 What is your current job and what does it entail?
I am a marine ecologist in the Ecological Services and Restoration Division of Blasland, Bouck and Lee, a consulting and engineering firm located in Syracuse, NY. When I'm not underwater in some river, estuary or ocean, I work from my home office (a small cabin in the backyard of my house) throughout the year. Most of my work involves evaluating the condition (and recovery) of habitats and aquatic biota in contaminated marine and estuarine ecosystems. Generally, I spend 75 percent of my time in the office and 25 percent in the field. The office work includes writing proposals, managing projects, analyzing data, writing reports and long hours on the phone. The fieldwork includes collecting data that is used to design the reconstruction or replacement of aquatic habitats. We sample surface waters, sediments, submerged vegetation and organisms or perform habitat assessments on aquatic systems to accomplish this. I have worked in numerous marine and estuarine environments around the United States and in Puerto Rico.
What was the key factor in your career decision?
I have always loved the ocean. As a teenager I spent as much time as I could near it, either working as a lifeguard or surfing. When I was 17, I took a scuba diving course that exposed me to the ocean and the interesting life in it. I wanted to know more about what I was seeing, so when I entered college I took as many marine biology courses as possible.
What do like most about your career?
If asked this when I was younger, I would say field work! Now that I'm a bit older, I think I enjoy more of a balance between time in the field and in the office. I enjoy conceptualizing restoration design, developing sampling programs, analyzing data with statistical methods, and writing the results and conclusions.
What do you like least about your career?
Most of the time the work is very stressful, with tight deadlines and slim budgets. As a result of these constraints, it is sometimes harder to enjoy the fact that I am actually getting paid to conduct fish community surveys on a coral reef in Puerto Rico, evaluate benthic invertebrate and fish community recovery in artificial reefs off Santa Barbara, or lead a habitat assessment in the tidal creeks of Georgia. Having been in this business for over 15 years now, I can honestly say I still enjoy any opportunity to "get outside."
What do you do to relax?
I like to watch my daughter Sarah jump horses or watch my son Nicholas play soccer. On special occasion, I like to go out to dinner with my wife Elizabeth. If possible, I like to take daily runs on trails in the woods near our home, scuba dive, golf or read a good underwater adventure/espionage book.
Who are your heroes/heroines?
Richard Truchon (my father), Richard Fralick (a Plymouth State College professor), Libby Hyman (invertebrate zoologist), and those who give their time and effort to bettering the lives of children.
What advice would you give a high school student who expressed an interest in pursuing a career in your field?
Try to get some experience in the marine sciences by working as a library assistant, laboratory assistant or teaching assistant. Ask your science teachers or guidance counselors if they can help you find such an opportunity at local colleges, government agencies or private firms. You might be able to find a job sorting biological samples, prepping labs, conducting computer searches, entering data or even assisting in fieldwork. Get some training — learn how to scuba dive, become a certified rescue diver, learn CPR or first aid or get a Coast Guard license to operate a boat. Whatever you can do now will only help you when you apply to college. Once at college, get to know your professors interests and apply for a work-study position with them. Look seriously at taking a minor in a field that compliments marine science such as organic chemistry, biostatistics, etc. You'll be amazed at how quickly your experience and qualifications will develop.
Are career opportunities in your field increasing or decreasing and why?
In environmental consulting, opportunities for marine scientists are growing, particularly for those with an M.S. or Ph.D. Marine scientists with technical abilities in restoration, photoimagery analysis, biostatistics, sediment toxicology and other such areas are frequently sought after and tend to assume more of a role in the decision-making process of research projects. Also, individuals who can serve in more than one capacity as a manager, a technical specialist and on a field crew, for instance are more marketable than those who cannot. The condition of the environment also provides for opportunities in the marine science field. We as a people face increasing problems with industrial pollution from the past, the present and the future. Solving these problems will require more scientists who are knowledgeable about the interaction of toxicants with the functional ecology of marine and estuarine ecosystems.
What will you be doing 10 years from today?
I will probably still be in the environmental business, probably as a principal scientist for an environmental consulting firm. As I get closer to retirement, I would like to shift the emphasis of my career towards teaching applied ecology and biostatistics at the high school or college level.
Salary: $80,000 - $100,000
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