Explore career options in marine biology
Here you can find information on the types of careers and employment roles a marine biology degree may land you.
You can also discover where to look for job vacancies, as well as professional associations, mentoring and international opportunities.
Opportunities
Graduates of marine biology have the ability to address and manage complex issues that affect our oceans, tourism, fisheries and food production, climate change, maritime pollution and waste management.
Career fields
(* denotes further study at postgraduate level likely required)
- Coastal resource management
- Fisheries research and management
- Conservation
- Environmental consultancies
- Marine park management and compliance
- Aquaculture
- Maritime pollution and waste management
- Marine education
- State and federal government – environment divisions
- CSIRO and other research centres (e.g. Australian Institute of Marine Science)
- Oceanographic modelling
- Science communication
- Tourism
- Teaching*
Employment roles
- Marine technician
- Fisheries scientist
- Marine scientist
- Reef restoration coordinator
- Marine biologist
- Marine park manager / ranger
- Environmental consultant
- Researcher / research assistant
- Science communicator
- Oceanographer
- Technical officer
- Aquaculture technician / biotechnologist
- Fisheries officer
Your employability
In addition to knowledge and skills directly related to your program of study, you will also develop a range of other skills such as teamwork, analytical, communication through academic study, employment, voluntary work, sporting and recreational activities and life experience.
Recognising the value employers place on these skills is an important factor in your graduate job search. You can further develop your employability with these resources:
Vacancies
Information on relevant vacancies can be found in a wide range of sources:
- CareerHub
- Prosple (formerly Grad Australia)
- Australian Antarctic Division vacancies
- Australian Fisheries Management Authority
- Australian Institute of Marine Science vacancies
- Australian Public Service Jobs
- Adzuna marine science jobs
- Bureau of Meteorology graduate careers
- Environmental Jobs Network
- Evolve Scientific Recruitment
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority careers
- Kelly Scientific Resources
- NRM Jobs (Jobs in environment, water and natural resource management)
- New South Wales Government jobs
- Oceanography and marine science jobs (Earthworks)
- Queensland Government Graduate Portal
- Research Career Jobs (Australia and New Zealand)
- Seek marine jobs
- TechStaff
Job application resources
Craft a stand-out resume and cover letter, and learn how to prepare for job interviews.
Approach potential employers
Many work opportunities are not advertised, so we recommend approaching potential employers with the aim of researching their needs and how your skills, experience, interests and qualifications could match theirs.
This is called informational interviewing and will benefit you by:
- clarifying your specific career direction
- enhancing your professional network
- increasing your chances of being offered a job.
Industry outlook
The Your Career website includes helpful information such as job descriptions, employment prospects, average weekly earnings and skills requirements. Every job title in the database has a skills section to help you identify and describe essential skills for your future career.
The My Future website also has job descriptions and a useful career insight section.
The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching website has up-to-date information on graduate salaries, especially the Graduate Outlook Survey (GOS) National Report, which contains undergraduate salary figures.
More detailed information is available at the Labour Market Insights portal.
Professional associations
Joining a professional association is a great way to interact with people in your field who can assist you to explore your career options and potentially find employment opportunities. These associations hold regular professional development and networking events:
- Australian Association for Environmental Education
- Australian Coral Reef Society
- Australian Marine Conservation Society
- Australian Marine Sciences Association
- Australian Science Communicators
- Australian Society for Fish Biology
- Ecological Society of Australia
- Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand
- Society for Conservation Biology
- Society of Wetland Scientists
Students are welcome to join and often receive a discount on their membership.
Mentoring
The award-winning Industry Mentoring Program provides an excellent opportunity to further develop your employability and build professional networks.
The program is available to students with more than 80CP as well as recent graduates.
Further careers information
Careers counselling
Individual career counselling sessions are available to all current students and recent graduates.
You can book an initial appointment via CareerHub.
Career planning
Our website has an array of career planning resources you can explore at any stage of your student journey.
Career development
Learning@Griffith houses additional resources for your career development. To access these:
- Go to Learning@Griffith.
- Click Organisations.
- Search Careers and Employment.
- Click Enrol for students.