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Truth be known, there isn't a rigid educational pathway for dolphin researchers.
Paul Nachtigall is a dolphin researcher and the director of the marine
mammal research center at the University of Hawaii. He works with people from
a variety of backgrounds. "Follow your talent and interests," he says.
"My two closest colleagues are an electrical engineer who is famous for
dolphin echolocation and a psychologist."
Generally, an advanced degree in a scientific specialty is the standard
background of dolphin researchers. Some researchers hold master's degrees,
but a doctorate is more common, especially for researchers based at universities.
Researchers are getting a little tired of people who expect to be taken
seriously in the field simply because they go ga-ga over dolphins, says biologist
William Megill, who studies whales and dolphins. After all, who doesn't love
a bottlenose?
Megill's advice to aspiring dolphin researchers is, "Do well in physics."
He looks for students with scientific potential and some unique skills. "It's
a bizarre thing to say, perhaps, but it's something other than normal and
that's what we need in terms of marine biologists," he says.
"I think perhaps it is more important to become a researcher first, then
a dolphin researcher," says dolphin researcher Denise Herzing. "Many fields
suffer from narrow visions of dolphin research. The most important thing is
learning many skills, and being able to look at a problem in an interdisciplinary
way."
Get as much experience as you can working with animals. Try volunteering
at an aquarium, a wildlife rescue center, a zoo or with a veterinarian.
Try to develop other useful skills that are not taught in school. "Learning
how to live in remote areas by going camping [and] learning how to read marine
charts and tide books are all skills that you generally don't learn at university,"
says Kathy Heise. She studied dolphins as part of her PhD studies.
Interested in dolphin research right now? There are many ways to get involved.
You can read up on current research, or even go out and work with dolphin
researchers. For instance, the Wild Dolphin Project offers such experiences.
The Earthwatch Institute is an international nonprofit organization, which
supports scientific field research worldwide by linking scientists with willing
field volunteers. Earthwatch offers a variety of expeditions, including projects
involving dolphins.
Salaries for dolphin researchers vary, depending on the level of education
they have and whether they work for a university, government or private organization.
Firm salary statistics on dolphin researchers are next to impossible to
come by. Some researchers literally earn nothing for their work with dolphins.
Others are backed by grant committees whose full-time job is to solicit
money for marine mammal research. Still, most dolphin research is done through
nonprofit organizations and the researchers don't earn a lot.
"If your focus is earning a really good living and making big bucks, this
is the wrong job," says Megill. "Most marine mammalogists are certainly underpaid,
but they generally love what they do and they really enjoy the fieldwork.
So, that's what really has to motivate you, not the bottom dollar."