scubatim

Hey guys, so out of curiosity, I'm just wondering what kinds of careers are there for someone who loves scuba diving, likes the ocean, finds marine biology fascinating and likes aquatic animals in general? I know the obvious choice is marine biology, but since that's such a small field, I'm wondering what other fields or specific jobs are related that I could maybe look into. I think I would like ichythology as well, not sure what else. I don't know if I would have any interest in lab research yet....I like being out in the field, so maybe field research would have more interest for me. I'm kind of just looking for general advice, whether to get a M.S. or PhD, what the pay rate is (unfortunately paying bills is a fact of life for all of us), job conditions, etc. Thanks!

Yes, UC Davis does, however I've perused their web site and of course the information is rather vague and not very helpful. I haven't talked to anyone in person but my experience with counselors is that they don't really give you any information you didn't already know; hell most of the time they don't even answer your questions. I figured I'd rather ask people who may already be employed or know those who are since the information might be more pinpoint and accurate than that I would get from a careers department. Although speaking of which, I need to drop a question in the physics forum too and find out what textbook everyone would recommend for general/intro calc-based physics, since I hear UC Davis tries to teach physics without the math and the textbook they use is atrocious.

Well, I'm glad I found this forum since I have plenty of questions related to science careers...figured I'd find something if I typed in "science forums" on a search engine. Here's my predicament. I started out college three years ago with the intention of applying to medical school after I got my bachelor's degree. Over the years, and especially working as an EMT, I'm realizing that of the reasons I wanted to become a doctor (prestige, job security, no worry about financial future, helping others), only one still exists out of four unfortunately. And at the rate that the insurance companies are dictating medical care, I wonder if doctors will even be able to help people much in the future given that both their hands will be firmly tied behind their backs unless the insurance companies are reigned in. Anyway, so I'm majoring in marine biology, and as a result of SCUBA diving, I have very much confirmed that I love the ocean and I'd love to make a science career out of it. I figure I'm getting the degree anyway, I might as well use it. The only issue is that I'm not sure how big the market is, whether it's feasible to break into, or whether the pay is enough to live decently. I don't care if I live like a king, but I would like to have some money left over after bills each month so I can go SCUBA diving regularly. So what would my best option be? Advanced degrees? Government job? Research institute? At this point, I'm completely open to staying in college and getting an advanced degree if that's what it takes. I have a 3.95 GPA currently, am involved in at least one club, have volunteered in a hospital before, SCUBA dive whenever I can, and I work as an EMT, so I would hope I'd be competitive for graduate programs as far as academics, extracurriculars and everything else goes. It looks like the best marine biology programs are at UCSB and Scripps at UCSD. I'm sure the question will arise of whether I like research or not since any science career will involve that, and I honestly can't tell you since I haven't done any yet. However, I love problem solving and investigating something to find out an answer to a question I have, so I would think those qualities would make me compatible with research. Anyway, any advice, comments, etc. will be appreciated!

Hey, what's up? You can see from my sig anyway, but my name's Tim, I'm an Emergency Medical Technician working in Sacramento and I'm an active SCUBA diver. I love science, have since I was little, especially marine biology thanks to having the privilege of going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium frequently when I was younger (no I didn't live there, parents just went there a lot on vacation). I'm transferring from a California community college to UC Davis for the Fall quarter of 2008, although I'll probably start in the summer. My favorite science is biology, with chemistry being a close runner-up, although I'm not too much of a fan of math. I recognize that it's useful, and calculus is just simply powerful stuff, but I could take it or leave it.