Aquatic Related Careers?

[Kobeclone]

Okay, bear with me, this will be a long post and may only apply to a few people.

This is my situtation. Don't take anything I say as "bragging"; I am just trying to explain my situation.

I am currently a junior in high school. I have a 4.0 gpa (will finish 1st in my class of 80 in all likelihood), am involved in many extra curricular activities, and am a member of the gifted and talented program; all of which favor my college acceptance. Furthermore, as bad as it sounds, it only helps that I will be a 1st generation college student, have divorced parents, live in a low income household, and am part native american.

I have reached the time in my life where I should be deciding on a major and the best college for this major. I am very interested in ecology, more specifically aquatic ecology.

The cost of college isn't relevant. My gifted and talent advisor, who has advised every "gifted" student in our school district, says that I will have no problem securing a full ride scholarship.

I am looking for people that can offer me advice. Although my gifted and talented advisor/parents/teachers/counselors can offer assistance, there is nothing like talking to someone that has been in a similar situation. This is what has led me here. Considering the high level of intelligence and education that is prevailent on this aquatic centered site, I figured that it would be as good of a place as anywhere to look for advice and perhaps a long term mentor.

I would like to know:

a) If you have a career in aquatics- what do you do and who is your employer? i.e. state or government employed
b) Where you went to college and what degree/major you sought
c) Your salary (if you are comfortable sharing-through PM of course)
d) Your hours of work

Thanks for any help that you can provide.

 

[Nic]

marine biology? might be a good option

 

[Big Kahuna]

Making a living off Marine Biology or Aquatic careers in general is a specialized niche that may not offer you much job security.

I would suggest you look to a career in medicine and then you can use some of your hard earned money to indulge in your aquatic hobby.

You get respect in the community and you can pretty much find a job anywhere after you finish medical school and residency.

Good luck!

 

[ShipOfFools37]

This could get lengthy, but I'll try to keep it short and we can just move on from there. I'm currently a graduate student in the field of Aquatic Ecology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I personally study the effects of sculpin on zooplankton communities in arctic lakes. My advisor has been studying fish and zooplankton in the same lakes for over 30 years, he's one of the top scientists in his field. My study site is at the Toolik Lake Field Research Station in Alaska, roughly 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. I did my undergrad at St. Mary's College of Maryland. It is a small school with one of the best biology programs in the nation. It is located right on the Chesapeake Bay and has a lot of opportunity that many other schools do not have, as far as resources go. They are also a public honors college, therefore the standard there is very high and the school work is very hard, it is graduate level work for undergraduates. I found it very hard, but I'm possibly the most prepared graduate student in our department, just due to the difficulty of undergrad. When it comes to choosing a school, do your own research into what they study there. Every school has something a little different and not every school has an aquatic ecologist or a marine biologist.

Since you want to go into biology, you will need to plan on getting a Master's degree, if not a PhD. The field of biology is highly competitive and Bachelor's degrees are a dime a dozen. This is spoken from experience, I applied for several jobs right out of undergrad, but everytime someone with a Master's applied, I was automatically out of consideration, regardless of any other factors.

Being a professor and doing research is one of your options and in this economy, possibly the safest. The best place for people to be with the economy in this state, is school and someone needs to teach them. If anything, this is a safe fall-back for anyone with a PhD. You can teach with a Master's but you cannot get tenure, nor will you make near as much money as if you have a PhD.

The majority of other jobs are going to be government jobs. There are plenty of jobs with different fish and game services, Natural Resources, etc. From what I've seen, there aren't a whole lot of aquatic ecology jobs in the private sector, they're mostly microbiology and medical science.

You could also go the route of studying aquaculture and get into fishfarming. I'm highly considering this as a PhD route in the coming years.

Salaries all seem to vary, with a Bachelor's you'll be working for peanuts if you can get a job. With a Master's I've seen jobs listed with salaries from like 20k-50k, then with a PhD, I've seen jobs with salaries listed as high as 100k+. So there is money if you put the time into the education and the experience. I also reccomend internships, both paid and volunteer to get experience in any of these fields. Having experience goes a long way and will get you bumped to the top of the hire list, I've found. The experience is hard to come by, but it's worth it, even if it's unpaid in the long run.

I'll leave the post at this for now. You can always PM me any questions you have, but I'll be back to read more about what other people have to say and try to answer any other questions if I can because I can always use the wisdom of fellow MFK'ers too! I hope this helps!

 

[Thedaniokeeper]

I plan on animal behavior/Biochemistry and then specializing in aquatics.

 

[andyjs]

Right now, I'm in my undergrad majoring in field biology (my main concentrations/areas of interest are in ichthyology and herpetology). At first, I wasn't sure I wanted to go to grad school (at least not right out of undergrad), but now I'm definitely planning on grad school. I'm not entirely sure what I want to end up doing for my career. Doing research/teaching at a university is definitely a possibility, and I'm also considering aquaculture (I have a couple years experience working at a hatchery). I am a little worried about what I'll end up doing (especially with the way the economy keeps going).

