Careers dealing with reefs/fish/ocean

luconi · 04/05/2012, 08:39 PM

Hi, I'm currently a junior in high school and I absolutely am interested in going into a job that deals with the ocean and the life in it, specifically the reef. I'm very interested in a job dealing with marine life more than things such as chemistry. Of course the most obvious job would be a marine biologist, but there is a huge field of careers in this area and I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me any careers that come to mind and possibly a description as well. Do not let salary, academic achievement, or the statement of my preference above limit your answers please. I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section. Thank you!

TPSante · 04/05/2012, 08:44 PM

I'm afraid that in most cases you are going to run into some Chemistry. Not one science major in college excludes chem. you should contact the education department at a public aquarium. They will have definite answers for you.

Andrew · 04/05/2012, 08:51 PM

Being a biology major myself at The Ohio State University you will have to endure many chemistry classes so might as well get use to it now and learn the material. Chemistry plays a vital role in many fields you will be looking into so having a good background will only help. For my required courses as a Biology Major I will actually be taking more chemistry classes in the end.

I will second what TPSanta said and get in touch with a local aquarium or the nearest to you and chat with them about careers and just to get a feel to what you would be getting yourself into. Where are you located? Do you have any colleges in mind you would like to look into?

luconi · 04/05/2012, 09:54 PM

Thank you for your suggestions. Actually, I don't mind chem and am planning on taking AP Chem next year. I was just trying to make the point that I am more interested in the biology aspect. I am in Illinois, and although I've only been to the ocean a few times, I have always been interested in water and several years ago became very interested in marine life-specifically reefs and the animals living there. Currently I don't have many colleges in mind. I had thought of attending the University of Chicago or Northwestern University because I had thought of becoming a doctor, pharmacist, or chemical engineer, but I realized that my true passion seems to be more in the ocean. I hadn't thought of contacting an aquarium. Thank you for that idea!

kaipo13 · 04/05/2012, 09:57 PM

Chemical engineers make more $$.... :P you can always surf/scuba in your down time!

luconi · 04/05/2012, 10:00 PM

Haha, I've considered that, but I also want to be able to wake up in the morning and be excited about my job. ----Oops, I just realized that I put this in the New to the Hobby Section. It was supposed to go in reef discussion. Oh well..

TPSante · 04/06/2012, 04:28 AM

When looking into schools, make sure to concentrate your search on the coastal states. Most of the bigger schools here have excellent MB departments....plus you'll most likely be by the beach! East coast will probably have more to do with reef systems, as there are more reefs in the Southern Atlantic and Caribbean. You are lucky to have the internet, it will help you with your search. We didn't have any of that so I ended up at a tiny school in Ohio with an excellent science department, but not much in the way of MB.

sucker_fish · 04/06/2012, 07:47 AM

University of California San Diego has an excellent marine biology program and they are located right on the beach, there is a marine preserve right next to it and they have a decent aquarium.

luconi · 04/06/2012, 02:24 PM

Awesome, thanks for letting me know about some of the colleges. Going to college near/on a beach sounds great.

04/05/2012, 08:39 PM	#1
luconi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 273	Careers dealing with reefs/fish/ocean Hi, I'm currently a junior in high school and I absolutely am interested in going into a job that deals with the ocean and the life in it, specifically the reef. I'm very interested in a job dealing with marine life more than things such as chemistry. Of course the most obvious job would be a marine biologist, but there is a huge field of careers in this area and I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me any careers that come to mind and possibly a description as well. Do not let salary, academic achievement, or the statement of my preference above limit your answers please. I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section. Thank you!

04/05/2012, 08:44 PM	#2
TPSante Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 48	I'm afraid that in most cases you are going to run into some Chemistry. Not one science major in college excludes chem. you should contact the education department at a public aquarium. They will have definite answers for you. __________________ 60 cube, OCReef 120w Cree LED, Reef Octo 4 skimmer, mp-10, sedra 7 return, 20g sump, 60lbs LR, 1 maroon clown, 1 Randall's Anthias, toadstool, frogspawn, duncans.

04/06/2012, 04:28 AM	#7
TPSante Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 48	When looking into schools, make sure to concentrate your search on the coastal states. Most of the bigger schools here have excellent MB departments....plus you'll most likely be by the beach! East coast will probably have more to do with reef systems, as there are more reefs in the Southern Atlantic and Caribbean. You are lucky to have the internet, it will help you with your search. We didn't have any of that so I ended up at a tiny school in Ohio with an excellent science department, but not much in the way of MB. __________________ 60 cube, OCReef 120w Cree LED, Reef Octo 4 skimmer, mp-10, sedra 7 return, 20g sump, 60lbs LR, 1 maroon clown, 1 Randall's Anthias, toadstool, frogspawn, duncans.

04/06/2012, 07:47 AM	#8
sucker_fish Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Covington, TN Posts: 441	University of California San Diego has an excellent marine biology program and they are located right on the beach, there is a marine preserve right next to it and they have a decent aquarium. __________________ <------- Have you ever seen tortoises playing leapfrog? Current Tank Info: 40 B w/ T5's and tunze 9002 skimmer. no sump. 90 gal. mixed reef, 36"x16"x16" sump/fuge, reef octopus xp2000 skimmer, water blaster hy5000 return.

04/05/2012, 08:51 PM	#3
Andrew Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 13,640	Being a biology major myself at The Ohio State University you will have to endure many chemistry classes so might as well get use to it now and learn the material. Chemistry plays a vital role in many fields you will be looking into so having a good background will only help. For my required courses as a Biology Major I will actually be taking more chemistry classes in the end. I will second what TPSanta said and get in touch with a local aquarium or the nearest to you and chat with them about careers and just to get a feel to what you would be getting yourself into. Where are you located? Do you have any colleges in mind you would like to look into?

04/05/2012, 09:54 PM	#4
luconi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 273	Thank you for your suggestions. Actually, I don't mind chem and am planning on taking AP Chem next year. I was just trying to make the point that I am more interested in the biology aspect. I am in Illinois, and although I've only been to the ocean a few times, I have always been interested in water and several years ago became very interested in marine life-specifically reefs and the animals living there. Currently I don't have many colleges in mind. I had thought of attending the University of Chicago or Northwestern University because I had thought of becoming a doctor, pharmacist, or chemical engineer, but I realized that my true passion seems to be more in the ocean. I hadn't thought of contacting an aquarium. Thank you for that idea!

04/05/2012, 09:57 PM	#5
kaipo13 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Hawaii Posts: 138	Chemical engineers make more $$.... :P you can always surf/scuba in your down time!

04/05/2012, 10:00 PM	#6
luconi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 273	Haha, I've considered that, but I also want to be able to wake up in the morning and be excited about my job. ----Oops, I just realized that I put this in the New to the Hobby Section. It was supposed to go in reef discussion. Oh well..

04/06/2012, 02:24 PM	#9
luconi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 273	Awesome, thanks for letting me know about some of the colleges. Going to college near/on a beach sounds great.