International marine biology intern/program

[fish farmer]

Erin is right for the most part but there are some great opportunties (albiet scarce) but the big thing is there is is 0 job security since the project you may get hired for is generally on a fixed budget from a grant ie. it will end.

Aquaculture (both for food and aquariums) is growing do you have any interest in that? Idk anything about how that field functions/qualifications tho

I will fill in the blanks regarding Federal and State Aquaculture. I have limited experience directly with the private sector or overseas type operations.

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Aquaculture and Fisheries Technology from the University of Rhode Island, my old professor and classmate work with tuna now

Sustainable Aquaculture | Greenfins

Greenfins has partnered with the University of Rhode Island to develop an Aquaculture Tuna Research Center of Excellence.

www.greenfins.com

Back in April 1991 just before graduating I tried getting a job with Sea Critters, a private brine shrimp farm in Florida, they really wanted me to finish out my bachelor's....I only needed a couple of minor classes which I finished that summer. So I went back to the toy store for a year.

My first paid job was because I had the Bachelors, Biological Aid in Utah. They did have an SCA volunteer and an undergrad working as well for the summer.

With state and federal hatcheries which I have worked in for almost 30 years, you may be able to volunteer for seasonal type positions, some may have housing. Back 30+ years ago you could have gotten in the door with an associates degree and maybe even a H.S. diploma. Now at least for my state we require a minimum Bachelor's for full time employment, seasonal employees usually are in college. At my work we have been known to hire H.S. students or retirees for basic work like feeding fish and mowing lawns.

Most of our biologist type work at the state level is usually Master's or above, Fish and Wildlife Techs have Bachelor's.

If you are able to get lots of impressive field work/volunteer work, maybe you could be considered for long term positions, but frankly most of the best people that I pick for jobs have some college level schooling. Even one of my friends who was a late bloomer with fisheries tech jobs in his early 30's, HAD to go back to school and get a physics course to work full time with the State of Minnesota.

Good Luck!

 

[MysticBlue]

So, you want to pay $$$ to go away to do an internship in Fiji, BUT you're broke and can't leave home for long?

My best advice to you right now is to stop and rethink your goals and expectations. If you had said "I know I want XX specific job, what can I do besides college to get the experience I need to be hired", that would be one thing (although not necessarily something people on a hobby forum could answer).

But you have a vague goal of "doing marine biology"... which I think most of us can relate to

One thing about working on a college degree is it exposes you to a lot of things you would probably never think of. You can get new ideas and/or narrow down some of the ones you already have. You get the opportunity to do things hands on and meet people that can guide you in choosing your career path.

There are options besides enrolling in a large university...

Take some classes at a community college. Get the basic requirements for a degree in a biology field done and then see how you feel about things.

Get certified as a diver (from your first post, it sounds like you aren't) and work on advanced certifications as they interest you.

As others have suggested, talk to people doing work in marine biology - either places you might want to get a job or someone in the marine biology department of a college -- and get some career advice from them.

Think about getting a part- or full-time job that exposes you to experiences and people that can guide you...

You are young and it's easy to get discouraged when you don't feel you have options, but I think if you allow yourself a few years to explore what you want to actually do, and get exposed to different options, you'll be on the right track.

Well I do have a specific job in mind I really want to be apart of the team that goes a rescues a beached dolphin or whale or shark etc or that helps rehabilitate the animals to be released back into the ocean. I’m in the process of getting my divers license and or any other certifications I may need. I would be able to pay up to 10k to go on a program somewhere but I couldn’t afford 100k plus for college. Not to mention college takes years where a program may take a year so big time difference for sure.

 

[Just John]

(I Just saw your above post after writing the below. Unfortunately, what you want to do here will either be volunteer work or done by college trained biologists. As I mention below, perhaps you could work a regular job during the week and volunteer to do this on the weekends.)

Another Marine biologist here. I understand your situation and unfortunately, I have to agree with the posts below. It sucks, I know. Look at it like this - there are tons of high school and college students or recent graduates who want to get into the field and can afford to work for free for some period of time. Maybe a few months, maybe longer. If I am hiring someone and I can choose between three people, one with a marine biology related college degree, one working on a marine bio degree or one with a high school degree I am not going to choose the high school degree only person. Even just cleaning tanks is something these college people will do to get into the field. Maybe work a normal job during the week and volunteer doing something on the weekends and plan how that could lead you somewhere.

