re: Is anybody here a marine biologist?

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only knew one guy that saw it through to PhD, he knew there wasn't any decent money in the field but he wanted to bang coeds and was happy with that


FIFY

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totally worth it

I was going to be an architect first. But then I caught the lure of the sea. The sea was angry that day, my friend.

I am but dont work as one. I prefer not to be broke. Graduate of Nicholls State.

Ed Ricketts was.

I work with a few in the oil and gas business. They are helping permit some offshore infrastructure by assessing impacts to ichthyoplankton, marine mammals, essential fish habitat, etc, all the marine resources you have to quantify for some permits and approvals. They make decent money but aren't necessarily swimming with manatees, they got jobs in a profitable field.

Believe it or not, I do have an undergraduate degree in marine biology. But my graduate degrees focused more so inland freshwater ecosystems so career wise I was really more of freshwater ecologist & fisheries biologist but I occasionally I did a little estuarine & marine work with shrimp at various points in my career - I never did the “whale” or coral reef stuff. LOL. I taught the freshwater equivalent of Oceanography for many years, which is called Limnology (new term of the day).

That said, my wife was a practicing marine biologist doing work in the Gulf of Mexico for many years working for the LA Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries - I met her as an undergraduate when were both majoring in marine biology. She didn’t do the “whale” or glamorous Jacques Cousteau coral reef stuff either - actually only a small percentage of practicing marine biologists do that type of work, but 99% of entering marine biology undergraduate students think or dream that’s what they are going to do career wise - they are provided a dose of reality pretty quickly by their advisors.

That Steinfeld episode with George Constanta might be my favorite.

George Costanza is, but I'm not sure if he posts here.

We might be related. It was the go to answer for at least 1 girl in every elementary class through jr high I had growing up on ice breaker day.

I've never met one.

I actually know a few! Love their jobs but without a spouse, they’d be broke.

Crazy trips make up for it. One is a research scientist. One works for SeaWorld. One is our kids’ favorite teacher, and works GA Aquarium on the side. Another was a teacher and works full time at the aquarium. My wife would gladly quit teaching for sea turtle rescue.