Getting Into a Marine Biology Career

I don’t know your definition of hard, but from most of the resources I have seen and the people I have talked with, a career in marine biology requires at least a master’s degree…so, there is definitely a lot of hard work and schooling involved.

A career in marine biology can take several paths. You could work in a private or government lab performing research (e.g., Scientists in the Marine Biology Research Division at Scripps investigate the ecological, physiological, cellular, and biochemical characteristics of marine bacteria, plants, and animals, etc.), teach, work outdoors and/or underwater or even in an office. Chances are you would work in a number of these at various times.

Career paths within marine biology include biotechnologist, toxicologist, aquaculturist, microbiologist, ecologist, marine educator, fisheries biologist, mammalogist, algologist, behaviorist, marine pathologist, aquarist, and parasitologist.

While still in high school, focus on math and science courses. In choosing colleges, you can look for schools that have a marine biology major for undergraduates, but most of the graduate programs in marine biology do not require it to be your major, so you could also look at schools that have a strong science program (or pre-med program), with majors such as biology, biochemistry, chemistry.

And while in college, focus on trying to get one or more internships related to marine biology.

Finally, remember that interests change, so take your time in researching the career and in taking your college courses. And if you decide along the way that marine biology is not for you, don’t panic; instead, simply spend some time reflecting on the things that do interest you.

You can find an amazing number of links to marine biology resources from the folks at the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. Go to: Career Information.