READ this if you skipped the rest: My next step would be to contact somewhere that hires marine biologists and ask them if there is anything at all you could do there and for advice. Even cleaning tanks if you could get paid is something. Good luck!

Marine biologist here - any of the internships where you pay for your own experience are NOT something to pursue. You can work with citizen science groups and volunteer organizations if you want to be adjacent to the field, but you can't be a professional biologist without some kind of degree. Yes, there are some known entities that claim to be experts without a degree, but it's false claims and self promotion to push their brand/agenda.

You don't have to get a Marine Science BS specifically, but this field is incredibly competitive, so some higher education is necessary. I know people who have graduate degrees and are no longer in the field due to being unable to find a job, and people with PhDs making $45k a year because they had to go for jobs they're ridiculously over-qualified for.

I apologize if this comes across harsh, it's just the reality. I am more than happy to give further guidance, I want nothing more than to see others make it in this field, you just have to be 100% committed.

If college is for sure not something you’re interested in looking into, then you’re pretty well limited to volunteer work or unpaid internships (assuming a more qualified candidate doesn’t beat you out for this), possibly joining on in some kind of aquaculture industry job (I also don’t know anything about how that field operates as far as hiring is concerned), or starting your own business/non-profit to try and help.

 

[OrchidMiss]

@DigitalFishAquariums

 

[Just John]

Oops, double post, so I deleted this one.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

See I beg to differ In this day and age people aren’t nessaroliy looking for college degrees. I’m mean either way I’m not going to college but that doesn’t mean there’s not another way one of my friends who’s a really good marine biologist with a degree says he really didn’t need a degree in it his boss didn’t even care he had one.

Talk to your buddy and see if his boss has a position for u. College isn’t for everyone but sometimes the paper helps. Good luck.

 

[DigitalFishAquariums]

@DigitalFishAquariums

hi!

@OP My experience is anecdotal and my own. I graduated from University of Maryland College Park with a bachelors degree in Marine Biology in 2006.

I was employed by various environmental and University agencies around that time and as an undergraduate, and you're welcome to message me privately about my experience.

With my degree, I was homeless, I was largely unable to land full time work, and struggled to make more than $8.25/hr.The lab I was in and supporting had so many volunteers they had no need of help.

What I discovered, generally, is that so many people "always wanted to be a marine biologist" or whatever, that they will volunteer an amazing amount of time. People will *pay money* to help out. They'll pay thousands of dollars to be the volunteers that help save sea turtles, etc.

In my experience the kinds of work you can do without a degree will be mostly deck handing a research vessel, which is a lot of work and weather, or various other boat related grunt and lab work.

In an aquaculture facility they're always looking for a scrub and brush person, but they're not going to pay much either.

The kind of destination marine biology job where you live in the tropics and live and work on the ocean paradise is absolutely going to have stiff competition, and be hard to get into and do without a degree. You can do it, but likely you'll be a boat grunt, at best.

 

[Tired]

You might be able to do some volunteer work with people who do marine wildlife rescue, but you're not going to get a paying job without a degree.

You also need to think about if that's really a job you want. Remember, not every story has a happy ending. Beached whales usually die. If you go into wildlife rescue, you're going to see a lot of injured, suffering animals, and you're not going to be able to save all of them. Especially if you go out into the field rather than just caring for the ones brought back for rehabilitation. It's hard work, it's going to be very sad at times, and it's not going to pay well even with a degree.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Well I do have a specific job in mind I really want to be apart of the team that goes a rescues a beached dolphin or whale or shark etc or that helps rehabilitate the animals to be released back into the ocean. I’m in the process of getting my divers license and or any other certifications I may need. I would be able to pay up to 10k to go on a program somewhere but I couldn’t afford 100k plus for college. Not to mention college takes years where a program may take a year so big time difference for sure.

