Many colleges and universities offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in oceanography. Visit your high school or current college’s career guidance center or speak with a school counselor to learn about oceanography degree programs. Oceanography programs are also available through ocean and marine institutes, government agencies, environmental groups, and other ocean research organizations. A Google search for oceanography programs is also a good place to start.
Get a good foundation in math and science to help you get accepted into an oceanography degree program. Participate in volunteer and study programs at organizations that deal with the ocean. Taking advantage of every opportunity to learn about the ocean will help you strengthen your application for an oceanography degree program. It will also assist you in determining which area of oceanography you wish to pursue.
Oceanographers often work in the field for long periods of time. When pursuing an oceanography degree, being comfortable in a boat on the ocean, knowing how to scuba dive, and learning foreign languages can all be beneficial. Oceanographers use computers in their research for modeling, simulations, and other purposes, so computer skills are advantageous.
Oceanography is a multidisciplinary field that includes biology, chemistry, and geology, among other basic sciences. You can become an oceanographer by earning a bachelor’s degree in oceanography or by earning a bachelor’s degree in math or a more general science field and then enrolling in a graduate-level oceanography program. Working in the field of oceanography often necessitates a graduate degree, but this is not always the case.
Ocean dynamics, deep sea biology, mathematical modeling, and marine mammal research are some of the classes you might take as part of your oceanography degree. Biological oceanography, which is the study of sea life diversity and populations, and physical oceanography, which is the study of the ocean’s physical properties and relationship to the atmosphere, are two examples of different program specialties in oceanography. Geological oceanography, which is the study of the ocean floor and its materials and formations, is another oceanography specialty. Chemical oceanography is the study of chemical compounds in seawater.
The type of career you can pursue after earning an oceanography degree is determined by the level of your degree. If you have a bachelor’s degree, you could begin by assisting on a research vessel or in a laboratory and work your way up through on-the-job training. Doctoral degree holders in oceanography can teach in university-level oceanography and related science programs or lead research programs in the fields of oceanography and marine science. Oceanographers are employed in a variety of scientific specialties by government agencies, environmental groups, marine museums, and aquariums, to name a few.