Marine Biology - Recommendations?

[Wendy]

UNC in Wilmington has a marine bio department.

 

[Dr Deco]

The Texas A and M marine program is in Galveston, just south of Houston.

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

Yes..Coastal Carolina University on the coast of South Carolina is good. That's where I'm going next fall for the same major.

Coastal Carolina

Enjoy!

 

[Delta_P]

Important career information for budding fish nerds:

http://www.id.ucsb.edu/lovelab/biologist.html

speaking as a marine biologist, of course.

 

[radagalf]

DennisS once bubbled...
I'd say the big three are

Scripps in San diego
Woods Hole Massachusetts
RSMAS Univ of Miami

It's a very competitive field with an over supply of graduates. Graduate study is almost mandatory. I wish her luck.

I would say that the above three are more schools of oceanography than of Marine Biology. Oceanographers are and will be needed, especially with projects such as NEPTUNE coming online in the near future.

 

[Rice]

If she really wants to train dolphins she needs to get some psycology and vet background. A degree in either would be fine. Then she needs to get used to being poor. Because so many people want these jobs you're not going to get rich doing them. the job title is Animal trainer , but she's going to have to start working with sea lions or some other more annoying animal first. Being a great dog trainer is a good start. It also helps (alot) to know people in the profession.

I have two friends that are dolphin trainers. Neither have degrees.

But if she wants to be a Marine Biologist she needs to get real interested in plankton or some other microscopic stuff.

I've been offered two jobs that were Marine Biologist positions.
first was a really cool job in Sarasota. fascinating work, the pay was nineteen thousand a year. With a degree.
the second came with the coveted title "Marine Biologist" would have responsability taking care of a few hundred thoudsand gallons of tanks in a restuaraunt setting, and paid 24 thousand a year, and required relocation to Houston. Um, no

So I'm not a Marine Biologist but I can afford to go diving.

 

[divinglife]

Would anyone know of a program (perhaps graduate studies, perhaps just an internship program) fr people who have done an undergrad in non-science field and are now interested in marine biology. As diving sorta took over my life over the past few years, I started thinking of some further education that would swing me in the ocean's direction. DMing is great but not "career-building" according to most friends and family... hehehe.

 

[DeputyDan]

required but a low paycheck field.

You will need to set up a trust fund while helping with a college

 

[cstreu1026]

I would think the most proftiable way to make it as a "marine biologist" would be to go all the way to PhD and start teaching at a college level. Of course you will still be pretty poor and for quite some time. Once you are establish as a professor though you will get someone else to finance your scuba diving since it will be "research." Well it doesn't quite work that easy but that would probably be the best route.

 

[DennisS]

divinglife once bubbled...
Would anyone know of a program (perhaps graduate studies, perhaps just an internship program) fr people who have done an undergrad in non-science field and are now interested in marine biology. As diving sorta took over my life over the past few years, I started thinking of some further education that would swing me in the ocean's direction. DMing is great but not "career-building" according to most friends and family... hehehe.

Most marine biology doesn't involve diving. Plankton nets, underway samplers mud cores, swamp romps amd trawls followed by a LOT of time in the lab separating the fly specks from the pepper is a more likely scenario. There's a thin line between doing biology and chemistry on a lot of the projects. Nutrients are a biggy in biology.

There is an over supply of people with degrees in marine biology looking for intenships, volunteer work or entry level positions that have something to do with marine biology. I was an oceanographic technician with a two year degree and occasionally had people with masters working for me. They were glad to be working, kind of, in their field.

There are paid ie. (you pay to a varying degree ) positions on some research projects, usually sponsored by a non profit organization. These people get people to pay to work for them, archaeology has this arrangement also.

I don't want to sound discouraging but there are a lot of people with marine biology degrees looking for a job in a field without a lot of growth. The jobs that involve diving are the ones almost everyone wants.

Jimmy Buffet pretty much summed it up in a the song "A Pirate Looks at Forty". He goes into the mother mother ocean riff and then the line
"the occupational hazard being the occupation just aint around"