Answer 1:
I haven't been a biologist for very long, so
here's what I've learned so far.
1. There
are many possible jobs open to marine
biologists. You might teach at a high
school, community college, a four-year "teaching"
college, or a large university. You could work
for the government, monitoring the effects of
pollution, human development, or climate change.
You might do research, either in the
environment or in a laboratory. That research
might cover a huge range of topics, from how whole
communities change over time down to what
molecules are involved in specific biological
processes. You might also be a science writer
or consultant, working for news or
governmental agencies. There's probably a thousand
other jobs I haven't thought of, too!
2. If you're doing research, there's probably
more demand in areas near the ocean. That
would let you be there at your research site, or
be there to collect the things you need for
research in the lab. If you're a teacher, a
government official, or a writer, you could
probably live anywhere.
3. I have no idea, unfortunately.
I know that high school and community college
teachers don't get paid a lot, but they usually
make enough money to get by. Government workers
probably get paid a little more, and researchers
more than that. Science writers probably have the
widest range in pay, and I think it would depend
on the organization you were working
for.
4. The only risks I can think of would
be for researchers, and those are very small. I
suppose if you were doing your research in the
ocean, you might get bitten or stung by an animal,
or you might have a boat or SCUBA accident. In the
lab, you might have to work with some toxic
chemicals that you'd need to be careful around.
All of these possibilities seem pretty remote,
though. The other potential risk is that some
researchers have to write grants to apply for
money to fund their research, and there's always
the possibility that you won't get the money you
request. This is called being funded by "soft"
money. People who do good research usually seem
to find enough funding, though.
Click Here to return to the search form.
|
