<p>Hello everybody!
so i've gotten out of college with an undergraduate degree in biotechnology. I'm interested in doing Masters in marine biology. I have to say, so interesting this field sounds it is also one of the most , unwanted as some people put it. I know for certain it is not so. But some other people i've spoken to say that if i wanted to make a good living, this is not the field. So they managed to convince me for a short time that it indeed was useless, well the field is too narrowed down - so it might be right.
So i chose another field which is called Environmental Marine Sciences, how would this fare against all the critic reviews?
what do you think?
also marine biologists tend to be mainly zoologists and have also studied bio related topics, they might know something which i do not. I have knowledge in fields like biochem, genetics, immunology and other lab oriented topics - Biotechnology
would i need to study anything else?
looking forward to replies, Need Help
loco - crazy
nudibranch - my search for the best career option hasn't led me any where far, slow as a sea slug !</p>
<p>Help me out people ! :)</p>
<p>
Oh, I don’t know about that. You certainly have organismal fields like marine zoology and marine botany, but you also have marine conservation and fisheries management (public policy), aquaculture (agriculture/business), micropaleontology (climate change), microbiology and environmental toxicology (environmental science/health), and many others. </p>
<p>For example, are you familiar with the field of marine biomedicine? The ocean is a cornucopia of untapped and unidentified chemical compounds that show tremendous promise for drug development. For example, marine biologists at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography recently isolated a previously unknown compound, hoiamide A, from cyanobacteria that could assist with a number of neurodegenerative disorders. The compound batzelline, found in sponges, has been proven to be effective against cancer. As you may know given your screenname, nudibranchs are very popular for neuroscience research. </p>
<p>Marine organisms have also proven themselves useful in engineering. Many fish like tuna approach nearly 100% propulsion efficiency. Marine biologists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution worked with engineers from MIT to develop boats that emulated the movement of penguins and tuna and exceeded 85% efficiency; existing boats are typically less than 70% efficient.</p>
<p>I recommend first considering why you want to go to grad school. Graduate school is long and often pretty stressful, and it doesn’t pay terribly well. Make sure you know why you’re going and exactly what you hope/plan to get out of it. </p>
<p>I recommend looking for programs that interest you and best serve your career goals. That may very well be a program in marine organismal biology, many of which would probably be happy to admit you, even if you’d have less of a zoology background than some other applicants. If you’re particularly interested in the applications of neuroscience, genetics, and the like to marine biology, check out programs like USC and UCSD that blend marine biology and biotechnology.</p>
<p>[UCSD</a> :: CMBB : TRAINING PROGRAM IN MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY](<a href=“http://cmbb.ucsd.edu/tpmb/]UCSD”>http://cmbb.ucsd.edu/tpmb/)
[University</a> of South Carolina | Graduate Education | Marine Biomedicine & Environmental Sciences](<a href=“http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/mbes/GraduateEdu/index.htm]University”>http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/mbes/GraduateEdu/index.htm)</p>
<p>It’s true that marine science is an extremely competitive field. Some of the applied aspects of marine science get a lot of funding, and I think there’s an increasing amount of jobs in those fields, but it’s admittedly still a fairly small job market.</p>
<p>Thank you bro for your concern. I plan to study grad school because i’m interested in research, those fields you mentioned - biomedicine and the rest are exactly what i’m looking for. If you could tell me about colleges in Australia, it would prove very helpful to me. Particularly this college called the James Cook University. Also would like to add that the idea of studying abroad for an international student like me who looks forward to studying in Australia, that will cost a freaking LOT, according to my estimate its around 50000 AUD converting that into local currency it sums up to 7 digits starting with a 6 !
not being a pessimist here but, If in the darkest of times say i dont land a decent job in either of the fields i’ve mentioned above, Would i be able to repay whatever money i’ve borrowed from the local Governament? basically what i mean to ask is would i be able to make money by working more with only the biotech degree?
