<p>Schoe2, you need to chill a little. OP never said he/she was only interested in “fish and dolphins,” you’re projecting. College is about expanding your horizons and learning, not just about finding where the money is and chasing it; OP, like all adults, will figure out the balance of pragmatism and passion for him or herself. If he/she is an incoming freshman, the question before him or her is what courses to take, next month, and the answer I would give is, take an assortment, don’t fence yourself in too early, and, specifically, triple-majoring is probably not a good idea simply because you’ll have fewer choices and more stress, and not much payoff in perceived accomplishment–I actually think most people would look at a triple-major and think, kid couldn’t focus. A double major is plenty.</p>
<p>Ss, let me ask you what you do for a living. Are you happy? Are you doing what you love or are you just in it for the money? I think you’re trying to put me down because you’re bitter. In that case, instead of putting down a hopeful 17-year-old on a college forum, maybe you should try going out there and do what you want to do.</p>
<p>And marysidney, thank you for your opinion. I’m starting to think that I’ll probably just do the double major and become involved in research.</p>
<p>I am not trying to put you down because I am bitter. I just don’t want to see what happened to me happen to others. Believe it or not all throughout elementary and high school and even most of college I loved science. Anything biology or chemistry related. I had my own microscope, telescope chemistry set. I went to college and majored in biochemistry. I worked in a lab doing supervised research my final semester and continued on at the same lab into grad school.</p>
<p>I decided to get my Masters as things were turning sour by the end of year 2 and I was starting to wake up when I saw others in the lab have a B_<em>tch of a time getting jobs when they graduated and talk about hiding their PhD so they could get any job. After I got my MS I had a b</em>tch of a time getting a job. I believed the salary stats that said I should expect upper $40k’s rising to the $60k’s after getting experience. </p>
<p>Instead I was dealing with dead silence after submitting my resumes all over the country and to every headhunter in the book. The only nibbles I had were from crapo staffing agencies and I was turning down offers as little as $12 per hour without any benefits. I finally took one at $20 per hour and have had a few of these. I’m still making $20 per hour 1099 (I have to pay an extra 7.5% in taxes so the company can cheat on theirs) without benefits working max 36.5 hours a week. I no longer have any love for science. I hate my job, profession, the company I work for all of it. I really have little hope things will get any better and would absolutely never let anyone else in my family study science.</p>
<p>That is my story. I studied what I was interested and loved and it messed up my life. Do yourself a favor and don’t make the same mistake.</p>
<p>And how long ago was that? The market for young fresh scientists is growing, and in 7 or 8 years when I’m ready to enter the market, I’m sure that the availability of jobs will be much greater.</p>
<p>Marinebio444,</p>
<p>I am a science major who is hoping to come into the market with a masters in 5-6 years. Your optimism is great, don’t let anyone take that away from you because you are going to need it going into the field you are looking at. Contrary to your belief, I do not feel the same about the supposed growth in the market that you have proposed. I am with Gravenewworld somewhat here. The U.S. just has not placed a lot of value in work of scientists. I know you are only concerned about doing something you love, I was too. However, as you go on your path, you will find that as much as you don’t want to be concerned about money, you are going to have to be because there are two things in this world that speak:</p>
<p>Money and Politics</p>
<p>Beyond these two things, the fact that you have even a phd in marine biology is irrelevant. So go into it knowing that earning potential may not be that great unless you get (lucky).</p>
<p>Yes you need luck in everything, and even a little moreso in our path. You have to meet the right people at the right time in the right place. That is a gamble, and hopefully your school will get you on that way.</p>
<p>This economy is bad. It is not improving. Companies aren’t hiring. Jobs just are not there. That is now, and that may be the future. This is even more of a problem for science phd’s. When there are 500+ people applying for one position at a university (even lesser known universities), the chances of getting a job are slim to none. This is NOT going to change. A phd will in effect leave you with even more difficult prospects to deal with.</p>
