Becoming an Expert

Posted by John Blatchford Jun 29, 2008

After a few articles about some of the equipment amateur marine biologists might require I decided to write about the ways in which expertise can be built up in a number of popular specialisms.

Whale Watching

How to become a whale expert stresses reading as much as possible about then, in print or online, and then actually watching them at sea whenever possible.

Seashore Ecology

How to become a sea shore expert is much more ‘hands on’. Summer holidays take many people to the coast, and exploring the shore fits in well with relaxed lounging on the beach. The rest of the family can sunbathe while the naturalist ‘does his (or her) thing’. It is possible to build up impressive expertise with minimal equipment, and those who live near the sea, or holiday regularly in the same location on the coast, can become genuine experts on the ecology of their chosen location.

Marine Biology

Appreciating the grandeur of whales and becoming aware of the myriad life-forms found on the beach are probably the two most common ways in which young (and not so young) people get drawn into a career in some aspect of marine biology. How to become a marine biologist considers routes into both academic and non-academic careers working with marine animals.