Being a Marine Biologist - FAQ

1. How many years were you in school for / What education or basic training is required for Marine Biology?
2. What are the daily responsibilities/activities of this occupation?
3. Does a Marine Biologist include teaching also?
4. What are the average number of work hours during a typical week?
5. What salary can you expect to earn if you are a just out of college or are experienced?
6. What made you decide to enter this field?
7. Do you enjoy your field of work, and why/why not?
8. Do you have any advice for a prospective marine biology major?
9. I have to attend a school in my State. Which university has the best marine biology program?
10. How do you feel about amusement parks, such as Sea World, and zoos?
11. Does your job ever get boing..and if so..what makes it that way?
12. Is there any type of Marine Biology that you major in?
13. What are some negative points to being a marine biologist?
14. What special attributes are necessary to be a successful scientist?
15. What do you do in oceanography?
16. If I become a marine biologist can I work with dolphins?

Answers

1. To do any research as a marine biologist, you would have to (as an absolute minimum) finish college with a Bachelor's of Science degree (4 years), preferably from a university that offers a specialization in marine sciences (there are many examples, usually on a coast. See my marine labs page for a listing.). With this degree you would be able to work as a technician in a lab or on ship running samples, or otherwise working under a scientist. I can't comment too much on high school (because it is dependant on where you are from), other than to say that you need good enough marks to be accepted into the college program.
   However, a Bachelor's isn't qualification enough to permit you to work as a "scientist" (doing your own research). For this you would need at least a Master's degree (approx 2 years), but realistically given the employment situation, you probably would need a PhD in Marine Biology (4-5 years). Once you finish your PhD, you are now pretty much required to spend another 3-4 years in positions known as a post-doctoral fellow. You are hired as a temporary contract position by a scientist to run a portion of their research semi-independantly. Once you have completed this stage, you are considered qualified enough to be hired by a university, government, or private research organization.

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2. As a scientist, you are expected to carry on an active research program including publishing your results in peer-reviewed journals. You are also expected to review papers from other researchers in your field. If you are employed by a university, you will have teaching duties, and most researchers are expected to supervise the training of research students at the Master's and PhD level. You are also expected to be a good member of your "community", for instance sitting on committees within your academic department. However, in recent years a great deal of time is now actually spent in a very boring and tendious activity - applying for research money. To undertake your research, you must find funds to pay for your expenses from government grants or private and charitable organizations.

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3. If you a hired by a university, almost certainly. If you are working for a private institution, you might only be expected to supervise the training research students.

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4. It is hard to say precisely since their are so many different type of activities that (for instance) a university professor must do. For instance they would have a typical work day, but continue at night to mark exams, write or review papers, or just think out a problem. Also, if you do field research will likely be living on a ship or at a research station for several months of the year. It is not unusual for researchers to work every day (not always at the lab on the weekends however). A typical work week might be about 60 hours.

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5. If you just have a bachelor's degree, you might only make $10-20 per hour as a technician. As a recent PhD graduate, you would probably be able to find a contract position at $25 000 to $30 000 per year. As a full time faculty member at a university, or as a researcher at a private institution, you will likely start out at $45 000 - $55 000 per year.

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6. I had an interest in animals, and I love the water.

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7. Of course. The field of science requires an interest in what you do because the pay is not so good, the hours are long, and the years of training required is extensive. In terms of science, you can always be interested in your research program because you primarily determine what you study. Also, I find it satifying to learn new things, and in some cases, be the first one to learn something new. Specific to marine biology, I love the sea, and water in general. I like to be out on boats, and I like to be outside. The study of marine systems is a facinating on because so much of it is hidden from our eyes.

