Did anyone else want to be a marine biologist?

[MaraMoon]

I didn't know what career path I'd end up in after school. I was really interested in marine biology but didn't have the body confidence to learn to swim properly (which I figured I needed).

I ended up in an office job. It's a bit of a drag being stuck indoors all the time on a computer so sometimes I dream about what it might have been like to pursue marine biology instead.

Probably not as fun and secure as I am imagining but boy I bet it's interesting!

Did anyone else want to study this? Did anyone actually go on to become a marine biologist?

[Mermaid Fina]

Well you really should talk to people in that field of study i'm not sure swimming really is required for every possible kind of marine biology research and if it's a passion for you don't let the possibility of an obstacle that maybe don't even exist ruin your dream right? I don't know since i'm in totally different kind of work (sex worker) and have no hard science background as my studies were more litterature and human sciences (history and geography mostly) but if your young enough to change field and find the one you're in boring well do it if that's what you truly desire. My job is quite fun but secure well not at all but i've choose it over boring and too long study all the way XD. Marine biology seems relatively fun and secure and most certainly interesting indeed. I'm well over the age of doing studies, don't want to change my job that i quite like and have no enough biology background to do marine biology but i quite like learn about it in science news documentaries, websites or magazines. Especially on squales. So i've would quite like to know people who are knowledeable in the marine biology field sure they would have a lot of things to say that i would like to learn.

[MaraMoon]

Well you really should talk to people in that field of study i'm not sure swimming really is required for every possible kind of marine biology research and if it's a passion for you don't let the possibility of an obstacle that maybe don't even exist ruin your dream right? I don't know since i'm in totally different kind of work (sex worker) and have no hard science background as my studies were more litterature and human sciences (history and geography mostly) but if your young enough to change field and find the one you're in boring well do it if that's what you truly desire. My job is quite fun but secure well not at all but i've choose it over boring and too long study all the way XD. Marine biology seems relatively fun and secure and most certainly interesting indeed. I'm well over the age of doing studies, don't want to change my job that i quite like and have no enough biology background to do marine biology but i quite like learn about it in science news documentaries, websites or magazines. Especially on squales. So i've would quite like to know people who are knowledeable in the marine biology field sure they would have a lot of things to say that i would like to learn.

Thanks for the response! I'm glad that you've found a job you enjoy! T'aint always easy!

I think I'm too broke to afford a career change into that at this point in my life. I don't think anyone is too old to study but it does get more complicated the older you get.

But hey you don't need to formally study something to enjoy learning about it!

[melody_del_mar]

I'm currently studying to be a marine biologist! I will attend James Cook University next year to start my Master's program to pursue marine biology/conservation!

[Mermaid Fina]

Wow that's pretty cool, is there any endangered marine animal you're particulary intersted in?

[melody_del_mar]

Wow that's pretty cool, is there any endangered marine animal you're particulary intersted in?

There's so many to choose from! But I'm very interested in coral conservation, the eradication of microplastics in our oceans, proper education of how sharks are harmless, etc. I also have a fascination for turtles, otters, and various rays.

[Mermaid Fina]

Coral conservation i learned about two methods one with music and one with genetics coral modification untested till now to me the first sound way better than the second since i'm anti gmo but the second one seems proned by more scientists and since i'm not a scientist well...what do you think? Same do you believe this people thinking microplastics could somehow be aspired with a kind of big pump or not? Yeah sharks are cute and nowhere likes in Jaws it's badly needed that people know that massively, i love sharks and rays too, ah poor turtles for sure yes i understand that's a hard choice personnaly i would rather concentrates on sharks because big predator conservation is big part of ecosystems conservation as a whole plus they're a lot of fascinating stuf about them but yeah corals preservation for sure is quite vital too and corals are quite surprising animals right? (excuse any errors in grammar and orthograph please english is not a first langage but a faraway school remembrance to me).

