Are there any marine biology experts here?? Questions about it.

PatTheAnchor · #1 03-27-2009, 11:45 PM

Well I'm a sophomore in high school, and I have decided that I don't want to be a lawyer, I don't want to deal with business (like Kennedy's daddy said, "They're sons of b*****s"), and I don't want to exactly become a medical doctor, but I'm still interested in science.

I want to know if these classes are good enough for setting me up for marine biology:
AP Physics
AP Biology
AP Chemistry

Additionally, I want to know if there are any "sampler" summer courses hosted by Universities/colleges that are for high school students, so that I could get an idea of how it is personally.

Final questions:
Is diving one of the required things for this field?
How competitive is this field?
Is it fun?

Many thanks,
Pat

Edit: I'm not sure how good I am at biology, I took an honors class last year, but was asleep 40% of the time but managed to get a final average of a 91%, so I'm not sure if I should take AP Biology.
I'm doing pretty good in honors chemistry, I currently have a 90% in the first quarter. I've been thinking about what kind of job I'll want to do, but I just couldn't see myself enjoying business or banking. Playing with turtles and studying in cool places seems more enjoyable.

Thanks again!

hbarcat · #2 03-27-2009, 11:56 PM

I'm not sure what to say, except you get out only as much as you put in.

Biology, especially.

MCBTunes · #3 03-28-2009, 12:09 AM

Bio, Chem and Physics are all helpful classes and I'd recommend taking them all in high school if you're going to University, especially for a natural science major. I'm a Canadian so I don't know anything about your area or what is "good enough," so speak to your councilor regarding that stuff. For specific info regarding the field try emailing some professors at near by(or far away if you plan on relocating) universities that specialize in that field. They will be honest with you and many will even welcome you to meet with them to discuss what sort of things marine biologists do, how much they get paid, if there is work, how much schooling it'll take(yo u may need a masters or PhD to get any significant work) or any other questions you may have.

I can't see marinee biology not being fun if that is what you are interested in.

You still have lots of time to decide... you should be able to take a broad range of classes in your first and even second year of university to get a feel for what you really like if you haven't decided by then. This is one reason I took all the available sciences in high school I figured I might bounce around quite a bit once I hit university.

dave64o · #4 03-28-2009, 12:13 AM

I tell you Jerry, at that moment ... I WAS a marine biologist!

PatTheAnchor · #5 03-28-2009, 12:24 AM

I will definitely contact university professors in marine biology, thanks for that input.

Now if I can only kick myself to do better on the real SAT unlike the mediocre 149 Selection Index out of 220 SI on the PSAT. Boy that was humbling.

Thanks everyone!
Pat

doctorjazz · #6 03-28-2009, 12:31 AM

My school is a big marine biology school, a lot of my friends are marine bio majors. It's basically one of those things that you absolutely have to do because you love it, and no other reason. There are a lot more marine bio majors than marine biology jobs, though, so that's one major difficulty you'll have to face.

As far as diving goes, that depends what you're doing. You may have to dive at some point for a course you take in college. With a job in marine biology, it really depends what specific things you're doing. My friend's dad is a biologist working for the parks department, and a lot of things he does concern sea turtles, so he doesn't really ever do any diving that I know of. From what I can tell, most of his work in the field is done on beaches where the turtles come up to lay eggs.

steve21 · #7 03-28-2009, 01:08 AM

I think UCDS has a pretty good marine bio dept. We have the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Grizzly700 · #8 03-28-2009, 01:16 AM

Coastal Carolina University is probably the best marine biology school in the country.

Sterling_Bass · #9 03-28-2009, 08:33 AM

Take as many science classes as you can in high school, but keep in mind that college level courses are significantly more in depth and challenging. Almost all science majors are required to take a year of biology, chemistry, physics, and organic. If you are goal orientated and are willing to put in the effort, you can succeed, but remember that it takes a lot of sacrifice to excel.