Country in consideration - Australia
but if you can share info about how it works in the US, i wont say no to it!
thanks again buddy. i’ve graduated from a slow nudibranch to a not so slow one :)</p>
<p>Loco I think the original advice you got was slightly out of date. More recently (as Warbler indicates), the field of Biology has been developing more applications within industry. These fields tend to have the term tech or engineering associated with them, such as Biotech, Biomedical Engineering, etc. As already mentioned, drug discovery is such a field. </p>
<p>There is also the emerging field of Biomimicry/Biomimetics which looks to nature for solutions to engineering problems. Here is some general information on Biomimicry</p>
<p>[Janine</a> Benyus: Biomimicry in action | Video on TED.com](<a href=“http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html]Janine”>http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html)</p>
<p>and a lab with which I am familiar:</p>
<p>[Tufts</a> University: Neuromechanics and Biomimetics Devices LabHome](<a href=“Neuromechanics and Biomimetic Devices Lab | Department of Biology”>Neuromechanics and Biomimetic Devices Lab | Department of Biology)</p>
<p>In this field, it would be good to either have a strong biology background with some exposure to engineering, or a strong engineering background with some exposure to biology. This field could be further specialized to marine biomimicry, but I would be careful going there. Just remember that in these multidisciplinary fields you often work as a member of a team and are expected to bring a core expertise to the team as well as an understanding of some of the other disciplines, not a shallow understanding of all disciplines. Internships/special projects/research that provides hands on work rather than just book- learning are important. This a small field so it is important to try to develop connections to people who are already in it via organiations/societies/events/research.</p>
<p>Within the field of Biotech there is an emerging specialty called Marine Biotech (or sometimes Blue Biotech). Please note that emerging means new/small, but trending in the right direction (i.e. growth). This means there is a different risk/reward profile than established fields, so you need to be comfortable with that. Employment opportunities may be in small start-up companies. In general, it is a good idea to look ahead to your next career step and then try to use your current step to build a bridge from where you are now to where you want to go. </p>
<p>In general, if you want to go into industry, then look for related professional societies/organizations/conferences/trade shows and get connected. Also look for who is sponsoring the research at the schools you are evaluating because companies often use those relationships as a recruiting pipeline. Recruiting tends to be regional for pragmatic reasons, so consider positioning yourself in the right geography as well. Massachusetts and Southern California are big biotech centers and Maryland and Florida are investing heavily in the sub-specialty of Marine Biotech.</p>
<p>Above all, do your research and make sure this is really what you want to do with your life. Here are some more links to get you started Good Luck!</p>
<p>[MARINEBIOTECH.ORG</a> | Welcome](<a href=“http://www.marinebiotech.org/]MARINEBIOTECH.ORG”>http://www.marinebiotech.org/)</p>
<p>[Center</a> of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology | About the Center](<a href=“http://www.floridabiotech.com/about.html]Center”>http://www.floridabiotech.com/about.html)</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to Wrightsville Beach Magazine](<a href=“http://www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/article.asp?aid=243&iid=42&sud=27]Welcome”>http://www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/article.asp?aid=243&iid=42&sud=27)</p>
<p><a href=“Page Not Found: Error 404”>http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/websites/retiredsites/natdia_pdf/18udel.pdf</a></p>
<p>[Institute</a> of Marine and Environmental Technology | The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science](<a href=“http://www.umces.edu/imet]Institute”>Institute of Marine & Environmental Technology | University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science)</p>
<p><a href=“http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/flsgp/flsgps01001.pdf[/url]”>http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/flsgp/flsgps01001.pdf</a></p>
<p>Loco - our posts crossed. My experience base is industry, not academia. From my vantage point if you are looking into academic research, then it is safer to position yourself in a field that allows you to have a backup career path of either research or applications within industry. Someone from academia may be able to give you their perspective.</p>
<p>U Miami has a study abroad program with James Cook so it probably works in the other direction. Both these schools are superb at marine biology. I have not seen their names come up as much in the area of marine biotech, but things are changing quickly in this field</p>
<p>Thank you Mastadon !
i’ve been reading, those links proved very helpful. if you have some more - post them please 
and also i know that some colleges offer a Marine biotechnology masters too
now i have a 4-year undergrad degree in biotech and with a topping of Msc in marine biology
would i be considered equivalent to Marine biotechnologists?</p>
<p>Not sure what you mean by “equivalent.” A bachelor’s degree in something is never equivalent to a master’s degree.</p>
<p>That is, if you don’t pursue marine biotech as your particular master’s specialty and you have no real-world experience in the field, just getting a random marine biology master’s would not really make you “equivalent” just because you have an undergrad degree in biotech. You would be missing out on specific coursework and practical research aimed at that specialty.</p>
<p>Graduate school is highly focused - if you’re interested in a particular specialty, you should look for programs that emphasize that field.</p>
<p>yes that is right. what i am looking for is something that encompasses both the aspects of marine biology and a marine biotechnology in one!
that would be nice, i would want to be able to go out and collect samples AND process and analyse them myself.
i wonder if there are any like that.</p>