Does anyone know of any local employment opportunities relating to this hobby?
After owning and managing a restaurant for the last five years and working for the worst that Corporate America has to offer for four years prior to that… I’ve decided to surround myself with something that I love for a change. I’d be interested in basically any aspect that touches on the hobby like wholesale or retail, installations, maintenance, conservation, aquaculture, education, entertainment, etc…
Craigslist doesn’t exactly have job postings at aquariums very often and figured it couldn’t hurt to ask! Thanks!
I think your best bet would be to talk to some of the LFS and see if they’re hiring. There is Armco Aquatics which is an aquarium maintenance service in the area.
I opened a D.P. Dough in Bloomington, Indiana five years ago. It was a great business but it fell apart when my cost of food skyrocketed 300% in a six-month period. Even in the great depression, there wasn’t inflation like this. For a business model that was already dependent on monitoring staffing levels and minimizing food waste, there just wasn’t a chance to survive 300% inflation when it’s usually 3% in an entire year. The economy literally ran me out of business and I’m still pretty sore about it.
I emailed someone over at Armco a few weeks ago. That’s gotta be a fun business. They never responded. Either too busy or too slow I imagine.
I also took a trip out to the Adventure Aquarium. Hit some traffic on the way and it took almost two hours. That’s way too much of a commute!
[quote=“RCA, post:3, topic:2254”]
I also took a trip out to the Adventure Aquarium. Hit some traffic on the way and it took almost two hours. That’s way too much of a commute![/quote]
That and they only hire Marine Biologists for the really cool jobs.
When I was 18 I applied to three colleges and got accepted to all three. Miami, URI and Delaware. If I had gone to Miami or Rhode Island I would have gone into the programs there. Instead, I ended up with a degree in Economics and a minor in Jazz Theory from Delaware. My deciding factor was that I’m scared of swimming in the ocean. I’ve just never felt comfortable when my feet can no longer touch the bottom. I blame the movie Jaws!
I emailed someone over at Armco a few weeks ago. That's gotta be a fun business. They never responded. Either too busy or too slow I imagine
From what i understand they are very busy. However, its a pretty small company and they just hired two new employees this last month, one being a board member.
That and they only hire Marine Biologists for the really cool jobs.
So true. Its going to be a big obstacle in the industry unless earning an income that allows you to pay your bills isnt important ;D Believe it or not, there is an large LFS that has several marine biologist on staff to work the fish room. Pretty sad when you think about it, but i would imagine that people dont major in marine biology because they want to someday own a Ferrari!
If it was That Pet Place i wouldnt be surprised at all if it were true. The store goes to great lengths to advertise the fact that a lot of their employees have degrees. They feature little employee bios in their catalogs that include the employees school, degree, and other info and some even have the title “marine biologist” on their name tags which i always found a little humorous.
In no way am i being derogatory, i just can not even begin to imagine shelling out money for four years of tuition for my son so that he could get a job in the fish room at a pet store.
then again shawn… a place like that may greatly benefit from having highly educated staff on hand. the salary would be offset by the livestock that wouldnt be lost (hopefully) if someone who has a degree in the field is overseeing the systems at all times. well, thats prolly the plan anyhow
you need a ms or phd in marine bio to do anything. also being well connected in the field helps. the better half is in her last year of undergrad and is involved in all sorts of cool stuff taging sandtigers all summer as well as eels and her own research on horseshoe crabs.
then again shawn... a place like that may greatly benefit from having highly educated staff on hand. the salary would be offset by the livestock
I have no doubts at all that its beneficial for that TPP. The sad part i was referring to is that i wouldnt think TPP has to worry much about offsetting the saleries because i doubt the kids are being paid a whole lot more than an average retail wage. Of course i dont know for sure and its only a guess.
you need a ms or phd in marine bio to do anything
so true. thats pretty much the case with most sciences. i should know. i have a BS that collects dust and a job that doesnt require a degree but pays twice as much as i would earn doing entry level work related to my degree.
Thank you so much Mrs. Roundtree!!! ← high school advisor GolfC
cool thing about the sciences though, or at least chem and bio, most/all grad programs make it free to attend and will pay you i believe 25k per year if you getting a phd, and 15k per year if you getting a masters… i mean its a lot of work but that cost can offset your initial costs (depending on where you go and how much u work)… so sciences is a good place to go to grad school …
make it free to attend and will pay you i believe 25k per year if you getting a phd, and 15k per year if you getting a masters
I would LOVE to know what schools do that ;D They might make it free for you to attend if your rockin magna/suma cum laude from a reputable 4 year school ;D Otherwise, your paying like the rest of 'em! Im finishing up my second BS as i type this with a 4.0 GPA and will be going to PennState for my Masters in Systems Engineering in 2010 and ill be happy if i can get my parking validated ;D Of course you are right, there are job opportunites available for graduate students and especially Phd candidates but they are VERY competitive and, depending on the school, your going to have to be the best of the best to get one.
If you want my advice? Go to a big state school with a well known football team…that way everyone will just assume your smart because your school has name recognition >LOL<
You know, we’re actually side-tracking into a very interesting subject here: Is a college education still worth it? I can very easily debate the pros of skipping college in today’s world. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that more than 90% of people attending college today would be better off if they skipped it. (Ironically, in an Economics class we had an assignment to calculate the cost benefit over time of a college education and the break even point was barely before retirement for most people’s assumptions.)
A huge percentage of CEO’s don’t have degrees and didn’t start out their lives with 25-100k in student loans.