<p>Biology is a science that is behind, it has not had its “golden age” yet. I have talked to professors who say that it is a true shame that we have not progressed more in this science than we have. However, the effort of Biologists isn’t what will lead to significant advances in this field. What is needed is Mathematicians. When you are analyzing things at cellular level, the mathematics can become daunting. Engineers have been looking into the signal processes of the human body, and the road blocks hit when you hand a computer a matrix that is so large that it can’t even chug through it. I know you are looking into marine biology, but in the future I am of the belief that the biology of human beings will be the most significant advancement. It will have direct effect on the quality of lives of humans, and many believe that humans life span will increase towards 120-130 years based on advancement in medicine and more advanced knowledge of the microscopic processes that occur in the body everyday. Will there be a market for marine biology? There may or may not, but I tend to ask myself the question of where is the benefit to society.</p>
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<p>The problem is that the supply of biology graduates is very large. In some schools, biology is the most popular major. This may in part be due to all of the pre-meds who mistakenly think that they have to major in biology (or do so out of convenience), but do not get into medical school (which is most of them). Chemistry graduates suffer also, since they seek many of the same jobs as biology graduates.</p>
<p>The science majors with better job and career prospects are the more heavily math-based ones, like math, statistics, and physics. There is far less of an oversupply, and oversupply is usually recruited into good paying jobs in finance and the like.</p>
<p>
Do you like to breathe? I assume you do; it’s a habit of most people. Are you aware that terrestrial plants are wholly insufficient for our oxygen needs? Phytoplankton in the ocean are responsible for the production of about 70% of atmospheric oxygen. In fact, just one genus of plankton alone - Prochlorococcus - is responsible for about one in five breaths that you take. Additionally, did you know that the amount of phytoplankton in the ocean has declined by 40% since 1950, most likely due to rising ocean temperatures? If mathematicians are capable of efficiently converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on a massive scale, we’re all set. If not, it’s best to monitor oxygen and plankton levels and, if necessary, decide what protective measures should be taken. </p>
<p>Fish is an important part of most diets, and only China and Japan consume more fish than the US. Each year, Americans consume around 5 billion pounds of seafood. Roughly 85% of that seafood is imported; American aquaculture accounts for a shockingly low 2% of American seafood consumption, in marked contrast to the 45-50% made up by foreign aquaculture. It is clear that the US is sadly lagging in aquaculture, and marine biologists are vital in the selection and management of viable species. This is particularly important since studies estimate that somewhere between 75% and 80% of the world’s fisheries are overfished, many of them drastically so. The worldwide population of krill has fallen by 80% due to climate change and (Japanese) fishing, with vertebrate species like whales, penguins, and most fish taking a tremendous hit as a result. It’s the marine equivalent of wiping out the vast majority of terrestrial grass. </p>
<p>Are you familiar with the field of marine biomedicine? The ocean is a veritable 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. There are numerous other examples. </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>In short, yes, marine science has a great deal to offer people, particularly when coupled with its sister disciplines of chemistry, geology, and engineering. Perhaps more importantly, it has the ability to affect people on a global scale, including people of all nationalities and social classes – something an iPod does not. Marine biology seems to conjure notions of Jacques Cousteau and David Attenborough to people ignorant of the larger implications of the field, and while they are entertaining to many, the importance of marine science and indeed the ocean in general goes far beyond mere entertainment value and simply cannot be overstated.</p>
<p>It is worse than that. If you get the PhD. and cannot find work relevant to your degree and that is a very strong possibility you will be in big trouble. Outside of academia and high level corporate/govt research jobs the PhD labels you as “overqualified” to almost all employers someone settling for this job and will leave when a better one comes along and as a snobby academic with no idea how the real world works to others. </p>
<p>Neither are necessarily true but employers have this book of rules that say people are not hirable. If they have a large gap in their resume, ever been fired, any bad references, bad credit, too old, not local (for less specialized positions), too inexperienced, have a non relevant advanced degree is high amongst them.</p>
<p>That was why several people I went to grads school with were debating hiding their PhD and whether leaving it out and the employer later finds out would they be fired for lying on the app. However, that leaves another problem: what to do about the 5-7 year gap in your work history.</p>