Our field is competitive, some job postings are confusing, and some career advice is contradictory or wrong. Heres an exercise I have my students perform that I hope can help you.
Graphic via Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Hardly a day goes by that I dont see a heartbreaking post from a prospective marine biologist in one of the professional Facebook groups. People are (at best) giving up on their dreams, and some even find themselves in serious financial trouble, or standed far from home. People report that they graduated without taking an optional class that they now realize they should have taken to get a job, or that they spent 5-8 years getting a Ph.D. only to learn that their dream job doesnt require one. People realize after spending years training for a job that it does not pay enough to support them and their family and that they have to pursue another career entirely. There are daily complaints from students and new graduates that the job market is complicated and confusing, or that the advice they received from mentors didnt help them.
I love my career, I hate seeing students upset, and I want to try and help people out a little. So with that in mind, here is an abbreviated version of the exercise that I have my students do in class to learn about the marine biology and conservation job market. Please note that while most of the principles here are broadly applicable, local conditions may vary in some countries, and not all of this will make sense outside of a USA context.
What general types of jobs are there?
Generally speaking, I find that lots of people are not always super clear on the difference between a marine biology job and an ocean conservation job. With the understanding that positions are increasingly interdisciplinary and these lines are often blurred, and the understanding that there are lots of jobs that dont fit neatly into any of these categories, heres a quick general description of what types of groups generally hire ocean scientists. This is very basic and does not begin to cover all the nuances out there, but many people dont even know this much, so lets start with the basics.
-Academia. Colleges and Universities are where most scientific research takes place. Relevant positions here include faculty positions, postdoctoral positions (which require a Ph.D.), graduate student positions (both to earn your Masters or your Ph.D.), and research technican/field technician positions. Jobs here are generally a mix of research and teaching.
-Government agencies. In the USA, there are jobs available in government agencies both at the Federal and state level (for coastal states). Government agencies employ research scientists as well as managers and regulators whose job it is to synthesize science into a conservation and management plan. Note that USAJobs.gov is the way to apply for (almost) all Federal jobs, and is possibly the worst website ever created by humanity, so you should seek out USAJobs specific advice.
-Environmental non-profit groups. If you want to do conservation as opposed to scientific research, this type of position is often the best opportunity. Environmental non-profits hire advocates and campaign leaders to try and persuade the public and/or government officials to help protect the ocean, and an understanding of marine biology can help here. These groups increasingly also hire scientific advisors whose job it is to advise their staff advocates, and even scientific researchers to perform research relevant to that groups goals (see above about blurry lines between positions).
-Aquariums, zoos, and environmental education centers. If you want to work with animals directly (to help take care of captive animals) or to talk about ocean science and conservation to the public (as a docent or environmental educator,) this may be the career path for you.
What should you look for in a job?
The reason that I dont like giving anything but the most general career advice on social media is that I dont know you very well. I dont know your hopes and dreams. I dont know what youre willing to compromise on vs. whats a dealbreaker for you. I dont know your familiy life, or your hobbies. So instead of telling you how to make a decision, Ill tell you how to find the information needed to make your own choices.
I have my students examine current job board postings (more on how to find these below), and I have them look at currently posted jobs even though theyre not actually applying yet. The reason for this is simple: the most effective way to learn what kinds of jobs are available, what theyd be like, and what they require is to examine what kinds of jobs are available, what theyd be like, and what they require.
I ask students to look for the following pieces of information in the job ads they find on job boards, and to reflect on them accordingly:
-Where would you be living if you took this job? Some jobs are possible to do fully remotely, some require moving. If youd have to move for this job, would you be living somewhere where you would be happy? When I talk about this on social media, some people flippantly reply that of course marine biology jobs are near the coast and students not willing to move there are lazy, but of course its more complicated than that. Maybe your partner has a great job where you currently live and cant move. Maybe you need to live near a family member who you help take care of. Lots of coastal states arent especially friendly to LGBTQ+ people or other minorities. Maybe your life isnt complete unless you can go ballroom dancing once a week with an active ballroom dancing club. Your reasons are your own, but you should consider them carefully before taking a job where you wouldnt be happy, because your job is not the only part of your life that matters.
-What would your day be like if you got this job? Look at the actual duties of the job, they may surprise you. To put it mildly, it is unlikely that youre going to find a job that consists entirely of SCUBA diving on coral reefs all day every day. Are those duties something youd enjoy doing? Would you feel challenged and valued? (Its also worth noting that a universal truth in most fields is that the higher up you go in a career, the more supervision and managerial/admin type tasks youll be doing).
-How much freedom would you have? Some people really love to just perform their assigned tasks with lots of guidance and supervision, some people prefer to have flexibility to let their creativity run wild. Most entry level jobs have relatively little flexibility, youre far more likely to be a proverbial cog in a machine than to be asked to help to design the machines structure and outputs.
-What kind of job security and opportunities for advancement are there? Some positions are explicitly temporary (seasonal field tech, maternity leave cover, one-year fellowship, etc.) It may not make sense for you to move halfway around the world for a six month job with no possibility of extension.
-What skills or degrees does the job require? If the job does not require a Ph.D. and you could see yourself being happy doing this job (or ones like it) your whole career, it may not be worthwhile to get a Ph.D. If the job requires a Masters, you should probably plan on getting a Masters to do this job or one like it. If the job explicitly requires a technical skill like using ARCGIS or Python or MARXAN or rescue diver certification or something, you should strongly consider trying to learn those skills through an elective course while youre still a student. You should be aware of the difference between required skills and desired skills, as one is, well, required. If a job ad lists 10 desired skills and you dont have any of those skills, youre probably not a strong candidate for that position, but if you have 2 or 3, Id encourage you to apply because its likely that no one has all 10 and the people posting the job ad know that.
-What does the job pay? None of us pursue this career to get rich, but weve all got bills to pay and some of us have families to support. If you cannot survive on the provided salary and cant afford to take that job and need to consider another career path, its probably best to learn that now rather than after youve spent years pursuing a stressful and technical graduate degree. Lots of jobs dont post their salary, which is bad, because they should. But you can often find a similar job that does post a salary and assume itd be fairly similar. And salary commensurate with experience is not a great sign if you are looking for your first job and therefore dont have very much experience yet.
Discussion with students
Students are asked to look at lots of different types of jobs, but specifically to find one that looks like a dream job for them, one that looks miserable to them, and one surprising one that they didnt know was a job. After I have students look for jobs and record all of the information above, which can be done individually or in small groups depending on your class size, I bring everyone back together for a discussion.
Students are asked to share jobs they found and relevant info about those jobs. Students are asked to discuss if anything surprised them. Students are asked to think about if their current degree program provides them with the types of skills needed for these jobs, or if a new class or program is needed. And finally, students can ask questions.
Jobs boards
There are many marine biology jobs boards, but here are the ones I use for my course. It is likely that you will be able to find most currently posted jobs by examining and comparing these three. And be sure to check back reguarly, as now jobs are added weekly!
SevenSeas ocean jobs
Conservation Careers
Florida SeaGrants Facebook page (weekly job postings)
Conclusions
If youre a student or prospective student interested in marine biology as a career, Id encourage you to try this exercise. If youre teaching students, Id encourage you to incorporate some version of this into your course or lab meetings. Anyone is free to modify this however you like, I just ask that you let me know if you find a way that works better!
I cant help to create more jobs or better paying jobs or jobs in different places, but I hope that Ive helped to clear up some of the confusing parts of the marine biology and conservation job market.
Happy job hunting!
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Here's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservation - Southern Fried Science