<p>Can somebody tell me what the path to becoming a marine biologist would be like in terms of education? For instance, I’m guessing you have to go to grad school, but I’m not completely sure. Could you also tell me what future job and salary prospects for a marine biologist are?</p>
<p>I think marine biology could potentially be a very interesting field;however, I do not want to pursue it if it will not make enough money for me (and hopefully my future family) to live comfortably.</p>
<p>you may be thinking, biology would be a good major for a marine biologist, but that is wrong! you won’t learn anything related to even animals in biology, it’s all genetics, biochemistry, yeast and bacteria. i’ve never taken a single class using things bigger than a sea urchin as a model organism. almost all of my class and lab work was on the cellular and molecular level and mostly related to genetics. that is modern biology.</p>
<p>instead, you should learn chemistry or chemical engineering. it has the same amount of content related to animals as biology (none) but you should have opportunities to take classes in environmental chemistry, environmental processes and water analysis, which are indispensible tools for any marine biologists. in fact, these are the classes that biology students can’t take because they need math and physics! there’s nothing a marine biologist can do that chemists or chemical engineers can’t.</p>
<p>[US</a> Schools offering Marine Biology degrees - MarineBio.org](<a href=“http://marinebio.org/MarineBio/Careers/US-schools.asp]US”>http://marinebio.org/MarineBio/Careers/US-schools.asp)</p>
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<p>This is just not true. I looked up a couple of schools, and they all have non-molecular options in biology and course work specifically focused on non-molecular aspects of biology (ecology, icthyology, ornithology, biology of invertebrates, biology of arthropods, etc). </p>
<p>Again, the claim that biology would not be a good major for a marine biologist because you won’t learn anything related to even animals in the course of a biology major is false. The question as to whether a career in marine biology is better serviced by an undergraduate background in a fundamental science like chemistry vs. a formal program in marine biology is a separate issue.</p>
<p>[Marine</a> Careers :: Marine Biology](<a href=“http://www.marinecareers.net/field_marinebiology.php]Marine”>http://www.marinecareers.net/field_marinebiology.php)
[Careers</a> in Oceanography, Marine Science & Marine Biology](<a href=“http://ocean.peterbrueggeman.com/career.html]Careers”>Careers in Oceanography, Marine Science & Marine Biology)
[NOAA</a> Magazine Online (Story 179)](<a href=“http://www.magazine.noaa.gov/stories/mag179.htm]NOAA”>http://www.magazine.noaa.gov/stories/mag179.htm)
[NAML:</a> National Association of Marine Laboratories](<a href=“http://www.naml.org/]NAML:”>http://www.naml.org/)
[Preparation</a> for a Career in Marine Biology](<a href=“http://www-marine.stanford.edu/HMSweb/Webster.html]Preparation”>http://www-marine.stanford.edu/HMSweb/Webster.html)</p>
<p>Theoretically schools do have “non-molecular” classes, in reality only a few will be open since the number of non-molecular/biochemistry focused biology majors is so few. my school has 3 avaliable, and none related to animals - plant biotech, evolution, computational genetics. a chemistry or chemical engineering degree is better.</p>
<p>This was not true at the schools where I’ve attended and/or taught (Claremont Colleges, MIT, Yale). I don’t think your experience at your particular school is sufficiently generalizable to make such a blanket statement absent supporting data. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and your claim that organismal biology is essentially unavailable within current biology programs is an extraordinary claim.</p>
<p>You do raise an important point, however–different schools have different curricula with different emphases, and when looking at programs students need to go beyond department and major titles and make sure the school offers what they are looking for.</p>
<p>And I am all for non-traditional paths–I was a pure math major who subsequently segued into laboratory biology–but for marine biology a “chemical engineering degree is better”? Really?</p>
<p>Thanks for the info guys. I agree with Grad though on the chemical engineering. Also, isn’t chemical engineering arguably the hardest major? So wouldn’t it be unwise to take the hardest major considering that I would have to go to grad school later?</p>
<p>well, i wouldn’t say so, chemical engineering is “hard” only because it combines 2 different types of thinking, both quantitative and qualitative. i don’t know about other schools but in mine ChemE takes 1 less math class than the other engineers as well as fulfilling all but 4 class requirements for the chemistry major. most people either have trouble with the calculations (biology types), or can’t handle the qualitative concepts (hardcore EE/physics types). but it truly is a broad, interdisciplinary major that, with the right electives, allows one to be good at: math, biology, chemistry, and physics. it is great preparation for any graduate school.</p>