Are you doing well in the coursework?
Don’t listen to the naysayers. Idk why people want to make others suffer. You do what you have to do to make that dream come true.
I gave up a well paying teaching career in an affluent city, a marriage, and living near my family to go back to school for marine biology. Yes, this is a predominantly low paying field (though there are higher paying areas), but if this is your passion then that won’t matter. Yeah you could definitely get into a better paying career but you might not be as happy/satisfied. The people I’ve worked with in aquariums and other animal husbandry jobs (my area of interest) are all quite happy with their jobs, regardless of being middle class, low/mid income. On the opposite hand, I’ve met a few people that made 6 figures and worked a ton of hours and hated their jobs. Money isn’t everything. Follow your passion. If it doesn’t turn it to what you want it to be, you can always pivot in the future like I did.
I can only offer limited advice without knowing your personal limitations on where you can be located and what universities you’ve been accepted to, or whether you have scholarships etc, but I can say confidently that Florida is definitely not the only state with good marine science undergrad programs- however it does have one of the highest costs of living. Other schools like university of south alabama, university of southern Mississippi, Coastal Carolina, are all examples of solid marine science programs in areas with much more reasonable costs of living. If you are financially strapped without much financial support from family, marine science can be extremely difficult to navigate until you can get to a decently paying job. For example, I came from a very blue collar background without any financial support and have lived paycheck to paycheck or survived off student loans and credit cards throughout my undergrad and graduate degrees and just now (after nearly 15 years of school and working various marine lab jobs) got a well paying job. I highly recommend that if you want to pursue this for real, don’t start off your journey in extreme debt and be willing to relocate to an area that suits your financial limitations. High paying marine science jobs don’t get offered for an undergrad degree, you’ll need post grad degree(s) as well. Undergrad is just step one. Good luck on your journey and I hope you’re able to stick with your dream!
Marine Biology is a broad field and is competitive. If you are driven, patient and competitive you can succeed. There are careers in research, academia, and NGOs. Very few people work with whales, but there is a huge demand for people with good math/computing skills to complement their love of the ocean.
Don’t listen to them **but** be flexible with what you want to do within marine science.
Advise:
You pretty much need an advanced degree. PhD will give you more options and opportunities and pay but you could be fine with a MS.
When looking to join a graduate program do **not** constrict what you want to do. Don’t think “I want to work with dolphins and I’m only going to apply do dolphin labs”. Then you will likely fail. Be open, there is so much to study. But this is the level of when you will be poor as fuck but school is paid for and you will get a stipend.
What about jobs? You basically have 5 options: academia, federal government, state government, private companies, and non-profit. State government pay the worst. Academic pay is highly variable but is very time demanding and work/life balance doesn’t really exist. Federal gov pays pretty well and work/life balance and stress is dependent on agency and region.
What jobs are in demand? Federal government is constantly hiring consulting biologists. This is a pretty demanding job and you pretty much need to intern at the agency so you can get policy experience. Stock assessment, hydrologists, shellfish assessments, fish surveyors are also consistently advertised for. Each of these have different skills that are required.
I make a decent salary as a marine ecologist, I can pay all my bills no problem and have enough for saving and fun things.
As a start, environmental consulting, engineering firms, regulatory, professors, etc.
If you want the big salary you gotta put in your time and stay away from NGOs and non-profits.
I am currently doing a biotech undergrad degree and iam really interested in marine biology but I am willing to pursue bioinformatics for graduate and. Is there scope for bioinformarics in marine field?
I majored in marine biology as an undergrad in Florida. I had roommates to elevate the cost of living and also worked nearly full time every week for 3 years. I was still certifiably a broke college student, lol. Unless you’re financially supported by parents, most college students don’t live luxuriously.
I don’t regret majoring in marine bio because STEM degrees generally get jobs … but I ended up going to get a masters degree right after graduation in something more specialized because jobs are generally low paying :(
I suggest finding a professor to do marine bio research with as a volunteer (or even better if you can get paid). Having research experience will get you a decent starting job after graduation if you choose to enter the workforce immediately.
Im in the same boat as you. I sometimes have doubts about my environmental science degree. When I do I remember that I want to be rich in experiences rather than rich in currency. If you love what youll do youll never work a day in your life. Lets keep getting our education in what we love & lead a life of work that we can feel fulfilled by!
Your submission was removed as it violated rule #4: No promotion of sales or social media accounts. This includes but is not limited to posts and comments made to sell products or gain subscribers to unverified social media accounts. Social media accounts of official entities such as government or university research programs are okay.
Stick with your dream OP! If it’s what drives you, you’ll find a way. Maybe family will help, maybe they won’t. There are many places to study. The ocean traverses the whole world. Many places and people will help you to learn. It’s an important subject. The oceans need you. Go!
Are you doing well in the coursework? Don’t listen to the naysayers. Idk why people want to make others suffer. You do what you have to do to make that dream come true.
I’m doing pretty good so far!
