Within an academic setting, there are basically three possibilities for employment: research and training, teaching and research, and teaching and modest research. Most positions require at least a master's degree, and preference is generally given to those holding a Ph.D.

While a research career at a university (consisting of research and training) was once considered the "traditional" career path for Ph.D. graduates in the marine sciences, changes in the academic world coupled with funding uncertainties have made this path far less predictable. An increasing number of Ph.D. graduates are working in colleges where teaching is the focus of the position and research is secondary or minimal. Such settings include four-year colleges, junior colleges, and community colleges.

A study commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), found that Ph.D. graduates are finding non-academic jobs more easily than academic research positions According to the study, that includes jobs in nontraditional occupations -- patent law, science policy and administration, the media, investment firms, and novel educational settings. Also noted: a growth of employment in medical research industries including biotechnology, research supplies, and pharmaceutical companies.

While academia is still the largest employer for Ph.D. recipients, statistics may be misleading. The NAS study identified a recent trend that may be boosting employment figures for graduates: the "postdoc" or postdoctural position.

Traditionally, a postdoc is the first job taken by a Ph.D. graduate in a research or academic institution. Some graduates find that they have to take back-to-back postdoc positions to stay employed. And postdocs, once seen as a fall-back job, are getting harder to come by.

That has been Laura Magde's experience. Magde, a marine geophysicist who earned her Ph.D. in 1997, discovered that pursuing a career in the academic research setting is so difficult she may be forced out of the field. After her postdoc position ran out, she interviewed for several jobs, including additional postdoc opportunities, to no avail. "There are simply way too many people for far too few jobs," she states.

Dr. Susan M. Henrichs, professor of marine science and department head at the University of Alaska's School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences in Fairbanks, has spent her entire career in research and teaching in academia. She believes that the outlook for a career like hers "will remain about the same." Her forecast is based on the status of research funding. "Because the trend is to stagnate state and federal funding of both research and higher education," she explains, "growth of my field seems unlikely." Her advice to students: "get some research experience as an undergraduate; find out if you actually like research before you commit to graduate school."

So what can students interested in pursuing a career in the ocean sciences expect? According to the experiences of graduate school alumni from Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE) institutions, obtained through a 1995 survey, the following:

• Graduates will hold a number of jobs in a variety of sectors.
• Most graduates can expect to change jobs often.
• Many funding mechanisms, such as internships, externships, traineeships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships, provide the vehicles for educational experiences that are useful in postgraduate careers.