Entry 9 - Occupational Research Questions

MY DESIRED OCCUPATION: MARINE BIOLOGIST IN THE FORM OF A ZOOLOGIST/WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST (with a focus on microbiology and wildlife conservation)

1. Who hires entry level professionals for your career?

• Institutions whose goal lies in the education of the public regarding our oceans and their inhabitants
• many positions at such places, places like aquariums and zoos, focus on encouraging conservation of these watery habitats
• for example: Aquarium of the Pacific, Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens
  
  
  

  

  This logo is that of the Aquarium of the Pacific, which, being located in Long Beach, is an aquarium that educates the public daily on the Pacific Ocean and its many inhabitants; this institution is a prime example of a 'humane' aquarium, one that conveys the importance of such harbors for marine life that day to day are forgotten by society with the rise of distractions like social media

  
  
• Research labs where samples are taken from oceanic environments and tested so as to record the impact human actions have on the environment
• these microscopic tests could also be used to observe the behavior of microbes and other tiny organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye
• for example: Oak Crest Institute of Science, Pasadena CA
  
  
  
  

  

  This logo is that of Oak Crest Institute of Science, a laboratory that conducts trial tests and experiments for companies and independent studies alike

  
  
• Field research positions where one is required to spend times outdoors observing the behaviors of organisms and wildlife, including their eating habits and migration routes
• for example: Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Laguna Beach CA

http://www.pacificmmc.org

• according to a 2012 survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor, the industries that employed the most zoologists and wildlife biologists are as follows:
• 34% - state government, excluding education and hospitals
• 24% - federal government, excluding postal service
• 10% - research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences
• 7% - management, scientific, and technical consulting services
• 6% - colleges, universities, and professional schools; state
• 4% - local government, excluding education and hospitals

2. What does one need to know and be able to do for this career? (i.e. skills, training, etc.)

• One needs to have specific characteristics in order to adapt to the work environment found in being one such biologist:
• communication skills - to be able to report findings both verbally and in writing
• critical thinking skills - to be able to draw conclusions on research findings, and thus make educated hypotheses on certain topics concerning interaction here on Earth
• emotional stamina and ability - to be able to stand being independent with little or no social life; to be able to delve into emotionally-distressing situations where organisms are not in the ‘presentable’ or ‘comfortable’ state
• interpersonal skills - to be able to work harmoniously in a team while working towards a common goal
• observation skills -  to be able to observe with extreme focus in field research
• outdoor skills - to be able to spend long periods of time in the environment of certain animals (marine biology - spend time near or in the ocean!)
• problem-solving skills - to be able to diagnose environmental issues
• One needs to be able to:
• provide for him or herself in a remote location, using limited resources found in the surrounding environment
• operate computer software, including that of of a geographic information system (GIS), for use the of modeling data and tracking certain populations of animals
• conduct a variety of experiments, such as taking blood samples from an animal to measure its nutritional levels
• present data to public officials and the community, and educate others on the state of the Earth and its ecosystems
• One needs to have a specific background in education:
• at the least, a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology and zoology, or the closely related field of ecology
• to prepare the work environment involved in being a wildlife biologist and/or zoologist, an undergraduate degree in biology with coursework in zoology and wildlife biology are encouraged
  
  
  

  

  This graph is one that I constructed and one that pictures what percentage of biologists, in general, sought the bachelor degree programs listed, with the field garnering the most attention being biology to no surprise - given the fact that having biology on one's record opens up a window of opportunities if one is interested in the study of life

  
  

3. What type of work does one do in this career?

• A wildlife biologist and zoologist studies animals and other sorts of wildlife by observing their habits and their relationships with their surrounding environments
• in this way, this breed of biologist monitors the health of Earth’s ecosystems and helps to gage the human impact in the air, land, and sea
• wildlife biologist/zoologists usually take part in field research, working up close and personal with what they are studying, and usually do so in small research groups
• These independent observers primarily work with a two-stage process of constructing scientific research: collecting data and then analyzing it in a lab, after which a lab report and conclusion is drawn up in the name of the institution they belong to

4. What are typical starting salaries?

• $43,000 per year (entry level) on average
• wildlife biologists and zoologists usually start work in fields requiring less experience (on the bottom of the totem pole) and then move on to responsibilities requiring a bit more fortitude, with such jobs mostly lying in government agencies
• as one progresses for a longer period of time in a particular field, more digits are added to the annual salary, with this method of ‘pay by experience’ being more attainable in more prestigious jobs (ie those in a federal government)

5. What type of benefits package can one expect?

• The benefits package awarded depends greatly on the institution one joins
• Government/professorship: paid vacation, health insurance, life insurance, 401K retirement plan
• Zoo: paid vacation, health insurance, life insurance, 401K retirement plan, bonuses comparable to 10-20% of base salary

6. How many entry levels jobs are available each year?

• Using the fact that a rate of growth for this job profile was predicted to look like 5% from the year 2012 to the year 2022, with 20,100 jobs being available at the starting year, I can safely infer that about 101 entry level positions are available per year as of now
• 10% of jobs are considered entry-level, these earning an annual salary of around $43,000