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8. Get good grades to be competitive for scholarships (which are vital these days due to cuts in funding to universities - very few people can afford to take on non-funded students). Also, work hard on your writing skills, and get lots of computer and math training. Don't fall into the trap of believing that biologists don't need math! It isn't true and many people (including myself) have regretted having to regain math ability after a long absence. My experience has shown me that just doing the work that is assigned to you in school isn't enough. You should do extra reading and exercises on your own, and get into the habit early (highschool freshmen take notice!). Get experience. A good degree and grades will mean nothing if you don't have good science related experience to back it up. I want to point out something that you will very rarely hear said: A University trains the mind to learn, but does not train you to do a job. This is a very common misconception. Volunteer, or if you are lucky, get a job as an assistant for the summer. You will almost certainly get paid almost nothing, but the experience will be worth more that you can imagine for applications to prospective supervisors. Also, don't restrict yourself to experience *only in your field*. If you want to work with dolphins when you finish, don't hold out to volunteer with them. Biology is biology.

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9. Choose the best university that is within your financial ability. It is much more important where you do your graduate education (Masters, PhD) rather than your undergrad. If you are able to attend a university with a good undergraduate marine program, so much the better. However, it is almost (but not completely) irrelevant where you finish a BSc though making contacts for graduate research may be a little more difficult (though with the explosion of world-wide web, information is very easy to get now). Wherever you go, you must do well in your studies. In the case of post-grad training, it is more important WHO you work with rather than WHERE you work though these are often closely related.

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10. That is a difficult issue and a matter of personal ethics. I personally do not like animals being subjected to that kind of environment, even if they are well treated. On the other hand, zoos provide a very effective method of introducing the public to the animals in question, making them more real, and therefore increasing awareness and concern for these animals. I think that future biologists are created by visiting places such as these, but anyone who cares about animals should have grave concerns about how many of these for-profit businesses are run.

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11. Certainly. The boring part for me is generally related to marking. I think very few people genuinely enjoy marking exams or papers. Also, most researchers will find that most of the day to day work is very repetitive (for instance doing measurements, or microscope work for weeks or months at a time, every day). Finally, the writing of research grant proposals, while perhaps not boring, certainly can be tedious and stressful.

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12. It is now a very long road for your training. Including undergraduate university, it is typical for most newly hired scientists to have about 4 years undergrad, 5-6 years graduate, and 4 years as a postdoc (total - 14 years!). You must spend a great deal of your life training for this type of position, yet you are paid much much less compared to other disciplines which don't require as much training (lawyer, doctor etc).

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13. Marine Biology usually IS a major. However, you could specialize in a specific area: ichthiology (fish), benthic (living on the bottom) biology etc.

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14. A keen mind and the ability to be very careful and meticulous. Most research requires the tedious repetition of the same task over and over again (for instance, most lab work is like this). Most scientific research isn't award winning or groundbreaking. Patience and the ability to be happy with your personal achievement is important because your research generally has little or no impact on most people. Science is not a good career for someone who requires a lot of positive reinforcement to carry on.

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15. There is literally not enough space to explain about "oceanography" because this would be like asking what a biologist does, it a little too general of a question. There are 3 main fields of oceanography, all with different research focuses: Biological, Chemical, and Physical. Oceanographers typically do their research on the ocean, sometimes in large ships, sometimes in smaller boats. However, 90% of their time is spent in their lab/office looking at data that was collected. Oceanographers don't do "experiments" in the traditional sense, because that requires control of the other variables in the experiment. This is almost impossible when working with the oceans. Oceanography is a more descriptive science and researchers generally try to correlate their observations with other measurements (for instance, the amount of phytoplankton with the nutrient levels in the water).

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16. I don't mean to be cut into your enthusiasm, but I think you should understand the situation. Being a marine biologist is rarely what you see on the tv shows. VERY few scientists work with whales, dolphins or other marine mammals, and quite a few of those people are ending their research programs because of lack of funding. Most marine biologists work with small organisms that require a lot of microscope work, and very painstaking investigation of certain things over and over and over. Marine biology can be fun at times, but if you don't like repetitive work, then many fields of marine science may not be what you are looking for.

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All information expressed here in this FAQ are opinions attributed to Warren Currie - PhD Researcher - Plankton Ecology, Department of Zoology, Unversity of Guelph, Canada. They are a selection of questions asked of me during the last 5 years maintaining The Plankton Net, and are not intended to be representative of the entire scientific community. It would go against the nature of scientific researchers if others did not disagree with my statements in this FAQ.