I still don't know what these "programs" are. The one like you mentioned in your first post where you can go someplace exotic get a coral reef conservation certification while working on your scuba cert. is nothing that will mean much to an employer.

 

[Tired]

I still don't know what these "programs" are. The one like you mentioned in your first post where you can go someplace exotic get a coral reef conservation certification while working on your scuba cert. is nothing that will mean much to an employer.

And I'd imagine the employer might question why you spent all that money paying people to let you do their work for them, instead of spending it on college classes.

College seems daunting if you're homeschooled, but plenty of homeschooled people go to college and manage it just fine. In fact, it can give you an edge; kids who've been in public school for most of their lives often have trouble knowing what to do with how comparatively un-structured college is, and with how much independence they get. Homeschooled kids have that independence thing covered.
The biggest trouble is just convincing the college that you have in fact done schooling and classes. You'll probably want to look into taking some standardized tests and getting decent scores on those, so you can prove to them that you know what you're doing. A college's job is to sell you an education, so they want to enroll people who are likely to pass their classes and generally succeed.

 

[Just John]

hi!

@OP My experience is anecdotal and my own. I graduated from University of Maryland College Park with a bachelors degree in Marine Biology in 2006.

I was employed by various environmental and University agencies around that time and as an undergraduate, and you're welcome to message me privately about my experience.

With my degree, I was homeless, I was largely unable to land full time work, and struggled to make more than $8.25/hr.The lab I was in and supporting had so many volunteers they had no need of help.

What I discovered, generally, is that so many people "always wanted to be a marine biologist" or whatever, that they will volunteer an amazing amount of time. People will *pay money* to help out. They'll pay thousands of dollars to be the volunteers that help save sea turtles, etc.

In my experience the kinds of work you can do without a degree will be mostly deck handing a research vessel, which is a lot of work and weather, or various other boat related grunt and lab work.

In an aquaculture facility they're always looking for a scrub and brush person, but they're not going to pay much either.

The kind of destination marine biology job where you live in the tropics and live and work on the ocean paradise is absolutely going to have stiff competition, and be hard to get into and do without a degree. You can do it, but likely you'll be a boat grunt, at best.

I feel for you. That sucks. Even with a graduate degree, I left the field because of the "always wanted to be a marine biologist" people. The first time I honestly began to realize that I might be screwed was when a fellow graduate student said to me, "I don't care what I do or don't get paid as long as I can work with sharks".

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Well I do have a specific job in mind I really want to be apart of the team that goes a rescues a beached dolphin or whale or shark etc or that helps rehabilitate the animals to be released back into the ocean. I’m in the process of getting my divers license and or any other certifications I may need. I would be able to pay up to 10k to go on a program somewhere but I couldn’t afford 100k plus for college. Not to mention college takes years where a program may take a year so big time difference for sure.

So first it was coral conservation and now it's marine mammal rescue?

Reminds me of being in 8th grade and saying I was going to get a PhD in marine biology AND a DVM so I could go be a dolphin vet...

I think I've said everything constructive I have to say already. I'm out.
Good luck.

 

[DigitalFishAquariums]

I feel for you. That sucks. Even with a graduate degree, I left the field because of the "always wanted to be a marine biologist" people. The first time I honestly began to realize that I might be screwed was when a fellow graduate student said to me, "I don't care what I do or don't get paid as long as I can work with sharks".

for me, it was when I was sitting on a boat with a Doctor, a Lawyer from LA, and two scuba divers and I was in charge of teaching them how to coil rope.

These two people, both with seriously advanced degrees, making ~500k+, had both taken off two weeks to volunteer to... be deckhands. to help save oysters.

and I was living in my station wagon.

 

[OrchidMiss]

for me, it was when I was sitting on a boat with a Doctor, a Lawyer from LA, and two scuba divers and I was in charge of teaching them how to coil rope.

These two people, both with seriously advanced degrees, making ~500k+, had both taken off two weeks to volunteer to... be deckhands. to help save oysters.

and I was living in my station wagon.

