Marine Biology Work Experience Opportunities: Inspiring Ocean Activists

Marine Biology is a fascinating area of work and one that requires deep and extensive knowledge of marine life, as well as a genuine care and passion for nature. While having the relevant GCSEs, A levels, and qualifications is essential for planning a future in marine biology, having hands-on experience will help you stand out from the crowd.

Why work experience is invaluable for budding marine biologists

For some industries, relevant work experience is often not available or considered important. However, with marine biology, it’s important that you can show just how dedicated you are to the cause because it’s a hard job that requires commitment, years of education, and years of training.

Supports university applications

When admissions staff at universities are reading thousands of degree applications, it’s easy for your passion to get lost and for the university to struggle to see who you really are. 

You can describe yourself and your enthusiasm as much as you want, but concrete evidence of activism, volunteering, and work experience around marine life will send your application soaring above others.

It tells the university that you understand what marine biology means and you are committed to pursuing a career in it.  

Opens career opportunities

It’s a common misconception that once you’ve got a degree, you’ll be able to find a job easily. However, sometimes, it can be just as competitive as applying to a university in the first place. 

There will be graduate schemes in place to help you seek those opportunities but to really stand out, showing your personal time as well as your education has been dedicated to marine conservation is the perfect way to do it.

Often, during work experience and volunteering opportunities, you’ll build important connections with people in the industry which may help secure a job in the future.

Gain a deeper understanding of marine life and our connection to nature

There is only so much that learning from textbooks and classes can do to inspire you. To keep your love of nature and respect for marine life, you need to get out there and experience it for yourself.

Working alongside organisations that are dedicated to protecting our oceans will help you understand just how important marine biologists are and what a real connection to nature looks like. 

Experience opportunities with Surfers Against Sewage

At Surfers Against Sewage, we’re all about empowering the next generation of activists to keep their connection to nature alive and speak up to protect our oceans. This means we have plenty of opportunities for kids, teenagers, and young adults to get involved and gain hands-on experience.

Plastic free schools

The Plastic Free Schools education programme is designed to educate, inspire, and bring together pupils from all around the country, and empower them with knowledge that’ll help protect our planet. 

Here’s how you can get involved:

• Sign your school up to be a Plastic Free School: Once your school is registered as a Plastic Free School, we’ll send you a welcome package and an education programme that pupils and teachers can follow. This will involve learning about the government, how to demand change effectively, and plastic pollution and climate change. You’ll also be invited to join events like our Pupil Power Assembly and our Nationwide Trash Mob.

• Join your school’s Plastic Free School action group: Once your school is signed up, you can become part of their action group. This means thinking up new ways to spread the message of clean oceans, organising fundraising events, and ensuring your school is doing all it can to educate its pupils.

• Join Plastic Free Communities: No matter your age, we’re encouraging neighbors to get together and discuss how their community can reduce their plastic use and help clean up the environment. Find your nearest community now.

Ocean School

The Surfers Against Sewage Ocean School is all about getting young people involved, interested, and excited about the oceans near them. We offer plenty of resources focusing on specific activities by the ocean, so young people can go exploring and learn at any time, with anyone. 

We’re breaking down the barrier between kids and nature, and educating them in a hands-on, memorable way. Our Ocean School can be anything you want and can be tailored to your school and your goal. However, if you want some inspiration, we have three main types of activities that come with plenty of free resources:

• • Connect activities: These are focused on slowing down and connecting with nature. We encourage children to feel the full scale of emotions towards the ocean and the life within it.
  • Explore activities: These are a range of practical activities where children can collect evidence themselves, witness the food chain in action, and get a deeper understanding of the way our oceans and coastal life work.
  • Protect activities: Once you’ve gained a new understanding and are empowered by your new knowledge, it’s time to influence other people. Get loud and spread your message about protecting the ocean. 

Volunteering with Surfers Against Sewage

There are countless opportunities to volunteer for Surfers Against Sewage, and we want young voices to help us spread the message of ocean protection. 

Some ways you can get involved include:

• Million Mile Clean: We’re rallying 100,000 volunteers to each clean 10 miles of blue, green or city space each year until 2030, in the hopes that we can clean 10 million miles of land from plastic pollution and litter. We need everyone’s help to do this, including yours!

• Attend SAS events: Throughout the year, we have regular events and protests designed to get the community together and demand change from the government. A key example of this is our Paddle Out Loud event.

• Create your own fundraisers and events: We’re always looking for new ideas for fundraising and events, so why not start your own? Organising something like this is not only great work experience, but it also proves how dedicated you are to protecting our oceans.

Marine biology internships and work experience

Aside from getting involved directly with us, we have plenty of like-minded organisations with which we partner. Some of these offer internships and work experience opportunities. Below are just a few, but if you’re interested, feel free to contact us to find out more and we’ll do all we can to help you.

Opportunities with Project Seagrass

Project Seagrass is a fantastic organisation dedicated to the conservation of seagrass ecosystems globally. They do this through communities, research, and action, and have plenty of opportunities for young people and adults to get involved:

• Internships: Project Seagrass’s internships are focused on those currently studying a degree in a relevant subject to marine biology, and are available yearly for students who are enrolled in sandwich-year degree programmes.

• Volunteering opportunities: Project Seagrass are looking for volunteers all year round, from hands-on fieldwork during the summer to seagrass seed processing positions throughout the year.

• Seagrass spotter: The organisation depends on new data about seagrass, and you can help them, no matter your experience or expertise. By recording the seagrass that you see, you can become a citizen scientist and keep the project moving forward.

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Internships at Blue Marine Foundation

Blue Marine’s mission is to see at least 30% of the world’s ocean under effective protection by 2030 and the other 70% managed in a responsible way. It’s a fantastic organisation to get involved with. Their extensive campaigning has seen countless projects executed to protect our oceans. 

They have previously offered internships, which you can read about here. However, they don’t seem to have any live opportunities at the moment. But don’t let that stop you from getting involved. You can also:

• Join Friends of Blue Marine
• Fundraise for them
• Join the Blue Marine Yacht Club

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The Resilience Project

The Resilience Project is an organisation committed to helping young people navigate both the mental health crisis and the climate crisis. It’s a difficult time for young people, but getting involved with organisations like this can help you manage climate anxiety while knowing you’re doing good for the environment.

This project offers a Resilience Residency, which means you can host your own Resilience Circle, or you can join a Resilience Circle as a participant. These are 10-week courses designed to educate people about the climate while offering techniques and tips to manage climate anxiety and burnout. 

If you are aged between 18-25 and live in Europe (including the UK), you can apply for both opportunities now.

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Final thoughts

If you’re interested in a career in marine biology, there are a wealth of opportunities out there to learn more, get the experience you need, and keep your love and passion for marine life alive.

Don’t wait. Get involved now, and start by encouraging your school to register as a Plastic Free School!