Genuine question: in the US how much of a threat are marine biologists at right now?
Posted by ColdCelebration4850@reddit | marinebiology | View on Reddit | 6 comments
I want to be a marine biologist who works more on the conservation side but with everything going on lately i've been thinking of getting into the actual advocacy side. I'm about to start my first year of college this fall so i need some insight lol
bi_smuth@reddit
Being a biologist and being a conservationist are two different careers
Eco_Blurb@reddit
The advocacy side is important but it’s not so much educating people about conservation, it’s about networking, politics, and following the money.
You can probably make a bigger difference there than in a biology job however. Later in your biology career you can also pivot into outreach, with a bit more credibility in science knowledge. but then keep in mind, sometimes being a scientist immediately prejudices people against you, and those are the ones that you are trying to convince.
If you go into marine science, at least you will be surrounded by people likeminded to you (mostly) instead of constantly advocating to people that disagree with you.
As for the competitive side, yes it’s competitive, you will really want grad school, probably a master of science, and do multiple internships during undergrad to get there, but some people gotta make it so why couldn’t it be you? Family didn’t believe I would but they got nothing to joke about anymore
gladesguy@reddit
You'll need to get a sense of where the actual jobs are, what you actually like doing, and what your lifestyle requirements are (for instance, do you want to be able to have a family? To live in a particular area? To have one stable employer for the bulk of your career? Some fields make that harder) and see where those things intersect.
For instance, what are you imagining the "advocacy" side to be like, and who do you think would hire you? While there are positions here and there with NGOs or public agencies that involve running communications/public outreach efforts, those are quite limited, often require a different background than marine biology, and don't involve actually doing biology, so if you are interested in scientific research, you'd likely find them unfulfilling.
A very large share of that work is also conducted by interns and volunteers. To get the positions that actually pay, you'd either study something like communications or PR and take some bio classes along the way, or major in bio and take writing classes (or a minor). Then you'd hope to get hired in one of the positions that combine those two skill sets.
But given the very limited number of jobs and the high competition, it's quite likely you'd just end up in some general communications/PR job (if you major in in communications) that has nothing whatsoever to do with marine biology, or in a biology job (if you major in marine biology) that doesn't involve advocacy. So you'd need to pick carefully.
Note also that AI is severely endangering writing jobs right now. I would not advise anyone to actually major in communications (though it can be useful as a minor) at the moment, especially if they're doing it the hopes of getting a unicorn job and have no interest in the vast bulk of communications careers.
For context, I started my career as an outdoor columnist/reporter. It was fun, but those jobs are going away.
neverfakemaplesyrup@reddit
hi OP I can concur with avoid communications. Thing is, there are very few safe job markets now. So if you do really love marine biology, the roots of it, do it! Cause nothing is safe anymore. I got stuck in crappy general labor jobs. I have met folk from nearly every academic discipline right next to me.
I thought it was clever and admittedly mostly got ushered into it by college entrance staff because well, I came from a closing technical program at a forestry and agriculture tech to university, and I had only gone to the technical/forestry school because I had some ACEs in high school; I didn't have the right credits for college at the time.
Communications- I thought I did everything right to get into a solid career, and just didn't cut it. High GPA. I did specialist courses. Tried making a portfolio. Reached out to publications and did student org stuff- campus newspaper, environmental club, won campus awards for speechcraft & advocacy competitions... The competition for a boring job is tough. The competition for a good exciting one is even tougher.
The only bright side is that I used my minor to study what I loved. I wouldn't trade a single hour spent in field labs or a minute submerged in ice-cold water trying to identify tiny invertebrae, amazed at where life can hide.
Those memories are like gold to me now.
KieranKelsey@reddit
Honestly, so much could change in the four years between now and when you graduate, “everything going on” wise.
taaakeoonmee@reddit
The marine biology field is privileged. You need more than just passion to make it there. You will need more than a bachelor to stand out, let alone a lot of experience and networking. This will take years after college. I know a lot of people who go into studying marine biology and changing degree because the reality hits.