Marine Biology, Biology, or Environmental Science.

[warblersrule]

<p>

Now, im debating if I should just do Environmental Science, and do Marine Biology in Grad school. Now on the other hand, if I should do Biology in Undergrad and do Marine Biology in Grad school. I need help, I just really want to explore the coral reefs in the future with my profession. I definitely don’t want to do something I will regret. Please guys, help me. Educate me with this whole process.

This has been asked a lot on these forums. The advice you’ve been given to avoid marine biology as an undergrad was a good one; I don’t think it’s a wise choice for an undergraduate degree. I vote for option #2 of the pathways you presented.</p>

<p>MusicCitySop is 100% correct about jobs in coral reef ecology and marine mammalogy being nearly nonexistent. (Rather regrettable and shortsighted. Bleaching is a huge problem, and many areas rely on corals and other attractions for tourism income.) There has been considerable research into the chemical aspects of corals, though. Corals produce tons of toxic chemicals that are a potential gold mine for drug research, so they’re becoming a hot topic in marine biomedicine. Of course, that would require you learning a lot more chemistry than most biology majors are comfortable with. </p>

<p>(S)he is also right about field research…you’re lucky if you get to spend more than two weeks in the field each year. Research cruises are expensive! Those doing coastal conservation work (often more geology than biology-oriented) get a bit more time outside, but most still spend more time inside than outside. Arguably the best job prospects for marine biology (which isn’t saying much) right now are in fisheries management and aquaculture. These don’t appeal to everyone (i.e. monitoring catfish in rural Texas or Arkansas isn’t exactly what prospective marine biologists think of). </p>

<p>Rather than write out a response, I will refer you to the rather long and detailed responses I’ve given others asking similar questions:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13747771-post3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13747771-post3.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13474941-post2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13474941-post2.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13087010-post4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13087010-post4.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12882993-post5.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12882993-post5.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It is not at all necessary to attend college near water. In fact, most of my classmates and I attended landlocked colleges, though most have some sort of summer research experience in/near water.</p>