Nearly a month ago, I came back from China again, from the same modeling course as last year (though this time I was doing some sort of facilitating). But again, I get the ribbing about being a “marine biologist” and the half-joking, half-sarcastic comments of how hard my life is. I don’t think you get the same teasing when you say you’re a terrestrial ecologist, but they’re also hiking around forests and mountains which are equivalent to diving really without having to worry about having enough air to breathe! True, being a marine ecologist definitely has its perks, and a coral reef ecologist to boot. I do get to go diving, and in our lab we’re able to travel and see places, at least places with reefs to survey. But then, as with any other glamorous-sounding career paths, you still have to take the bad with the good. And that’s what eventually separates those who are seriously interested in becoming a marine biologist and pursuing the science, from those who have misguided visions of “the adventures” of diving with “cool” critters and such. For after the field work is done, then you’re scrunched in front of a desk, reading papers, programming, analyzing data, writing reports and proposals and papers……… Now, the real “fun” begins!
Unfortunately, at the time I was leaving China, I was hurrying back so I could go on more of a fun reef survey that’s not related to my own project. Saying that after that one week in Antigua, I’d be back in my cubicle didn’t seem to make a difference. But hey, I’m not at all complaining!
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