My mom really wanted me to go to pharmacy school (her dad went to the pharmacy school at the university I'm attending), but I really had no motivation to do that (other than the almost guaranteed job w/ $100K income upon graduation). If I applied myself, I could do it, but I really have trouble applying myself to things I'm not really interested in.

 

[Zoodiver]

Education level will vary with what you want to get into, so will pay and the number of jobs out there.
If you are looking for lab/desk work, get every degree you can think of. That crowd is hard up for as many certifications as you can show them.
If you are looking for down and dirty hands on animal care, get a basic degree, and then as much hands on time with a facility as you can. Nothing (and I mean NOTHING) will ever replace actual time doing what the job will intale down the line.

Another angle to look at this from is the education stand point. Very few things are as rewarding as teaching the next generation about aquatic life.

 

[CichlaRyan]

Leading towards medicine, in this economy really no jobs really that stable. But people will always get sick and iinjured no matter how bad the economy is >.> Medicine.

 

[Kobeclone]

marine biology? might be a good option

Nice suggestion, but I feel that going after marine biology right from the get go will limit myself employment wise. I would rather stay living in hole in the wall Kansas (as bad as that sounds- I guess I have turned into a bit of a hick). Marine biology would force me to either move or explore a teaching route, neither of which I would be too happy with.

Making a living off Marine Biology or Aquatic careers in general is a specialized niche that may not offer you much job security.

I would suggest you look to a career in medicine and then you can use some of your hard earned money to indulge in your aquatic hobby.

You get respect in the community and you can pretty much find a job anywhere after you finish medical school and residency.

Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestion. I have heard from dozens of people how insecure this field is. An advisor I have was hired at a state park with a guaranteed two year term, he was let go after 1 summer because of the economy.

The problem I have with the medical field is that it isn't what I truely love. Sure pay is higher and you are more respected in society, but I could not sit in a doctor's office all day prescribing medicine to people who don't need it.

This could get lengthy, but I'll try to keep it short and we can just move on from there. I'm currently a graduate student in the field of Aquatic Ecology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I personally study the effects of sculpin on zooplankton communities in arctic lakes. My advisor has been studying fish and zooplankton in the same lakes for over 30 years, he's one of the top scientists in his field. My study site is at the Toolik Lake Field Research Station in Alaska, roughly 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. I did my undergrad at St. Mary's College of Maryland. It is a small school with one of the best biology programs in the nation. It is located right on the Chesapeake Bay and has a lot of opportunity that many other schools do not have, as far as resources go. They are also a public honors college, therefore the standard there is very high and the school work is very hard, it is graduate level work for undergraduates. I found it very hard, but I'm possibly the most prepared graduate student in our department, just due to the difficulty of undergrad. When it comes to choosing a school, do your own research into what they study there. Every school has something a little different and not every school has an aquatic ecologist or a marine biologist.

Since you want to go into biology, you will need to plan on getting a Master's degree, if not a PhD. The field of biology is highly competitive and Bachelor's degrees are a dime a dozen. This is spoken from experience, I applied for several jobs right out of undergrad, but everytime someone with a Master's applied, I was automatically out of consideration, regardless of any other factors.

Being a professor and doing research is one of your options and in this economy, possibly the safest. The best place for people to be with the economy in this state, is school and someone needs to teach them. If anything, this is a safe fall-back for anyone with a PhD. You can teach with a Master's but you cannot get tenure, nor will you make near as much money as if you have a PhD.

The majority of other jobs are going to be government jobs. There are plenty of jobs with different fish and game services, Natural Resources, etc. From what I've seen, there aren't a whole lot of aquatic ecology jobs in the private sector, they're mostly microbiology and medical science.

You could also go the route of studying aquaculture and get into fishfarming. I'm highly considering this as a PhD route in the coming years.

Salaries all seem to vary, with a Bachelor's you'll be working for peanuts if you can get a job. With a Master's I've seen jobs listed with salaries from like 20k-50k, then with a PhD, I've seen jobs with salaries listed as high as 100k+. So there is money if you put the time into the education and the experience. I also reccomend internships, both paid and volunteer to get experience in any of these fields. Having experience goes a long way and will get you bumped to the top of the hire list, I've found. The experience is hard to come by, but it's worth it, even if it's unpaid in the long run.

I'll leave the post at this for now. You can always PM me any questions you have, but I'll be back to read more about what other people have to say and try to answer any other questions if I can because I can always use the wisdom of fellow MFK'ers too! I hope this helps!

That is what I was looking for. I have heard about both St. Marys and the U. of NC by just doing a couple quick searches on the internet. I have Baron's Profiles of American Colleges 2009. This book did nothing but praise these two schools biology wise.

You definetely bring up a good point that a b.s. in biology isn't worth much anymore. What I plan to do is pursue of b.s. in ecology and then a masters is aquatic ecology. Then I plan to enter the work force while completing my PhD. I know that if I do go into biology, then I will get my PhD.