7. What is the projected outlook for job openings in this career for the next ten years?

• 8.7% rate of growth in the next ten years
  
  
  

  

  This graph is one that I created by keyboard and is one that illustrates the growth rate in the openings of jobs in my desired job field, this growth being considered 'slow' in comparison with the 'normal' growth rate of 11% according to the Bureau of Labor - meaning most placeholders in the field are quite aged and the openings that do come about are battled for intensely

  
  

8. Where are these jobs located?

• Given the fact that the environment has been drastically changing due to human intervention, more wildlife biologists and zoologists shall be needed in field research to seek out causes and consequences of ecological destruction
• such field research will mostly be located in ocean-side areas such as the coastline of Southern California where ocean pollution is of a major concern, especially when paired with rising sea levels resulting from global climate change
• big cities such as Los Angeles will always be on the lookout for zoo and aquarium positions whose sole aim is to educate the mass humanity they lie near

9. What sort of advancements are available in this career?

• The opportunity to persuade a legislative body to conserve ecological specimens from the progression of humanity
• The opportunity to help society, through education, understand fragile ecosystems and how important each organism is to the survival of our Earth
• The opportunity to make sure endangered species do not go extinct and analyzing their behavior and mapping their habitats
• The opportunity of learn self-sufficiency by promoting myself to individual research
• Once I gain a reputation through findings and scientific experimental conclusions, I can find a job most anywhere in the educational field as a professor or zookeeper
• If I aim towards working in the federal or state government, I can work my up the totem pole of authority in the Department of natural Resources until I can have a large influence on the enforcement of environmental law

10. What is the average salary?

• $60,300 per year, with a median hourly rate of $24
• experience has a moderate effect on one’s salary, with many zoologist and wildlife biologist usually switching jobs or interests after a certain point in their originating careers
• since job openings are limited, many current wildlife biologists are more experienced, meaning they make more than entry-level newbies

11. What is a high salary? How many people make this salary?

• A higher salary can be earned by working for the federal government with an annual pay of $72,700
• 90% of those in the field currently make this amount on an annual basis, this part of the general population being numbered at around 18,090
• A higher salary can also be earned if one attains an experience in a field measuring 20 years or more, with this milestone rendering an average annual pay of $85,000 (regardless of work environment)

12. What professional organizations will you need to join?

• As an entry level wildlife biologist/zoologist, I must partake in the work of an established initiative, these varying as I move forward in my career:
• company surveying a piece of land for development and thus in need of a biologist to determine whether the tract holds any ecosystems of special value (ie rare species, endangered fauna)
• an aquarium or zoo in need of an animal caretaker and/or education specialist willing to inform the public on the profiles of certain animals
• a university in need of a professor majoring in wildlife biology/zoology
• the federal government or state government in need of an ecological conscience
• After receiving a PhD I will be able to conduct individual-based research wherein I need not belong to an institution and therefore use my name on lab reports and for resources

13. Is additional education required? If so, what is required?

• To be able to advance to higher-level jobs, work as an independent contractor, and/or a position as a professor at a university, a wildlife biologist/zoologist should attain a PhD and experience with computer programming and statistical software
• to achieve a PhD, one must complete a full-course load for about 5-6 years, with a master’s degree requiring around two years
• the full-course load consists of fieldwork, classroom, laboratory research, and a thesis to wrap it all up
  
  
  

  

  This donut graph is one that I made for the purpose of showing the viewer (you lucky soul) what PhD programs those brave few biologists, in general, partook in

  
  

14. After 15 years, what second career(s) could you pursue with the same degree and/or other education?

• Since wildlife biologists/zoologists usually take environmental studies courses, they thus become very familiar with legislation in terms of the environments and so can attain a job as an environmental attorney rather easily, fighting battles against oil companies and rallying on environmental harmony
• Since wildlife biologists and zoologist are usually quite apt with their studies, many can and have adopted positions as professors in universities and other institutions of higher education
• Since wildlife biologists and zoologists have studied about every facet of biology to understand the complexities of life in a nutshell and have dipped their toes in digital skill-learning, such individuals can get a job as a biochemist (studying the physical and chemical principles of living things and biologic processes; $81,480 earning a year) and a biological technician (helping scientists run laboratory experiments and tests; $39,750 earning a year)
• other secondary, available fields of interest to a wildlife biologist/zoologist include being forster ($59,060 earning a year) or a microbiologist ($66,260 earning a year)

15. What other relevant information did you find?

• Due to my interest and passion for the ocean, I took it upon myself to research how to become a marine biologist.  Since there not many majors in marine biology (the study of organisms that live in salt water - oceans) and since being  marine biologist is next to non-existent in the work field, I instead analyzed the necessary steps towards becoming a wildlife biologist and/or zoologist, as training to become one such biologist would put me on the right to track to one day devoting myself to oceanic research.  I found out, in fact, that one my occupation is set in the aforementioned field of study, I can specialize in the organisms around where I call home, say Malibu.  In this way, I can manipulate my schedule and line of work so that marine biology becomes for me a reality in occupational stability.