I have appeared for the Class 10 Board exams ICSE and want to become a marine biologist. How do I do it?

Dear aspirant, many thanks for your question, I really appreciate that in such a young stage of your career you have planned something to become in future. Let me tell you first something about marine biology. It is the study of living organisms in marine environment or brackish water bodies. Marine biology differs from marine ecology, as marine ecology is the study of interactions of many animals with each other and their environment. A large number of life exists in the ocean, how large, exactly it is unknown. Since many ocean spices are still to be discovered, because the ocean covers about 71% of the earth volume and the depth may goes up to 300 meters.
The marine biology course in India has gained momentum owing to its scope in governmental sector as well as in private sector.

To fulfill your dream of becoming marine biologist, you should study the biology subjects in 11 and 12 standard. In graduation, your subjects should be zoology, microbiology , biosciences, biotechnology, fishery science, earth science, geology. After graduation you have to do post graduation in Marine sciences. After post graduation you will be technically qualified as Marine Biologist. But now a days the job opportunities are available for those who have done higher studies. Therefore a PhD or doctoral degree is a must. There are many Indian Universities and institutes which offers course in marine biology. The main universities are Goa University, Pondicherry University, Karnataka University, Annamalai University, Andha University, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, Kerala, Vikrma Simapuri University , Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, Behram pur University, Behrampur, Orrisa, Veer Narmad South Gujrat University, Gujarat, National Institute of Ocenography, Goa.
Scope of marine biology in India and abroad:
Marine biology jobs are offered by many research institutes, universities and colleges. These jobs at entry level are of lecturer. assistant scientist, assistant professor and technical officers. In private companies the job opportunities are in water harvesting bodies, water exploration organizations and multinational companies engaged in research and development sector. The organizations (governmental as well as non governmental) which are involved in environment protection or environment awareness also appoint the marine biologists.
The emerging branches in marine biology are marine biotechnology, marine microbiology, marine molecular biology.
You just concentrate on your biology subjects and one day you will achieve your target of becoming marine biologist.
With all my best wishes,

Good Luck...

Dear Mohit, Thanks for writing to careerguide.com!

I am sure that responses from other career experts have been helpful to you. I am sharing my perspective on your query that may be helpful for taking informed decision. To be straight  forward, I am providing you the immediate career path and key information about marine biology.

1. Career Path

Eligibility to become a Marine Biologist is Bachelor of Science. However, most preferred is a Masters degree in Marine biology. For research and university teaching positions, PhD in Marine biology is required.

After 10, you need to take PCB or PCMB subjects in 11th.

After 12th, you can take up BSc in Marine Biology and then it is advisable to do MSc in Marine Biology or  specialization within marine biology.

There are integrated MSC-PhD courses. I would recommend you to for integrated course as PhD is highly valuable in Marine Biology.

2. Key information about marine biology as a field

Marine Biology is the study of  life of plants, animals and micro-organisms that live in the sea/ocean. Marine biology is a broad field, which include specializations as follow:

• Marine biotechnology
• Microbiology
• Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Environmental marine biology
• Deep-sea ecology
• Marine mammology
• Marine ethology

Specializations are based on a particular species, organism, behavior, technique or ecosystem.

In general, marine biologists collect and analyze biological data, study plant life, identify animal species and their behavior, and write research papers. Moreover, marine biologists work as a researcher, manager, or professor.

Future Prospects: Marine biologists working in the corporate sector, research institutions, museums/zoo, marine aquarium, environmental laboratories,  conservation  agencies, government departments, eco-tourism sector and academics.

For more information, I would suggest you to browse through The Marine Biological Association of India www.mbai.org.in.

To take informed career decision, I would recommend you to take up stream selector career assessment from www.careerguide.com.

Hope this response is useful for you. If you have any query, feel free to ask me.

Wish you best wishes for exciting career!
Apurva Kumar Pandya, PhD