I will try to secure an internship this summer. The problem that I am facing is that I live in Kansas. The nearest national park is a couple hundred miles away and the nearest state park is around 40 miles. Do you have any other suggestions of where I may be able to do a summer internship/volunteer work?

Right now, I'm in my undergrad majoring in field biology (my main concentrations/areas of interest are in ichthyology and herpetology). At first, I wasn't sure I wanted to go to grad school (at least not right out of undergrad), but now I'm definitely planning on grad school. I'm not entirely sure what I want to end up doing for my career. Doing research/teaching at a university is definitely a possibility, and I'm also considering aquaculture (I have a couple years experience working at a hatchery). I am a little worried about what I'll end up doing (especially with the way the economy keeps going).

My mom really wanted me to go to pharmacy school (her dad went to the pharmacy school at the university I'm attending), but I really had no motivation to do that (other than the almost guaranteed job w/ $100K income upon graduation). If I applied myself, I could do it, but I really have trouble applying myself to things I'm not really interested in.

Thanks for your imput. I have thought about aquaculture, but I don't know if it would be as fulfilling as doing field work.

Education level will vary with what you want to get into, so will pay and the number of jobs out there.
If you are looking for lab/desk work, get every degree you can think of. That crowd is hard up for as many certifications as you can show them.
If you are looking for down and dirty hands on animal care, get a basic degree, and then as much hands on time with a facility as you can. Nothing (and I mean NOTHING) will ever replace actual time doing what the job will intale down the line.

Another angle to look at this from is the education stand point. Very few things are as rewarding as teaching the next generation about aquatic life.

As I stated above, I would like to pursuit my PhD regardless of what I find my interest to be in.

I would like to work in the field. I could not stand to sit in a cubicle day in and day out. Although it isn't the biggest concern, I would like to be financially secure, like $100,000 plus a year. The fact that I want to work in the field, but yet make $100,000 a year seem to contradict eachother from what I have seen. 90% of the "researcher" office jobs make fairly high amounts, but those involving field work are making substantially less.

I really don't think I would like teaching. The only way I would do this is if it was in conjunction with being able to do field work. Say field work 4 days out of the week and teaching 1 day.

 

[ShipOfFools37]

As far as internships go in the fields of aquatic ecology/biology, you're going to need to be near water, an aquarium or a fish farm. I know you said that aquaculture doesn't particularly interest you, but the experience with all of the equipment and techniques will benefit you in the long run, especially if that's your only choice. I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay, so I had more options as far as aquatics go. I did an internship with an environmental engineering company, they plan out any type of construction on or near water, think piers, bulkheads, waterfront homes, rip rap, etc. I was an intern biologist who assisted with all of the surveying they needed done. In order to build on or near water, you must clear a ton of tests and things. My job was to survey all of the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the water around the area where they wanted to build. The surveys we did, then also doubled as the yearly surveys which the county used to measure the growth/decline of SAV's over the past year. I worked hard, long hours for what seemed like pennies. However, I got good experience with field techniques and computer software (arcGIS) which has been very good for my resume. More importantly, I learned that I have no desire whatsoever to work for an environmental engineering company, it's just not what I want to do.

You might have to be willing to pack up and move somewhere for a summer, to a state park or body of water. You also might have to be willing to work for free for the experience. I know that's tough, but sometimes the experience is worth more than money. You're also only a Junior in high school, It's always good to plan ahead and get as much experience in as possible, but a lot of these internship-type jobs are going to go to college students. Don't get discouraged, you just might have to wait until you get to college, or you may get lucky and get that extra experience early.

As far as your job choices go, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm not positive you'll be able to make 6 figures doing strictly field work. I am the same way, in that, I'd prefer to be out there doing the actual field work and leaving the computer work and writing to someone else. In the biology community, the field researchers aren't quite as highly regarded, i.e. any idiot can do field work, but the smartest people are writing the journal articles and doing the data analysis. It's a tough pill to swallow, but you're going to probably be most financially and job secure as a professor. Now in science you go by the law "publish or perish." Scientists who make good money (6 figures+) are expected to publish articles in scientific journals on a regular basis (at least 1-2 a year). This means you have to come up with some research, do all of the work (background research, experimental design, experiment, any changes to design, data analysis, then research and discussion of results) and have it published. To get published you have to go through several peer reviews and send the paper back a few times to the journal to be accepted for publication. Those professors who fail to publish articles on a regular basis are generally let go from their positions. However, being a professor gives you summers to be in the field and a month of winter break to be with family/do field work. My advisor spends up to 3 months in Alaska a summer, so he gets to do his teaching here at UNC Greensboro during the year, then does a lot of field work all summer. IMO your best, most secure option is probably being a college professor and doing research that way. It's not what I really WANT to do with my life but I know it's a secure field and it will suffice until I can stumble upon a job I want to do.