5 Tips on How to Successfully Pursue a Career in Marine Biology

From a professional perspective, pursuing a career in marine biology could be extremely competitive. However, you could have an extremely difficult time finding a marine biologist with regrets about their career choice. In this article, we do hope to provide you some important tips that could help you to navigate the diverse paths in becoming a marine biologist:

1. Evaluate your passion for a career in marine biology

Many of the conservation researchers across the world, whether they are marine or otherwise, are focused on pursuing their personal careers out of a genuine kinship for and curiosity regarding the natural world. It is certainly never very easy too early to garner this sort of appreciation for your individual surroundings. As a result, you should be able to get outside, become inquisitive and should never ever let the classroom walls become the boundaries of your education!

2. Become passionate about science and marine biology

By becoming involved in science courses as well as extracurricular scientific activities in school or high school, you will be able to get a much better chance to have a career in marine biology in the long run. If you volunteer with regional, local or global marine organizations and partake in marine science programs external your classroom, you can certainly position yourself for being a stand out from the crowd in the process of your college application

3. Research colleges that provide marine biology courses

By focusing on your career in marine biology as an undergraduate, you can evaluate and assess the competition when it comes to a career in marine biology. There are particular jobs, fellowships, internships and graduate programs that focus mainly on marine biology. There are several undergraduate degree programs within the area of marine biology that is comprised of the necessary elective courses. Mandatory coursework may comprise of cell biology, general biology, evolution and ecology. There are specific electives that can also allow students to concentrate on specific interest areas. This could also include mammal biology, vertebrae zoology, tropical ecosystems, fish ecology, aquaculture, biotechnology, environmental biology, molecular biology, toxicology, and species-specific biology. Apart from that, you may also be required to study statistical analysis as is an essential component of the education curriculum. This comprises of the extrapolation of collected data and accurately predicting decline and growth for marine populations being an essential component of the work of marine biologists.

4. Create your personal marine biology resume

During and after college, you would be able to find several opportunities that can provide your marine biology resume. They could include jobs, internships, summer courses, research assistantships, fellowships…etc. Employers and graduate schools do value experience highly as they value education. As a professional, you can start your training in the area of marine biology very early. Summer camps across marine biology, as well as marine study centers, are usually open for young adults. There are even summer programs for high school students that are able to teach important things such as marine exploration and sailing. Another beneficial option would be doing volunteer work at a local aquarium. Most of them provide opportunities for working as docents and also directly interact with the public through the use of hands-on displays such as tide-pool exhibits. Many of the aquariums may also allow you to work along with marine life in display tanks, provided you have adequate training.

5. Pursuing a graduate degree in marine biology

Although a graduate degree is not a necessity for the purpose of becoming a marine biologist or even for becoming an active and contributing member in the area of conservation, there are several successful researchers across the world that will tell you that having an M.S. or Ph.D. degree can greatly add to your individual abilities and resume. However, by the time that you get ready for graduate school, you can certainly have sufficient time for exploring various subjects in the area of marine biology and can also concentrate on a narrowly-focused area of research interest that most of the graduate schools across the world may require. You should find information regarding the schools and professors that have done research regarding these important programs and focus on the areas that are similar to your own interests.