A college education today has been dumbed down to the point where they actually have classes on the basic fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic. I’m not saying a Dentist doesn’t need to go to school. But the perfect example is the icktheologist making $10 an hour bagging fish with 100k in student loans.
well i know most Grad programs in the US are free for physics and Chemistry majors… and they pay you, and you dont have to be magna/suma cum lada… You have to meet the criteria to get in with your grades but its free. But i think this is only in certain sciences if not all of them, i only looked into chem and phys… ill find a link somewhere…
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:12, topic:2254”]
Of course you are right, there are job opportunites available for graduate students and especially Phd candidates but they are VERY competitive and, depending on the school, your going to have to be the best of the best to get one.[/quote]
All of academia is competitive. “Publish or perish” is the motto @ most universities I come in contact with.
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:12, topic:2254”]
If you want my advice? Go to a big state school with a well known football team…that way everyone will just assume your smart because your school has name recognition >LOL< [/quote]
LOL< Now that is funny. And when did Ohio State become “The Ohio State”? Talk about branding and name recognition …
Yes, college is worth it. Maybe not for the piece of paper, but the most important thing you can get from college the knowledge and know-how to educate YOURSELF. Most people (me) haven’t a clue on how to educate themselves or research before going to college.
If you get nothing else from it, take that and spend your hard earned time and money making something for yourself. Bill Gates told a bunch of kids at college to drop out and do something with their lives, he did.
Problem is people go to college and get a piece of paper and think they are now entitled to a high paying job. Nope. That piece of paper is an offset of learned experience and proof you know how to educate yourself and handle work load.
With all that said, don’t go to college and drop out, that’s just stupid and a waste of money, but you don’t need to go to that expensive college and don’t plan on your graduation as your end all be all, set for life. Heck goto Delaware Tech for your associates and transfer it to UD or Wilm.
Now here’s where I get conflicted. I have kids within 4 years of college. As a parent I feel the obligation to tell them the benefits of going to college, just as my parents did with me. But realisticly I am not so sure how valuable it is.
I don’t have a college degree - I went for a couple years to a couple different schools but found it just wasn’t worth it. (Shawn I also chose Penn State for the name recognition factor - in fact it’s the only school on my resume ;D ) I picked a career and stuck with it for the last 15 or so years. I think I am doing ok without the degree.
The problem I see now is that tuitions are increasing by double digit percentages every year, and starting salaries have decreased each year for the last 3 years. I have a friend that had a degree in neuro-science… she was a daycare teacher.
I know someone else that owes so much in student loans that she will need to delay retirement to pay back the loans and will not have enough time or left–over to put anything away (granted she is older then most college students).
Unfortunately - in 5-10 years you’re going to absolutely need a degree to do anything other then janitorial work but with the current “Economic Reset” the “breakeven point” mentioned earlier will proba bly be too close to retirement to be worth it.
Oh - and Mr. Baldwin (<~~~ my HS guidance councelor) - I never did look for that"manual labor" job you reccomended
well i know most Grad programs in the US are free for physics
when you find one, let me know ;D I have a BS in physics, and trust me, no one was knocking down my door to give me a free Master’s! If you want, i can save you some time. Bring over some white out and you can have my BS in physics from UofD. It was great. I spend just about enough time studying each field of physics to graduate no knowing enough about any one field to do anything. And if your thinking “ill just minor or concentrate”, i did! My “concentration” was astro-physics and my minor was math. All this means is i took more Calculus than anyone ever needs to take(241,242,243, adavanced, and differential!!) and i got to take a few astronomy breadth requriments.
Dont get me wrong. I think college is important, i just think you have to choose your major wisely. There are just a lot of degrees that are not worth a lot if you only have a BS. Furthermore, it seems that more and more you need to have a MS just to compete in about any field.
Im like Craig, i accidentally fell into a career that i love and make a very good salary. I then went back to school to take a couple of classes related to my career with only the goal of maybe getting a graduate certificate or two. Four years later im finishing up my second BS in information systems. My second degree will be about 100X more valuable than my first and it will have cost me $10, 000 out of pocket. My first degree im still making payments on and i graduated over 10 years ago! My point? Give a LOT of thought to what you want major in school. Dont pick a degree because your good at it, or because you think its cool(like i did). Thats what hobbies are for ;D If your very passionate about something, and know you can go to school for 6+ years, and are not concerned with the potential that there might not be a lot of job opporunites or money in that field, then go for it. Im sure you will be happy. If your not sure, then major in something you enjoy, that is in demand, make a lot of money and then study whatover you want as a hobby.
Well currents stats show than only 26% of young people under 30 have a 4 year college degree of any kind. So as a society , we are not in danger of being over educated or over qualified. While some of the sciences are exotic and enticing in their sophistication, like say Pure Physics, particle physics, astro physics, as noted, there are few jobs for pure emperical research in the field and even fewer practical employment ops. But for the few who do excell and advance the study, many others in the practical sciences of engineering, chemical, electrical, I&C, structural, mechanical, bio tech, medical… will take those advances and find practical applications for them. But we as a country do have a big shortage of practical engineers. ergo we import a hundred thousand new grads a year from over seas schools to work here and fill the high paying job openings on temporary work visa programs. With nice fat bonuses too!
So apparently, too many of our 26% college grads have degrees in Intermediate Underwater Basket Weaving 101. and not in practical technical fields. But still there is value in an IUBW 101 degree. it teaches skills of study, application , writing, organization and presentation which can be applied to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and service jobs needed for all that stuff the engineers dream up and build. a technical degree can give you a better starting pay. but dont rule out IUBW degrees either. they just start out slower, but with proper finagaling can work into lucrative jobs. just takes a bit more work and less certain.
But if you will notice, many traditional sales, cashier type jobs are vanisihng with self checkout puter/scanner stations for instance. maybe burger flipping is next to go due to automation.
Entrepaneures are a separate breed of drive, imagination and hard work. Its great, but few are that good or lucky. a good education is still a good investment. But do be selective on what courses you spend your money on. and what you would like to do.