Ocean Jobs: Marine Careers That Match How You Want to Work

Plenty of people know by age ten that they want to work near the ocean, and many of them picture the same two or three jobs: training dolphins, studying whales, maybe diving a reef. The real ocean economy is far bigger than that picture. It runs through aquariums and research labs, water quality agencies and fish farms, coastal parks and federal offices, and the jobs inside it look, and pay, very different from one another.

Ocean jobs fall into a few broad groups: working directly with marine animals, studying ocean life and systems, protecting water quality and coastlines, and producing seafood through fisheries and aquaculture. Pay varies widely across them. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports a $39,990 median for animal trainers, the occupation that includes marine mammal trainers, and a $76,780 median for zoologists and wildlife biologists, which includes marine biologists. Oceanographers, counted among geoscientists, earn a median of $101,920.

At Unity Environmental University, the Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and Sustainable Aquaculture builds the foundation several of those paths share, from oceanography and marine mammal biology to field research and aquaculture, through remote learning designed for the life you’re already living. Here is how the options compare, what each one takes, and how to get ready for the one that fits you.

Ocean Jobs at a Glance

Before you compare the numbers, it helps to know what they can and can’t tell you. Federal labor data doesn’t track “marine biologist” or “aquarist” as separate jobs. It folds them into broader occupations, so a marine mammal trainer is counted alongside every other animal trainer, and an oceanographer alongside every other geoscientist. That makes these figures a solid starting point rather than a promise. Pay at a particular aquarium, agency, or research lab can land above or below the national median, and location matters as much as job title.

The last column is often the more useful one. Entry education tells you how long the runway is before you can do the work: two of these careers open with a high school diploma or an associate’s degree, most start with a bachelor’s, and one requires a doctorate. As you read the table, keep two questions in mind: how many years of school you’re willing to put in, and what starting pay you need for the move to make sense.

Each career is paired with its closest Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation and that occupation’s May 2025 median pay.

One pattern is worth noticing before you choose. Roles built around daily animal care tend to pay less than research and science roles, and the highest-paying paths require the most education. Neither is the right answer for everyone; it depends on whether you want to spend your days with animals, with data, or somewhere in between.

How Big Is the Ocean Job Market?

Bigger than you might expect. In 2023, the U.S. ocean economy was worth $511 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which tracks these figures in partnership with NOAA. That’s about 1.8% of everything the country produced that year, and it was growing: ocean-related employment rose 4.5%, adding roughly 111,000 jobs in a single year.

The more useful question for your career is where those jobs are. Two groups hold the largest share:

• Government, with about 793,000 jobs. This includes national defense along with the federal, state, and local agencies that manage fisheries, coastlines, and protected waters.
• Recreation, tourism, and food services, with about 652,000 jobs. Aquariums, coastal parks, and the businesses that serve visitors all fall here.

Research and science roles make up a much smaller slice than either group. That doesn’t put them out of reach, but it should shape your strategy. If you want the widest way into ocean work, public agencies and visitor-facing places like aquariums offer the most openings. Experience in those settings can also build the skills and references research employers look for later.

One note on the numbers: BEA has stopped producing these statistics regularly, so 2023 is the most recent full picture available.

Jobs Working With Marine Animals

For many people, this is the reason they started looking at ocean careers in the first place. These are the jobs where you spend your days close to the animals: feeding them, training them, treating them, and sometimes returning them to the wild. They’re also among the most competitive roles in the field, since openings are limited by how many aquariums, marine parks, and rehabilitation centers exist. 

The BLS points to volunteering and internships at zoos and aquariums as strong ways in, and notes that many employers prefer candidates who already have experience working with animals.

Marine Mammal Trainer

A trainer’s day is built around the animals’ schedule. Mornings often start with food preparation and a health check, then move into training sessions. A sea lion might learn to present a flipper for a blood draw, or a dolphin to hold still for an ultrasound. The day might end with a public presentation explaining what visitors just watched. That medical side surprises a lot of people: much of modern marine mammal training exists to make veterinary care easier and less stressful for the animal.

The education bar is higher than for most animal training jobs. The BLS notes that marine mammal trainers usually need a bachelor’s degree in marine biology, animal science, biology, or a related field. Strong swimming skills and dive certification are common hiring requirements as well. Animal trainers earned a median of $39,990 in May 2025, with the top 10% earning more than $75,490, and the occupation is projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035. Expect a schedule that includes evenings, weekends, and holidays, since animals need care every day. The role suits people who are patient, comfortable in and around water, and happy to explain their work to an audience.

Aquarist and Marine Animal Caretaker

If trainers are the public face of an aquarium, aquarists are the ones keeping it running. The work centers on the systems and routines that keep animals healthy:

• monitoring water quality and life support equipment
• preparing diets and tracking how animals eat
• cleaning exhibits
• watching for changes in behavior that signal illness or injury

Many aquarists also help raise young animals and answer visitor questions throughout the day. It is physical work, with plenty of lifting, scrubbing, and time on your feet.

The BLS counts this work among animal caretakers, an occupation projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average. The overall median was $35,360 in May 2025, and caretakers in arts, entertainment, and recreation, the industry that includes zoos and aquariums, earned a median of $37,460. A high school diploma is the minimum for many caretaker roles, but zoos generally require a bachelor’s degree for keeper positions, and larger aquariums tend to follow the same pattern. Unity’s guide to becoming an aquarist walks through the path in more detail.

Marine Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation

Rescue work runs on a system most people never see. In the United States, NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program oversees every response to a stranded marine mammal. Nongovernmental organizations need a formal Stranding Agreement from NOAA Fisheries to take part. Stranding networks operate in every coastal state, and both staff and volunteers receive regular training.

That structure tells you exactly how to get started: volunteer with an authorized stranding or rehabilitation organization near you. Volunteers often handle beach response, animal care, food preparation, and data collection, and many paid staff began as volunteers. Rehabilitation centers also employ animal care specialists, veterinary technicians (an associate’s-degree role with a BLS median of $47,380), and veterinarians. The work is rewarding but can be emotionally hard, since not every animal can be saved, and responses don’t keep office hours.

Marine Veterinarian

Marine veterinarians handle the medical side of everything above: routine exams, diagnostics, surgery, and preventive care for animals ranging from sea otters to whales. They work at aquariums, rehabilitation centers, and research facilities, and some join field responses to stranded or entangled animals.

It is the highest-paying path in this group, with a BLS median of $130,100 for veterinarians, and also the longest. The route runs through an undergraduate degree, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program (typically four years), and a state licensing exam. Positions focused solely on marine animals are relatively few, so many future marine vets build relevant experience early through aquarium internships or rehabilitation center volunteering. A science-heavy undergraduate degree that covers marine animal biology gives you a head start on both vet school and that specialty.