By Alexandra Norelli
We don’t all know what we want to be when we grow up, but some figure it out sooner than others. If you decide that you want to go into fisheries sciences as an undergraduate it can be hard to pinpoint what classes set you up for success. With classes costing as much as they do, it’s also financially important to make sure you don’t waste money on courses that won’t benefit you in the long term. In this blog post, I will discuss what courses might be required for a fisheries career and present my undergraduate courses as an example.
The courses required for graduation are usually selected by the department to represent what you will need for a career in the field your department covers. However, not all colleges or universities have the same standard classes so it is important to look at the current job listings to check if you are meeting the requirements you need.
Example required course load for a federal fisheries position
Frequently posted on USAJOBs, federal jobs under the “Fish Biology” series provide examples of required course loads for fisheries positions; these jobs are competitive with strict application screenings. So if you can fit your course schedule into these qualifications you are most likely in good shape for other fisheries careers.
Non-Research Position
Major – Biological Science including:
- Aquatic Subjects – 6 hours (2 courses)
- Animal Science – 12 hours (3-4 courses) or excess aquatic subjects
Total: 18 hours (5-6 courses)
Research Position
Major – Biology, Zoology, or Biological Oceanography including:
Biological and Aquatic Sciences – 30 hours (10 courses) including:
- Advanced Zoology – 15 hours (5 courses)
- Fisheries Biology – 6 hours (2 courses)
- Mathematical and Physical Sciences – 15 hours (5 courses)
Total: 45 hours (15 courses)
Does my course load match up?
Since I will be applying to many USAJOB applications soon, I broke down my undergraduate classes from University of South Carolina and how they fit into this requirements list:
Major – Marine Science (focus: Biological Oceanography, minor: Art Studio)
- Non-Advanced Biological and Aquatic Sciences – 19 hours (5 courses) : The Ocean Environment, The Living Ocean, Biology of Marine Organisms, Ecology and Evolution, Cell and Molecular Biology.
- Advanced Zoology – 20 hours (6 courses): Fundamental Genetics, Population Genetics, Marine Biogeochemistry*, Environmental Analysis of SC*, Organic Chemistry 1 and 2*.
- Fisheries Biology – 10 hours (3 courses): Fishery Management, Ichthyology, Aquaculture.
- Mathematical and Physical Sciences – 22 hours (6 courses): Calculus 2, Data collection and Analysis, Ocean Data Analysis, General Physics 1 and 2, Physical Oceanography
Total: 75 hours (21 courses)
*These are advanced courses that may not count as advanced zoology if ecology is not included. I would probably move Ichthyology and Cell and Molecular Biology to this section to make up for a lack of strictly zoology courses.
As you can see from my course list, I took a lot of courses with unusual names that might not be the same at every university. The name of a course does not matter if you are able to explain what it is. For example, “The Ocean Environment” was our Marine Science 101 class and covers biology, chemistry, and physics of the ocean more generally. I’ve had no problem justifying that it is a marine biology course. However, I frequently have to clarify that “Ocean Data Analysis” and “Data Collection and Analysis” are high level statistics courses every time I apply to fellowships and jobs with course requirements. They are both statistics courses listed as Marine Science electives, one of them was a graduate level course but neither are called “Statistics”. This can complicate applications, but it does not ruin an application, so don’t be afraid to take a course with a non-standard name if the content is valuable.
Advice on choosing courses
Some undergraduate program requirements have flexibility where a series of class options are offered. Before you start choosing the easiest courses it is important to make sure you are taking enough advanced credits or harder courses (for example: calculus, chemistry, physics) to qualify for the position you want (research vs. non-research, state vs. federal vs. academia).
On the flip side, do not take courses that are too hard for you and provide little benefit. For me, Organic Chemistry I and II were very difficult, and I have never used any of the skills from those classes. I received my worst grades in those classes, and they caused untold amounts of stress during my sophomore year of undergrad. Organic Chemistry could be useful to a chemical oceanographer, coral chemist, or in a chemistry-heavy fish physiology lab, but it was not useful for a spatial ecologist and stock assessment modeler like me.
While this is strong advice for current job listings, the job market is always changing and many universities and employers are dropping course or testing requirements to encourage diversity and interdisciplinary participation. If you don’t perfectly fit this mold that is okay, be sure to explain to the recruiter what skills you have that make up for a missing course. I have an interdisciplinary collection of courses that better prepares me for ecology work, so I emphasize my ability to understand the environment which helps me in spatial ecology.