I decided to get a degree in oceanography because I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean and marine life. Biology was my favorite subject throughout school, and that interest eventually led me to marine biology and then to oceanography. After learning more about both fields, I realized that oceanography is the career I want to go.
I’m currently enrolled at a community college, and I’ve already chosen all of my classes. Right now, I’m starting with biology as part of the path toward becoming an oceanographer. The main issue is that my mom and the rest of my family are worried that this career won’t pay enough for me to have a comfortable life. For some background, my family has very little experience with higher education level over the past five generations, very few people have gone to college, and many didn’t even start or finish finish high school. Because of that, they believe that careers in science generally don’t pay well So my question is: Do oceanographers actually earn a good salary? Is it possible to build a stable and comfortable life as an oceanographer,what should I be worry about Anything in particular?( btw I’m located in the USA, California to be more specific)

Hi y'all. I am looking into making a BRUV (Baited Remote Underwater Video) and would like any advice from people who have done so before. Here are my ideas and desires for the project:

1. That it be easy to disassembly and reassemble: I may want to bring this on trips and do not want it taking up too much space.

2. That it (at least this version) can withstand a depth of 210 + feet as that is the deepest point in Lake Erie, and that is somewhere I would want to test it.

3. That it has the option to swap out light systems and cameras for eventual deep-sea use.

From what I read, many freshwater fish can see red light (unlike things in the deep ocean) and in some cases infrared light. This means that no matter what, the fish in Lake Erie might be capable of seeing the light emitted by the BRUV. In order to make it less alarming, I suspect that a diffuse green lighting solution may be best. Please let me know if you think this is a good idea and what suggestions you have.

As for the camera, my tiny bit of research points me to the GoPro Hero 13 as some cases are rated for over 200 feet depth. If you have any suggestions as far as cameras are concerned, please let me know.

As for the body, I was considering PVC with holes drilled for easily letting air out, but if you think aluminum / stainless steel extrusions are better, please let me know.

I am still in the very early stages of planning this project and would appreciate any feedback, especially from anyone experienced in this area.

Also, if any of you have deep-sea BRUV designs and instructions that you use that are open source, please let me know. Although my current model would be for use in Lake Erie, my long-term goal is the deep ocean.

See also: The summary of (paywalled) publication in the journal Earth Science Reviews

I am a student in America applying to the fulbright scholarship to Indonesia. this would allow me to come live in Indonesia for 10-12 months while doing research. Im hoping to do some work in the marine science field. however due to strict visa requirements I need a sponsor ( in name, i have my own funding). I’m hoping someone on here has leads or connections to professional within the marine science field I could reach out to. thank you!

Trecho curto de uma disciplina com atividade em campo. Achei interessante registrar. Quero fazer um vídeo mais detalhado explicando como funciona esse equipamento também.

Where can I find audio recordings and soundscape recordings from the deep sea? There is very little on youtube. Anywhere else to look on the internet?

https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2026/07/12/the-atlantic-oceans-great-white-highway/

See also: The study as it was published in PNAS

Solving difficult problems starts by finding simple solutions. Only when you find that consistancy to you gain insight into whats happening in the environment.

Here is a look at the BrainCoral underwater app. one of the projects I have had the pleasure to be involved in while working at Coral Vita looking to address the biggest road block to marine science that you have never heard of.

Hi everyone,
I’m a fresh Marine Physics graduate looking for advice on how to build a strong start to my career.
What skills, certifications, software, or experiences would you recommend? If you have any career tips or things you wish you knew as a fresh graduate, I’d love to hear them.
Thanks!

I’m looking for colleges with a strong Marine Science/Marine Biology program, but I also care a lot about the overall college experience.

Here’s what I’m looking for:
1. Strong marine science program with opportunities for research and field work.
2. Large student body (roughly 20,000+ students).
3. Classic American college atmosphere with lots of school spirit, football, and traditions.
4. Friendly, happy student body where people are social and there’s always something to do.
5. A beautiful campus with lots of green space.
6. A town or city nearby with restaurants, coffee shops, mini golf, bowling, movie theaters, and other things to do off campus.
7. Warm climate (I’d rather avoid long, cold winters).
8. Good value for an out-of-state student, with decent merit scholarship opportunities.

I’m less concerned about the school being directly on the beach than I am about having a great college experience while still getting a strong education that can lead to a career in marine ecology or oceanography.

Based on that, what colleges would you recommend?

P.S. If a college doesn’t have one of these factors I’m looking for ITS NOT A MAKE OR BREAK. Please still tell me regardless!

