Careers in the Aquatic/Marine biology field.

[Zoodiver]

I will tell you this, every time I post a job looking for a fish person at an aquarium, I'll get 200-300 resumes per slot open. There are more people than jobs.
Most places you'll never see more than $25-$30K a year until you've put in 10 or more years at the same facility. People are willing to take $7 or $8 an hour just to have a job.

 

[Aweshade9]

What about ichthyology? What about the subdivision of zoology which studies sponges and mollusk. A lot of those things can cure diseases and I always thought there is a huge market for people who study disease curers.

 

[joe jaskot]

What about ichthyology? What about the subdivision of zoology which studies sponges and mollusk. A lot of those things can cure diseases and I always thought there is a huge market for people who study disease curers.

Much of this research is carried on through government or educational grants.

 

[heatherbeast]

Out of all the college students that I have mentored in my lab, I think the best decision as far as job choice goes was for a VERY clever gal that really loved marine biology. She did standard hands-on things with animals like volunteering for nest monitoring and moving (when necessary) sea turtle nests on the coasts of the Carolinas. She was VERY passionate about her work, but the absolute best way that she could put her brain to work protecting the oceans turned out to be taking a pre-law degree and then pursuing an internship at NOAA related to maritime law and regulation of oceanic shipping industries.

Veterinary work could sometimes cross over with ichthyology.

 

[Drstrangelove]

Your one link lists a job as an animal breeder? What does that have to do with marine biology? Your other link doesn't even mention marine biologists.
Most jobs in the marine biology field are with the government. There are not that many public companies that employ marine biologists. Sure it seems like a nice field of study to major in, but job prospects are few and far between. ThatFishPlace, one of the larger online retailers of aquarium products has 3 or 4 marine biologists on their staff. Is that the type of career one wants?

I wasn't trying to find jobs for marine biologists. The first link shows that the worst jobs for employment are all manual labor. Marine biology isn't that.

The second link showed the 3 worst graduate degrees for employment. Marine biology wasn't one of those.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to go into that or not. I'm simply showing that hypothesizing isn't necessary. All the stats one needs are on the internet. Moreover, as I posted earlier, this is a lifestyle decision. One can work at a miserable job and make more money or work at a job they love and make less money. It's not me, so I don't have a say one way or the other.

 

[joe jaskot]

Here is the type of job you can get with your marine biology degree: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...2-Help-Wanted-Aquarist-Job-at-Ceasar-s-Palace

 

[Slipperypete]

Where is the bull? Show me some data. Marine biology is a terrible field to major in if you plan on having a career that pays well.

i wasnt saying the information is bull****
i just dont agree in basing a career off salary
in saying that i think a person would be a lot better off with getting a degree in a field they like but trying to make it applicable to the demands of the economy.

 

[Slipperypete]

Really this is a lifestyle question.

You can make $50,000 / year as a marine biologist, perhaps live near the ocean in a small city, work for 43 years because you love it and retire with a paid for house and some money socked away. Will your family resent being a bit less well off so that you enjoy your life while you work?

You can make $75,000 / year as a <insert here>, live in an expensive city far from the ocean, work for 38 years and retire early because you can't stand working another minute, and have a bigger house and more money socked away. Will you resent your family for choosing a career you didn't care for?


Who knows? That's a choice. You get one life and that's it. In 38 or 43 years, you will have been given a pile of cash for doing something you didn't like. If the pile of cash is really important, the career choice is meaningless. If the career choice is important, then the pile of cash is meaningless.

I don't want to make light of this, but one can downgrade his/her hopes or downgrade his/her life style. Both are possible.

+1

 

[Slipperypete]

Out of all the college students that I have mentored in my lab, I think the best decision as far as job choice goes was for a VERY clever gal that really loved marine biology. She did standard hands-on things with animals like volunteering for nest monitoring and moving (when necessary) sea turtle nests on the coasts of the Carolinas. She was VERY passionate about her work, but the absolute best way that she could put her brain to work protecting the oceans turned out to be taking a pre-law degree and then pursuing an internship at NOAA related to maritime law and regulation of oceanic shipping industries.

Veterinary work could sometimes cross over with ichthyology.

good info

 

[Drstrangelove]

Here is the type of job you can get with your marine biology degree: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...2-Help-Wanted-Aquarist-Job-at-Ceasar-s-Palace

Or you could do this:

http://blogs.payscale.com/salarystories/2007/04/name_dr_james_b.html "Salary: A Marine Biologist Salary Range is $45 to $110k"

or this

http://animalcareers.about.com/od/Careers/a/Job-Profile-Marine-Biologist.htm "Salary for a marine biologist is commonly quoted as ranging from $40,000 for entry level work to more than $110,000 for scientists with significant experience and advanced degrees."

or this

http://www.ehow.com/about_6196069_average-yearly-salary-marine-biologist.html "As of April 2010, veteran marine biologists with 20-plus years of experience have a salary range of $60,300 to $92,600 and those with 10 to 19 years of experience have a salary range of $48,400 to $82,500. Oddly, of the reported salaries on PayScale.com, marine biologists with less than one year of experience have a salary range of $38,800 to $97,200."

or this

http://www.oceancareers.com/2.0/career_salary.php?career_id=15
"Entry level employee earnings - $41,400 ($19.9 hourly)

Mean employee earnings - $53,300 ($25.63 hourly)
Experienced employee earnings (upper 75% of salaries) - $67,200 ($32.31 hourly)"


or this

http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/marinebio/mycareer.html "This is not easy to answer as the variation is great. If you were an average Ph.D. entering a university job these days as an assistant professor, you would earn a salary of ca. 45,000-65,000 USA dollars for the academic year and then could earn a summer salary as well, mainly from grants. Salaries of public school teachers are generally lower and the variation is great. Consulting firms start also in the 40s and above. The upper end is extremely variable but in universities, marine biologists' salaries usually correspond to the average for science professors. A full professor these days in a university is earning 65,000-100,000 and more for the academic year."

or this

http://www.bestsampleresume.com/salary/marine-biologist.html "The average salary for an Marine Biologist is $54,000."


Of course, one could always get a mechanical engineering degree and wait for a dream job as a trash collector, or get a doctorate in chemistry and get the once in a lifetime opportunity to mix milk shakes at McDonalds. Me, I'd rather look for jobs that need me for what I can do, and that will pay me what I'm worth and not apply to a company trying to low ball over qualified applicants who don't know better.

Of course...you can always find a few companies that are willing to pay $14/hr for someone who is worth $30/hr. Is that unique to marine biologists?