Just keep swimming!
When people want to know a fun fact about me, I love answering with, “I used to be a Marine Biology major in Florida” because it never fails to turn into a conversation. It is a great form of escapism to envision the sunshine and hot humid air outside of your field station and detach from the acclimation of Wisconsin’s winters: crummy gray skies and wind that sneaks in through the rips of your jeans and freezes you to your core. Palm tree withdrawal is real, but so are cold feet when you’re 40 and asking yourself, “What next?”
I began my college experience 1200 miles from my hometown, eager to treat the world as my oyster and venture into a dream occupation. But, if it isn’t clear, I’m not at the same place anymore.I transferred to UW-Madison last fall after a year at my country club of an ex-university. There were plenty of reasons I should’ve stayed and plenty of reasons I should be happy that I abandoned ship, but this time, we are focusing on reasons surrounding career choice. For anyone pondering whether Marine Biology should’ve been a route they took, here is some food for thought. Here are four points as to why I changed my major to Economics and postponed studying the ocean…
1. Too specialized, too soon
There’s a lot to say here. Although I have never had a calling to a specific career, the Marine Science industry was something I confidently asserted as heart-fulfilling. You’re taking care of the planet, endorsing sustainability practices and manifesting your sense of wonder through face-to-face interaction with marine life. It’s easy to get lost in scientific curiosity, but I had to play devil’s advocate in asking myself if I would have that kind of career forever. My answer? Likely not. My experiential nature and logical rationale made me realize that I didn’t want to earn an undergraduate degree in something so fine-tuned, and then come to regret it if I wanted to try a different venture down the line. If I pursued Marine Science, I would only be academically primed with strong scientific foundations and a concentration on the ocean. Yes, minors are a thing, but I see more sense with my life goals to start broadly with a more versatile undergraduate major that equips me with a little bit of everything. I knew that if I still wanted a Marine Biology career after these four years, the opportunity to pursue graduate school in that field will not abandon me.
2. i want to work anywhere i want
The probability of being bound to a coast in a Marine Biology occupation is high. Having lived in Wisconsin all of my life, that is a very scary thought. Forecasting my geographic freedom, or lack thereof, was essential to consider with my potential career. More things to consider would be personal reasons, such as proximity to family and feeling stability by staying in one place.
3. The versatility and variety of economics
After completing an economics degree, you’ll be well equipped with knowledge that you can use in your personal day-to-day life, while also being primed for a job in a huge array of industries. To list a few career paths: Law and policy, finance, banking, insurance, entrepreneurship, real estate, consulting, media, marketing… I can go on. To those like me who haven’t ever had a calling to a specific career, economics will not limit, but only expand your exploration of options.
4. Economics did not discriminate against my environmentalist niche
Did you know that demand is high in environmental economy roles as the positive trend in sustainability and climate change awareness is holding firms more accountable than ever? Companies want to pay you to suggest Earth-friendly alternatives to potentially unsustainable practices of theirs. They want your problem solving, as well as deriving both qualitative and quantitative data or evidence that proves them ethically strong. A firm’s determining dimension, or something that sets them apart from their competitors, could be their pledge towards being both environmentally savvy and considerate. Through taking environmental economics classes that involve things like resource allocation while minoring in sustainability, I still have a chance to manifest my love for science.
Perhaps for those with ample familiarity to the coastline lifestyle, family that have stayed in the field all their lives and have proved it’s doable or have simply had that career calling all their life, you should by all means stick with it. There are many factors to my experience that set me apart and have discouraged me from continuing a bachelor’s degree in studying the ocean. It all comes down to what you value and if longevity is foreseeable.
In the meantime, for my story, I can say, “Until we meet again, Marine Biology.”