Presented at a Making Connections Career Exploration Workshop

1. What does it mean to
be a marine biologist?
Jessica Rohde and Megan Stachura
Graduate Students
School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
University of Washington

2. What does a marine
biologist do?
Studies in the
— as small as zooplankton
to as large as whales!
— Questions we want to answer:
— How many are there?
— Where are they? Where do they go?
— What do they eat? What eats them?
— Use a variety of tools:
— genetic and molecular
— mathematical modeling
— ecological surveys
— laboratory experiments

3. Research in the lab

4. Research at Sea

5. Megan
— BS in Marine Science
and Biology at the
University of Miami
— Studied abroad in
Australia
— Laboratory research with
the Department of
Energy
— Effects of climate
change on butterflies

6. — Internship with the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) in
Juneau, Alaska
— studying the mortality of
released sablefish due to
fishing injuries

7. — Job with the National
Park Service
— studying the physical
oceanography of
Glacier Bay National
Park in AK
— Current research at UW
— the effects of physical
(temperature) and
biological (predators,
prey) variables on
survival of young fish
in the North Pacific
Ocean

8. Jessica
— Ballard High School
— Internship studying
diatoms florescence
— BA in biology from
Colorado College
— Undergraduate
research:
— coral reef ecology in
the Turks & Caicos
Islands
— small carnivore
movement in Mongolia
— Effects of forest fires on
benthic
macroinvertebrates in
Colorado

9. Web Design
— Teaching assistant in
biology at Colorado
College
— Made websites for
different classes
— Internship at the NOAA
Alaska Fisheries Science
Center in Seattle
— Made a website for a
workshop for fisheries
scientists
— Laboratory technician in
the Oceanography
Department at Oregon
State University
— Made websites for many
different labs

10. Current Research:
Puget Sound coho salmon

11. What education is
necessary?
— Undergraduate degree in biology, fisheries,
oceanography, or a related field
— Graduate school
— Masters vs. PhD
— You can get paid to go to school!

12. What jobs can you get?
— Government Agencies
— State, tribal and federal agencies employ research
scientists and policy makers
— Department of Fish and Wildlife
— Department of Natural Resources
— National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA)
— US Geological Survey

13. What jobs can you get? cont.
— Non-governmental agencies (NGOs)
— Employ biologists as advisors, advocates and
researchers to help their organizations meet their
missions
— Nature Conservancy
— National Resource Defense Council

14. What jobs can you get? cont.
— Business, industry, and consultancy companies
— Development of technologies for research and
monitoring
— Aquaculture facility
— Biomedical research to develop new medicines
— Consulting firms
— Aquariums, zoos, museums

15. How much money can you
earn?
— Research assistant
— With BS, starting at $25-45K
— With MS, a little bit more
— University professor
— PhD necessary
— Starting at $70K, up to $100K, but really depends on the
university
— Fisheries biologist
— With MS or PhD
— Work with state or federal agency
— Starting at $55K, up to $90K

16. What can I do now?
— Take classes to prepare
— Any science classes you can
— Lots of math and statistics
— Internships and Volunteer Opportunities
— Aquarium
— People for Puget Sound
— Puget Soundkeeper Alliance
— NOAA
— Look into scholarships for college
— NOAA Hollings Scholarship

17. More Information
— UW SAFS prospective student website
— Sea Grant marine careers website

18. Questions?