Wow.....
Between our previous conversations and the input from so many others in this thread, I have certainly reconsidered my grand idea of getting my Marine Biology degree, just for "fun", and trying to have the whole alphabet after my name ....
I think I'll stick to smaller certifications that don't require *more* student loans.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Just to throw this option out.

My brother takes part in tons of things with restoration, diving, etc. etc. in Florida. He makes a good living, but here is the kicker. He is a Game Warden with the FWC.

He always wanted to be a marine biologist, but us growing up in FL, diving all the time, we knew quite a few who actually steered him away from it. As one person mentioned, living in a station wagon was the nrom for them if they were not on a boat somewhere.

After the corp, he decided to go to a community college and get an associates in criminal justice with a minor in some from of environmental stuff (would have to ask the specifcs of that one lol)

He then worked for the TWRA (Tennessee Game Warden) for a bit and finally decided to move back to FL for a job with the FWC. That was about 16-17 years ago. Over that time, he worked as a game warden and was mostly involved in riding around and checking fishing licenses off the coast of Stuart. But, in that time, he also took some night classes, online stuff for environmental sciences and is now able to assist with FWC efforts from saving manatees to restoring coral reefs. He has even taken part in placement of corals to help restore reefs. And all of this while on the clock.

End of day, he made a good living being a game warden, gets to do other things he is passionate about and still volunteers to do stuff on his time off. All while getting paid a good wage with good benefits.

Again, just a thought.

 

[DigitalFishAquariums]

Wow.....
Between our previous conversations and the input from so many others in this thread, I have certainly reconsidered my grand idea of getting my Marine Biology degree, just for "fun", and trying to have the whole alphabet after my name ....
I think I'll stick to smaller certifications that don't require *more* student loans.

Yeah, there is an undeniable exquisite agony of working for the DNR, pulling up to the beach of a multimillion dollar home in a 14 foot boston whaler, look up and some guy and his model sugar baby uh..... doin stuff.... by the pool.

You then go crawling through the mud and muck to do an ecological survey, do a haul sein and count all the fish, take a break to present your collection license to the police that got called on you... and just keep doing it. Over and over.

Then you go home and sleep in the back of your 25 year old Toyota.

It's kind of numbing.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Yeah, there is an undeniable exquisite agony of working for the DNR, pulling up to the beach of a multimillion dollar home in a 14 foot boston whaler, look up and some guy and his model sugar baby uh..... doin stuff.... by the pool.

You then go crawling through the mud and muck to do an ecological survey, do a haul sein and count all the fish, take a break to present your collection license to the police that got called on you... and just keep doing it. Over and over.

Then you go home and sleep in the back of your 25 year old Toyota.

It's kind of numbing.

At least you go to see some sugar babies in the process....

 

[Just John]

for me, it was when I was sitting on a boat with a Doctor, a Lawyer from LA, and two scuba divers and I was in charge of teaching them how to coil rope.

These two people, both with seriously advanced degrees, making ~500k+, had both taken off two weeks to volunteer to... be deckhands. to help save oysters.

and I was living in my station wagon.

Unbelievably, I did three years of research to save the oysters after one viscously attacked me. I fell on one and that was when it got me. I needed 16 stitches in the end.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I'm a 4th year college student although I started late partly because I wanted to work and make money any way I could which was a mistake. Do not settle for just any job simply because it makes money. Make a plan and stick firmly to it. EVERYTHING YOU DO FROM THAT POINT FORWARD SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE PLAN IN SOME WAY. Burger flipping might be an easy way to earn money to do a volunteer trip in Fiji but after your term is done it means nothing.i know because I did one of those trips. Have you considered the military? They have a huge variety of optional paths that you can take that will give you training that means something.

 

[Just John]

I'm a 4th year college student although I started late partly because I wanted to work and make money any way I could which was a mistake. Do not settle for just any job simply because it makes money. Make a plan and stick firmly to it. EVERYTHING YOU DO FROM THAT POINT FORWARD SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE PLAN IN SOME WAY. Burger flipping might be an easy way to earn money to do a volunteer trip in Fiji but after your term is done it means nothing.i know because I did one of those trips. Have you considered the military? They have a huge variety of optional paths that you can take that will give you training that means something.

And help or completely pay for college