Marine Biologist
Marine biologists study the animals and plants of the ocean, from reef fish to whale populations, and the habitats they depend on.
- Median salary
- $80,300
4.3%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 760
8.6%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +19.8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- 3 out of 10
- Average hours
- 41/wk
+1h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
- You could work for a university, a government fisheries or environment agency, or an environmental consultancy, splitting the week between boats, dive sites and a desk.
- An oceanographer studies the physics and chemistry of seawater, while your focus is the life in it. 63% of the people in this role hold a postgraduate qualification, so plan on honours or a masters for research positions.
How much do marine biologists earn?
The median full-time salary for a marine biologist is $80,300 per annum, before tax, up $16,900 since 2018.
Government fisheries and environment agencies and private consultancies usually pay more than university research positions, and a PhD can move you into a higher classification. Early roles are often fixed-term and tied to a grant, so ask how the position is funded and what happens when that money runs out. If the job includes weeks at a field station or on a vessel, find out whether that time attracts a loading or time off in lieu.
What does a marine biologist do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Diving, wading or working from a boat to collect water, sediment and animal samples
- Running laboratory work on specimens brought back weeks or months earlier
- Tagging, measuring or counting animals to track a population across seasons and years
- Analysing survey and monitoring data in R or Python to test whether a pattern is real
- Writing grant applications and reports so the next season of fieldwork is funded and the results reach the people who act on them
What skills do marine biologists need?
Employers look for field research and sampling, laboratory analysis, data analysis, backed by SCUBA diving equipment fluency and strong problem solving.
Specialist skills
- Field research and sampling
- Laboratory analysis
- Data analysis
- Environmental assessment
- Statistical modelling
Software and tools
- SCUBA diving equipment
- plankton nets and sampling gear
- spectrophotometer
- GIS software
- R or Python (statistical analysis)
General skills
- Problem solving
- Written communication
Is the job growing?
About 760 people work as marine biologists in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 19.8% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a marine biologist?
Here's the path most marine biologists take, step by step.
- 1Complete a bachelor degree in marine biology, marine science or a related science
A degree takes about three years. Pick one with statistics, ecology and fieldwork units, and expect to add an honours year if you are aiming for research work.
- 2Build hours in the water and on boats while you study
Volunteering with university labs, marine parks, museums or citizen science projects gives you the fieldwork records and referees that graduate programs ask about. Research diving needs accreditation through a university or agency dive program, since a recreational dive qualification on its own will not get you onto a scientific team.
- 3Add postgraduate study
Honours, a masters or a PhD is common in this occupation and is what opens research, advisory and specialist survey work. Choose a project that puts you on real datasets and, where possible, on a vessel.
- 4Apply for graduate and technical roles
State fisheries and environment departments, CSIRO, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, marine park authorities, universities and environmental consultancies all hire marine staff, often on fixed-term contracts first. Ask each employer what proportion of the job is field time, because it varies widely between them.
Ready to apply as a marine biologist?
Whether you're working toward becoming a marine biologist or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a marine biologist move to?
Moving into Environmental Scientist typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $21,300 a year more on average.
- Environmental ScientistRecorded move$101,600+$21,300
- EcologistRecorded move$101,600+$21,300
- BiologistRecorded move$96,200+$15,900
- Fisheries ScientistSuggested move$101,400+$21,100
Thick lines are moves people were recorded making in Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility (income tax records, 2011-12 to 2020-21). Thin lines are moves we suggest from skill overlap and entry requirements.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
Environmental Scientist Marine biologists bring field sampling and ecosystem knowledge to environmental science, assessing impacts and informing policy on coastal and marine issues.Known move | +$21,300 | 67% | minimal |
Ecologist Marine biologists move into ecology, using their understanding of species interactions and habitats to study terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.Known move | +$21,300 | 61% | minimal |
Fisheries Scientist Marine biologists specialise in fisheries science, applying population and habitat knowledge to manage fish stocks and sustainable harvesting. | +$21,100 | 85% | minimal |
Biologist Marine biologists move into general biology roles, applying shared training in ecology, evolution and laboratory methods to broader research and conservation work.Known move | +$15,900 | 94% | minimal |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a marine biologist?
The typical marine biologist is 41 years old; 56% are men, 74% work full-time, and full-timers average 41 hours a week.
- 41
- Median age
- 44%
- Female share
- 74%
- Full-time
- +1h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a marine biologist?
