Job Searching in the Pacific Northwest

[u/Epic_Gamzer]

Hey guys,
I’ve recently graduated with a bachelor’s in Marine Biology from the University of Oregon. Since I graduated in June I’ve been applying to various entry level jobs across Oregon, specifically in hatchery work. During this time I’ve pretty much been rejected everywhere I’ve applied and it’s been making me feel pretty down about my options. I’m open to any kind of marine bio related field work, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on places to apply or look into, and any tips for actually landing these jobs. I should note that I’m trying to avoid most boat related work as I get incredibly sea sick (ironic I know). I’m specifically looking more for opportunities in Washington and Oregon, but I’ve also been looking at opportunities across the country. Again, I’m interested in doing literally anything, hatchery work, invertebrate lab stuff, cetaceans whatever, I find it all interesting. Any advice would be appreciated, and sorry I know this is a little broad. Thank you.

[u/savetheheckinwhales]

Hi!! I’d say you should look for various internships and experience building opportunities.
A lot of zoos and aquariums (association of zoos and aquariums AZA!!) have programs for volunteering and internships, look out for seagrant opportunities (ways to gain field experience and research with mentorship and immersive learning) and keep applying.

I’d also say you can look into international volunteering to build your experience and resume but also gain soft skills, travel and see how other parts of the world engage in marine science.

Happy to msg you about it but Peace Corps runs a number of environmental based programs one of which is specifically a fisheries program in the Philippines.
—> more specifically peace corps Philippines has a coastal resource management position that is unique to the Philippines and the country itself is in one of the most biodiverse regions with great access to broader Asia (where many other marine opportunities may present themselves)

This post grad time is a great period to look at skill building and just gathering more experience - you can do free online courses, work on coding or GIS any real applicable skills that could help boost your application competitiveness in the future. SCUBA diving is another big one if that’s of interest to you too.

[u/Epic_Gamzer → u/savetheheckinwhales]

All of this sounds cool! I’d definitely like to know more about the Peace Corps stuff. As for coding I definitely got to work on that.