How does one become a cetacean researcher?

Our suggestion is to come up with reasonably clear ideas about what you want to do, where and how. Ideally, one should aim to something felt as important, and also feasible based on one’s skills and existing opportunities.

Don’t miss opportunities to make experience. You may try to participate in some field or lab activity, doing work as close to your interests as possible to gain practical experience on that particular subject. Find out what is the area where you do particularly well (this may include lab work, photography, statistics or even management, environmental policy, public awareness). If you ‘feel good’ doing something and have a sense of being ‘at home’ whenever you do that, then you may have found your own specialty. Go for it, and try to develop a specific project or an interesting proposal to motivate other people and attract funding.

Do not rely too much on letters and CVs. Try to meet the relevant people in person, at their offices or even in the field. Attend marine mammal and marine conservation conferences, visit various institutes and NGOs. Show that your choice of working with a person or organization is motivated and based on some kind of ‘affinity’.

Field courses organized by various organizations can be a reasonable first step for gaining basic experience, knowing how you feel on a boat or at a field station, chat with researchers and possibly identify your areas of interest. You may consider trying different experiences and research groups before deciding what works best for you. In any case, do not put everything in somebody else’s hands: the choice should be yours.

As a general rule, you have better chances of success if you do something based on enthusiasm and passion, and you do not lose sight of your goals along the way.

A career in marine mammal science

SMM Strategies for Pursuing a Career in Marine Mammal Science
The field of marine mammal science has a growing appeal. Yet, many students do not clearly understand what the field involves. This site addresses questions commonly asked by people seeking a career in marine mammal science in the United States and provides suggestions on how to plan education and work experience.

Capacity building opportunities
This section of the ACCOBAMS web site lists someome of the existing opportunities for capacity building centred around cetaceans in the Mediterranean region.

Sea Grant Marine Careers
This site will introduce you to a wide range of marine career fields and to people working in those fields. In addition, it features opinions about people working in this field and much more. This site also provides you with some experts' views on what the future holds for marine science careers.