Your week rarely looks the same twice: a run of early starts on a boat or in the water, then stretches at a desk or bench working through samples and data. Weather decides the plan on field days, so trips get cancelled and rescheduled at short notice, and early jobs often sit on fixed-term contracts tied to a grant. If you like being outdoors and are just as happy analysing what you brought back, the mix can keep you interested for a career. If you want predictable hours and to stay in one place, the contract cycle in research is the hardest part to live with.
What people like
- You spend real time in the water. Dive transects, tagging trips and boat surveys are part of the working week, not a rare perk, and the animals you are counting are the ones you chose to study.
- Your results feed management decisions. Stock assessments, marine park zoning and reef restoration plans are built on survey data, so a season of careful counting can change what happens on the water.
- A small, collaborative field. Most people working on a coastline know each other, share datasets and crew each other's trips, which makes it easier to find help on a problem outside your specialty.
- The questions keep moving. One project might be seagrass recovery, the next a fish population crash, and the methods change with them, so the work is hard to get bored of.
What people find hard
- Contracts end when the funding does. Much of the research work is grant funded and fixed-term, so you may be job hunting every two or three years before you land an ongoing position.
- More desk work than people expect. Cleaning data, running statistics and writing up results can take longer than the fieldwork that produced them, particularly in the winter months.
- Weather runs the schedule. Swell, wind and visibility cancel trips at short notice, and long days on a rocking boat leave plenty of people seasick before lunch.
- Permits and paperwork. Animal ethics approvals, collecting permits and vessel paperwork have to be in place before any sampling starts, and getting them right falls to you.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ marine biologists?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of marine biologists, followed by Public Administration and Safety.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Public Administration and Safety
- 3Education and Training
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Postgraduate | 63.4% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 32.8% | |
| Year 12 or below | 1.9% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 0.9% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 0% |
Will AI replace marine biologists?
Low exposure. Unlikely. AI will change some of the work around this job, not the job itself.
AI touches the desk end of this job and not much else. Software now identifies fish and plankton from underwater video and camera trap images, and R and Python packages make short work of routine statistics, but no tool can swim a transect, tag an animal or judge whether a survey design will answer the question. Learn R or Python and get familiar with image and acoustic datasets, because that is what turns a season of fieldwork into results your employer can use.
How a typical week splits
- Analysing survey data in R or Python25% of the week
Population models, spatial statistics and automated video processing now run largely through code, so writing and checking that code is a core skill.
- Grant applications, permits and reports25% of the week
Editing tools draft and tidy text quickly, but the sampling design, ethics justification and interpretation of results have to come from you.
- Sorting and identifying specimens in the lab20% of the week
Image recognition helps with common species from photos, but preserving, measuring and identifying mixed plankton samples still depends on trained eyes.
- Dive surveys and sample collection30% of the week
Counting fish along a transect, taking sediment cores or fitting acoustic tags needs a person in the water making decisions about conditions and safety.
How we work this out
We break each job into its main tasks, estimate the share of a typical week each one takes, and judge how far current AI and automation tools reach into it. The score out of 10 starts from the job's overall rating (low is 1 to 3, moderate 4 to 6, high 7 to 10) and the task split places it within that range. Source: Career Tips analysis of each role's main tasks.
Common questions about becoming a marine biologist
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do marine biologists earn?
Full-time marine biologists earn $80,300 per year before tax, and the figure is a median, so half earn more and half earn less. Government and consultancy roles generally pay above university research positions, and postgraduate qualifications move you into higher classifications.
How do you become a marine biologist?
Study a bachelor degree in marine science or biology, then add honours or a masters if you are aiming at research. Volunteer in a lab, with a marine park or on a survey boat while you study, because field and diving experience is what separates applicants with similar marks.
Are marine biologists in demand?
Marine biologists are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 19.8% over the decade to 2035 over the decade to 2035. With about 760 people in the role, that translates into a handful of new positions each year, and most openings come from people retiring or leaving research. Practical field skills plus solid statistics give you the best chance in a thin market.
Will AI replace marine biologists?
No, but it already speeds up the desk work. Image recognition identifies fish and plankton from underwater video, and processing acoustic telemetry is far quicker than it used to be, while diving, handling animals and deciding what a survey should measure remain human work. Get comfortable with R or Python and with image or acoustic datasets, since those skills are what employers look for now.
What else can a marine biologist do?
Marine biologists move into general biology, fisheries science and environmental science, drawing on the same sampling, ecology and analysis skills. Biologists earn $15,900 more, while environmental scientists earn $21,300 more. Some eventually set up as environmental consultants, which means finding your own clients and covering the quiet months between contracts.
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