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Asked by anon-373176 to Octavia, Eloise, Ashley H on 7 Nov 2023.
Question: can u give me any advice on marine biology
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Octavia Brayley answered on 7 Nov 2023:
There are lots of universities in this country (and other countries) where you can study marine biology. For example- Bangor, Plymouth, St Andrews, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Edinburgh and many more. A quick Google search brings them all up. From there, you can look at the university websites and it’ll tell you the entry requirements for their degrees. This will vary between each university and this can give you an indication about what subjects at A-Level you’ll need to take. Usually, biology is the main one, and chemistry can also be useful (as well as physics and maths if you want to!) You’ll need to submit a personal statement alongside your grades when you apply to university and they really like to see that you’ve gained some work experience or voluntary work. For example, you can have a look at the Marine Biological Association and Marine Conservation Society websites to see lots of opportunities. If there’s an aquarium or something else marine-related near you, send them an email and ask if you can come in for a few days! Never be afraid to email people and ask if there are any opportunities. And of course, there are lots of other things you can do for work experience and volunteering that are non-marine related and would still be great on applications. For example, I volunteered at a museum and an animal sanctuary when I was a teenager. If you’re not 100% sure about marine biology, you can do a biology or zoology degree instead which is a bit broader and gives you the option to specialise in many different things if you go on to do further degrees. So, if you changed your mind about marine biology halfway through a degree, then you have lots of experience and knowledge in other areas. If you want to be a researcher, then you have to go through the university and academic route. However, there are plenty of options to work in marine science without being an academic…for example, you could be a public engagement officer or educator, or work for a marine conservation/science charity and run their marketing or communications. My advice would be to spend time researching your options, email lots of people, and have a few plans in place for what you might like to do. Work experience can also be great to rule things out…you might not enjoy working in an aquarium, which is fine! You will have gained some skills and now you know that you don’t want to do that in the future. I hope that helps and let me know if you have any further questions 🙂
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Eloise Greenwood answered on 8 Nov 2023:
Hello! I studied Marine Biology at the University of Plymouth and I really enjoyed it. At the university of Plymouth you can choose between Straight Marine Biology (this is what I did), Marine Biology & Coastal Ecology, and Marine Biology & Oceanography. This gives you an option to study more broadly or focus in on certain aspects you like.
I studied Biology, Chemistry and Religious Studies at A levels and these subjects were acceptable for the degree. Biology is a must, then the other two subjects does not matter as much, but I would recommend Chemistry also as my first year of uni we did a lot of chemistry related topics as you will learn all about the chemical make up of the ocean.
If you study marine biology you will have the opportunity to go abroad and do some fieldwork – my course offered going to France and Portugal.
The career opportunities from studying marine biology are quite broad:
You could be a researcher, work in conservation, work in a lab, work in an aquarium, have a scuba diving job (teaching people or maybe you would work in coral conservation). The skills you gain from the degree are transferrable meaning you can apply them to most environmental job roles! So do not worry if you are not 100% sure on what you want your job to be in the future. I never thought I would be working in the world of Sustainability from my marine biology degree, but I love it!.
Feel free to ask more specific questions if you need 🙂
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Ashley Hecklinger answered on 8 Nov 2023:
I would suggest looking into the different types of career paths within marine biology. I would sit down and think about what you would like to spend most of your time doing – working in a lab, out on a research vessel processing samples, out in the field collecting data and performing surveys, in a classroom environment as a teacher, or perhaps a researcher at a university, or in an office working directly with industry to make change? Are you interested in working for a non-profit (NGO), a conservation / wildlife rehabilitation / rescue agency? You will likely get to do a variety of these things regardless of which career path you follow, but identifying what you are most interested in may help narrow down career paths. Similarly, think about if you really are wanting to work with a certain type of animal, habitat, or in a particular region (arctic, tropical).
Once you have an idea of what it is you are interested in, try to look for volunteering opportunities and internships to gain experience and have references. Start looking into requirements for universities you are interested in, and then having a look at salary and career prospects for different types of marine biology jobs.
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