I’ve designed and implemented a Kalman filter for boat movement in ocean waves using IMU. I thought it might be of interest to someone here.

Implementation on a real device uses atomS3R unit.

Estimates boat heave in real time and waves direction too.

OU-Driven Quaternion MEKF for Marine INS and
Wave-State Estimation.

The code is open source and on GitHub Bareboat Necessities project called ‘ocean-imu’.

https://github.com/bareboat-necessities/ocean-imu

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

PS: I’ll post the links in comments

Back again with more ID! Any help is greatly appreciated

I thought it was some sort of rotifer, but I honestly have no clue! Looking to ID it for an undergrad lab report/project ...

Hi, I am an Environmental Scientist for a larger engineering and design company in Colorado. I primarily work in GIS data analysis, cartography, and database management (Esri) with a focus in policy for the natural and cultural resources of Colorado.

My undergraduate degree is in marine biology with a focus in fisheries sustainability from a school in South Carolina. When I graduated, like many others (esp in 2020) I was unable to find a job due to lack of experience and a highly competitive job market. I pivoted, broadened my horizons, and got a Masters degree in Environmental Biology from a school in colorado, where I’m still located.

I love GIS, organizing messy datasets and improving geospatial workflows. I love the ocean. Everything about it. My current employer pays me well (higher than most env scientists in the industry, both a blessing and a curse) and I’ve been able to learn countless desirable skill sets like python, R, FME, policy, and technical writing.

As I mentioned above, my current employer is both a blessing and a curse. The work is fast-paced and at times stressful, but they pay me well, offer mostly good benefits, a stellar ESOP and a reasonable work-life balance… it’s a job that you stay at your whole career if possible. A real golden handcuffs situation as i accidentally stumbled upon this line of work. I had always pictured myself going back to ocean studies at some point… and now here i am 5 years after my masters still stuck at 9,000 feet of elevation. I miss the ocean.

I have one year left before I am fully vested, meaning i can leave with the money I’ve accumulated. A goal I’m really hoping to hit and is getting closer along the horizon.

While I wait to be vested, I want to start building some ocean specific analysis methods, hopefully with tech that I already use. I’d love to stay in the geospatial modelling discipline, but am open to really anything. Just trying to get some ideas where i might fit in within the industry :) TIA

Hello oceanographers! We are just looking to add a new team member. Check out the post if your interest is in bith the science and the technology side. And yiu want to work for a small company.

Hello everyone! I am a 25 yo immigrant in Australia right now, and after a long and disapointing course in social media marketing which I found out not to be for me, I have decided to switch the trajectory of my life entirely. When I think about what I want to do with my life, I think about being in contact with nature, mostly in isolated places. I often times imagine myself in the middle of the ocean far away from any land, or in forests doing work there. In short, the more isolated and far from cities the work is, the more it seems to attract me. Moving from place to place wouldn't bother me too much since I've been doing that for a good chunk of my twenties anyways (and I love travelling!).

However, a quick reality check might be necessary, because I understand that no matter the career I try to pursue, you can't just work doing what you like all the time. From what I've searched online, not all environmental science jobs involve field work, and in the ones that do you don't do it all the time. Despite that, the field of environmetal/marine science attracts me a lot. My main worry is studying for it, because I've been away from any school subject for a long time, and I wasn't the best student in my school days either.

My favorite subjects in school were biology and geography, but that is not to say that I was good in them. Truth is, I was a terrible student, but not because I was dumb, I just didn't want to study at all. I never developed the habit of studying in my life, and my grades in high school were terrible because of that. Math, physics and chemestry were a nightmare, math being the one I liked most among those. But again, I just didn't like studying any of them, so I chose to play videogames instead. But now as an adult, I see myself wanting to pursue these careers but I'm scared that I wouldn't be able to keep up.

To top it all off there is the age problem. I understand most would say that 25 is still young, but if I take 5 years of my life just to study environmental science I would finish at 30 and be competing with fresh 24 year olds. Somehow thinking about that scares me, and I don't want to make the wrong decision at this point in my life, I just don't have the time to spare. I want to understand how the field of environmental/marine science is first before making the final decision. How is the market for it right now? Would an Australian degree allow me to travel to other places to work in the field? How difficult is it to sustain yourself with this career, and what paths can I take?

My plan is to study 1,5 years to get a diploma of conservation and ecosystem management, and then from there figure out if I really want to pursue this career. Moving to a bachelors in either environmental science or marine science which would take me 3 years to complete. I appreciate in advance for the replies, thank you!