for deep sea drilling, mining, etc as I primarily studied deep sea brittlestars.
Most of my fellow graduate students have gone on to productive research and academic careers at large museums or universities. But often after several additional years in a postdoc position.
Thank you for sharing this, I really appreciate it. My dad sorta sacrificed his relationship with my sisters and I because all throughout our childhood he was immersed in getting his doctorate. The marriage went too, eventually, which kinda threw life into a weird spin that brought quite a few bad experiences. This all led up to the fact that I never went to college when I should have, which I'm now trying to correct, but I agree that the work required for a PhD isn't for me. I don't want to put my son through that.
I know that if I eventually get to start over at Millersville (coincidentally, this is where my dad teaches comp-sci) there's a marine biology track (many grads are working over at That Fish Place in Lancaster), but I'm thinking of either double majoring (if I can afford all the extra credits), or majoring in general bio and getting in some of the marine courses as electives or something. From what I've heard from you and others here, as well as read out on other sites over the past week, I currently don't have much illusion that I'll work in the field, at least not until getting some post-grad work done, but I've got some time to figure things out since all this is going to take probably 8-10 years...haha.
jennythebugg
Active Member
Originally Posted by m0nk
Thanks jenny, I'll definitely be using the FAFSA page when the time comes to get more immersed in classes, but the second link has the following in their FAQs:
25. Does your scholarship help fathers?
No. We understand that single fathers are also in need of support. However, we are not currently able to offer financial assistance to single parent fathers. We hope to one day be able to provide such assistance.
Kind of a bummer, since most programs are like this and discriminative of single fathers. It's like no one recognizes that fathers can be single parents too. In fact, this is how backwards PA is, I worked with a guy who shared custody with his wife, however the kids (teenagers, too) lived with him more than 50% of the time. PA ordered him to pay HER child support because he makes more than she does - and she's re-married but the state doesn't even look at the new husband's salary. What's up with that??
that bites , there has to be organizations for single fathers, the law does tend to discriminate against men in alot of custody/c.support cases . i never got 1 red cent from my daughters father and my sons father is in prison so nothing there either but tobin got ordered to pay 400 a month to a crackhead and the judge wouldnt even look at a letter she wrote that states her drug abuse in it during the custody hearing some people just et jacked i'll look around at scholorships and stuff , see what i can find
Thanks jenny, I'll definitely be using the FAFSA page when the time comes to get more immersed in classes, but the second link has the following in their FAQs:
25. Does your scholarship help fathers?
No. We understand that single fathers are also in need of support. However, we are not currently able to offer financial assistance to single parent fathers. We hope to one day be able to provide such assistance.
Kind of a bummer, since most programs are like this and discriminative of single fathers. It's like no one recognizes that fathers can be single parents too. In fact, this is how backwards PA is, I worked with a guy who shared custody with his wife, however the kids (teenagers, too) lived with him more than 50% of the time. PA ordered him to pay HER child support because he makes more than she does - and she's re-married but the state doesn't even look at the new husband's salary. What's up with that??
that bites , there has to be organizations for single fathers, the law does tend to discriminate against men in alot of custody/c.support cases . i never got 1 red cent from my daughters father and my sons father is in prison so nothing there either but tobin got ordered to pay 400 a month to a crackhead and the judge wouldnt even look at a letter she wrote that states her drug abuse in it during the custody hearing some people just et jacked i'll look around at scholorships and stuff , see what i can find
m0nk
Active Member
Originally Posted by jennythebugg
that bites , there has to be organizations for single fathers, the law does tend to discriminate against men in alot of custody/c.support cases . i never got 1 red cent from my daughters father and my sons father is in prison so nothing there either but tobin got ordered to pay 400 a month to a crackhead and the judge wouldnt even look at a letter she wrote that states her drug abuse in it during the custody hearing some people just et jacked i'll look around at scholorships and stuff , see what i can find
Yeah, we do get the *cough* end of the stick when it comes to .... well, everything...haha. Single moms in PA can get aide for day care costs if their salary is under like $29k/yr, but for men it's like $35k. Go figure.
Anyway, I appreciate the thought. There is possibly some program out there that I can use, it's probably a needle in a haystack though. Of course I haven't tried to google "single father tuition assistance" or variations thereof.
Now, when I win the Powerball, I'll definitely be quitting my job and going back full-time until I get a masters or something. Then I'll still get to spend just as much time with my son but also get to do whatever I was career-wise, we'll just live off the interest.
that bites , there has to be organizations for single fathers, the law does tend to discriminate against men in alot of custody/c.support cases . i never got 1 red cent from my daughters father and my sons father is in prison so nothing there either but tobin got ordered to pay 400 a month to a crackhead and the judge wouldnt even look at a letter she wrote that states her drug abuse in it during the custody hearing some people just et jacked i'll look around at scholorships and stuff , see what i can find
Yeah, we do get the *cough* end of the stick when it comes to .... well, everything...haha. Single moms in PA can get aide for day care costs if their salary is under like $29k/yr, but for men it's like $35k. Go figure.
Anyway, I appreciate the thought. There is possibly some program out there that I can use, it's probably a needle in a haystack though. Of course I haven't tried to google "single father tuition assistance" or variations thereof.
Now, when I win the Powerball, I'll definitely be quitting my job and going back full-time until I get a masters or something. Then I'll still get to spend just as much time with my son but also get to do whatever I was career-wise, we'll just live off the interest.