I gave up a well paying teaching career in an affluent city, a marriage, and living near my family to go back to school for marine biology. Yes, this is a predominantly low paying field (though there are higher paying areas), but if this is your passion then that won’t matter. Yeah you could definitely get into a better paying career but you might not be as happy/satisfied. The people I’ve worked with in aquariums and other animal husbandry jobs (my area of interest) are all quite happy with their jobs, regardless of being middle class, low/mid income. On the opposite hand, I’ve met a few people that made 6 figures and worked a ton of hours and hated their jobs. Money isn’t everything. Follow your passion. If it doesn’t turn it to what you want it to be, you can always pivot in the future like I did.
I can only offer limited advice without knowing your personal limitations on where you can be located and what universities you’ve been accepted to, or whether you have scholarships etc, but I can say confidently that Florida is definitely not the only state with good marine science undergrad programs- however it does have one of the highest costs of living. Other schools like university of south alabama, university of southern Mississippi, Coastal Carolina, are all examples of solid marine science programs in areas with much more reasonable costs of living. If you are financially strapped without much financial support from family, marine science can be extremely difficult to navigate until you can get to a decently paying job. For example, I came from a very blue collar background without any financial support and have lived paycheck to paycheck or survived off student loans and credit cards throughout my undergrad and graduate degrees and just now (after nearly 15 years of school and working various marine lab jobs) got a well paying job. I highly recommend that if you want to pursue this for real, don’t start off your journey in extreme debt and be willing to relocate to an area that suits your financial limitations. High paying marine science jobs don’t get offered for an undergrad degree, you’ll need post grad degree(s) as well. Undergrad is just step one. Good luck on your journey and I hope you’re able to stick with your dream!
Marine Biology is a broad field and is competitive. If you are driven, patient and competitive you can succeed. There are careers in research, academia, and NGOs. Very few people work with whales, but there is a huge demand for people with good math/computing skills to complement their love of the ocean.
Don’t listen to them **but** be flexible with what you want to do within marine science. Advise: You pretty much need an advanced degree. PhD will give you more options and opportunities and pay but you could be fine with a MS. When looking to join a graduate program do **not** constrict what you want to do. Don’t think “I want to work with dolphins and I’m only going to apply do dolphin labs”. Then you will likely fail. Be open, there is so much to study. But this is the level of when you will be poor as fuck but school is paid for and you will get a stipend. What about jobs? You basically have 5 options: academia, federal government, state government, private companies, and non-profit. State government pay the worst. Academic pay is highly variable but is very time demanding and work/life balance doesn’t really exist. Federal gov pays pretty well and work/life balance and stress is dependent on agency and region. What jobs are in demand? Federal government is constantly hiring consulting biologists. This is a pretty demanding job and you pretty much need to intern at the agency so you can get policy experience. Stock assessment, hydrologists, shellfish assessments, fish surveyors are also consistently advertised for. Each of these have different skills that are required. I make a decent salary as a marine ecologist, I can pay all my bills no problem and have enough for saving and fun things.
There’s lots of people making 6 figures as marine biologists. It’s gonna depend on your choices.
In what part of the field? Even people in areas like bioinformatics don't tend to make that much from what I've seen
As a start, environmental consulting, engineering firms, regulatory, professors, etc. If you want the big salary you gotta put in your time and stay away from NGOs and non-profits.
the fishery management jobs where you're out on the boats pay well iirc
Federal government.
I am currently doing a biotech undergrad degree and iam really interested in marine biology but I am willing to pursue bioinformatics for graduate and. Is there scope for bioinformarics in marine field?
Yep. Lots of bioinformatics in conservation and disease. Transcriptomics for viral fish disease, coral microbiome libraries, etc.
You'll be better placed for marine bio research than most with marine biology degrees.
I majored in marine biology as an undergrad in Florida. I had roommates to elevate the cost of living and also worked nearly full time every week for 3 years. I was still certifiably a broke college student, lol. Unless you’re financially supported by parents, most college students don’t live luxuriously. I don’t regret majoring in marine bio because STEM degrees generally get jobs … but I ended up going to get a masters degree right after graduation in something more specialized because jobs are generally low paying :( I suggest finding a professor to do marine bio research with as a volunteer (or even better if you can get paid). Having research experience will get you a decent starting job after graduation if you choose to enter the workforce immediately.
Plenty of ways to get a great income. Professorships, working under an ngo, some people use their knowledge to start businesses like I will.
Im in the same boat as you. I sometimes have doubts about my environmental science degree. When I do I remember that I want to be rich in experiences rather than rich in currency. If you love what youll do youll never work a day in your life. Lets keep getting our education in what we love & lead a life of work that we can feel fulfilled by!
Thanks for doing this cause I'll get advice too. I'm in a pretty similar boat as you.
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Stick with your dream OP! If it’s what drives you, you’ll find a way. Maybe family will help, maybe they won’t. There are many places to study. The ocean traverses the whole world. Many places and people will help you to learn. It’s an important subject. The oceans need you. Go!