[melody_del_mar]

Coral conservation i learned about two methods one with music and one with genetics coral modification untested till now to me the first sound way better than the second since i'm anti gmo but the second one seems proned by more scientists and since i'm not a scientist well...what do you think? Same do you believe this people thinking microplastics could somehow be aspired with a kind of big pump or not? Yeah sharks are cute and nowhere likes in Jaws it's badly needed that people know that massively, i love sharks and rays too, ah poor turtles for sure yes i understand that's a hard choice personnaly i would rather concentrates on sharks because big predator conservation is big part of ecosystems conservation as a whole plus they're a lot of fascinating stuf about them but yeah corals preservation for sure is quite vital too and corals are quite surprising animals right? (excuse any errors in grammar and orthograph please english is not a first langage but a faraway school remembrance to me).

That's super interesting! Corals are definitely a big part of our oceans. Without them, most organisms would have nowhere to live or hide from predators. Predators also rely on coral reefs for food, and without that source of food, they would also begin to die off.

I am also anti-GMO. I think in a way, they are some pros, but with all of the research I did during high school, there seem to be more cons than anything.

I read that there is a plastic-eating mushroom that scientists are still conducting tests on, but it sounds like they will implement them in all landfills within coming years, so I hope that helps to cut down on a lot of the microplastics we are seeing in the oceans. As for the micro-plastic that is already in the ocean, I think a pump is an interesting idea! I know that 4ocean recently came out with a beach-combing robot that picks up only debris and leaves any animals, sand, etc. unharmed and untouched. It sifts them out. So, I wonder if a pump could be invented that is similar to that where it would filter out any organisms and water so we only pick up debris!

I completely agree. Sharks are a big part of our ocean's ecosystem, and without them, we would not have much of an ocean left.

Corals are definitely super interesting creatures! Their systems are so intriguing.

[Mermaid Fina]

The plastic eating mushroom thing do seems promising indeed . I've heard you cannont really see the great wall of china from space it's a myth but you can actually the great coral reef, corals are the only alive earth beings you can see from space they said...is that true?

[melody_del_mar]

I'm honestly not too sure about that, but that would be amazing!

[The Water Phoenix]

I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was little. I think it was a passing phase, because now I'm studying to be an airline pilot and I work as a ramp agent, I'm still very much interested in the critters of the sea though!

[Snowfaerie]

I am a marine biologist, graduated with my MSc in 2019. It really isn't the most secure job, but during the field season it can be very fun. It is a lot, though. ;D

I live in Finland, so winter restricts the amount of stuff we can do in the field once the autumn storms set in. Basically our field season is from the beginning of May/June till the end of September at the latest. This means I end up working about four months per year and being unemployed for the remaining eight. I don't spend a lot, though, so for me the four months is enough wages to live on for the rest of the year.

The field season, though is very intense. I work for a government agency that is in charge of managing forests and national parks, and my job consists of nature surveying. They tell our teams where to go and what they want from there, and we go and do it. Last year they wanted data on the shoreline, so we got waterproof suits, sup boards, GPS and maps. You have to leave in the vicinity of the site, so the entire summer is basically you leaving home on Monday morning and returning Friday evening, two days of trying to do all your house chores and laundry and such, and then back out on Monday. You live with your team mates, you cook with them, you drive with them... a good team will make or break the summer, because for the most of your time you will not be able to get rid of them. You will also likely be doing a lot of extra hours if the conditions allow for it, which you then get as extra vacation time at the end of your contract.

On the plus side I learned to drive a boat, I've gotten to do some scuba diving on the job and I get to spend time far away from crowds. The work environment is usually gorgeous, too.

On the swimming front... I dunno if you need to be able to swim, exactly, but I got my foot in at my first internship because I had a diver's licence, so it can be an advantage. Then again swimming and diving are not exactly the same thing, so...

Then again, I don't see myself as doing an entire career in marine biology, mostly because I am already having doubts regarding the diving part. I've had a few close calls where I could have drowned had the situation gone differently, and I don't know if that is the kind of stress I'd be willing to deal with long term. Of course there's also the driving a boat side of things, and if you're more lab/indoors oriented there's species identification for days. I spent five months doing nothing but sorting benthic fauna samples under a fume hood.

If you are more into PhD and such, there's all sorts of opportunities, but I also have friends who did their PhDs and still can't find work or get grants. It's always a bit of a toss-up.