Educator
Educating the public about marine life is a growing business. Marine mammal hospitals and aquariums are hiring educators who specialize in marine life to teach students and the general public about life in the sea. Teaching visitors about marine ecosystems isn't new. Many aquariums have been doing this for decades. What's new are the programs that take the public behind the scenes for a close-up view. Some aquariums have programs that allow visitors to swim with the sharks. Others employ educators to take tourists out on whale-watching expeditions. A few are teaching volunteers how to assist in rescue operations. The bottom line is that educators are needed to work with the public.
At the Marine Mammal Center in California, Doreen Moser Gurrola works as the assistant director of education. She teaches everyone from pre-K to high school students about ocean life. “I take students out on the water to take water-quality surveys,” she says. “They also do sand crab surveys, plankton surveys to identify different species, and even track harbor seals.”
She works full-time at the Marine Mammal Center and also contracts herself out to lead whale-watching and nature tours. At the Center she works both outdoors and in the classroom showing students how to identify, care for, and tag animals. “I enjoy being able to share this knowledge with students who are eager to learn,” she says. “They have a real interest in marine mammals, and even the tough ones who at first seem uninterested quickly come around when they see an animal.”
Because of the success of the program with students, the Marine Mammal Center began offering education workshops to the public in 2008. Now visitors can learn about sea creatures in an up-close and personal setting. The Center's educators teach visitors about ecosystems, diseases that affect the animals, the animals' immune systems, and the impact the environment has on the animals.
Approximately 80 percent of all life on earth is under the sea, and less than 10 percent of the ocean has been explored. That means there are a lot of opportunities for workers to discover life in our planet's bodies of water.
Educating visitors has boosted funding to various organizations. Most wildlife centers and aquariums are nonprofits that rely heavily on donor support. By reaching out to the public, letting them have a greater understanding of what's going on the behind the scenes, and sharing knowledge about the animals, these nonprofits have strengthened their funding and membership.
Workers at the Marine Mammal Center cannot see the organization existing without its many volunteers. The same goes for the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston. “Volunteers are essential to what we do,” says Svenja Xeller, education programs instructor at the South Carolina Aquarium. She started as a volunteer six years ago, and has held her paid position as an educator for almost two years. She still volunteers on Saturdays.
For Xeller, being a volunteer has a major perk — she can dive with the sharks. She is able to get up-close with the sharks as well as teach the public about them. She also feeds the sharks and cleans the tank.
Most people think of the movie Jaws when they think of sharks. Actually, sharks attack fewer than 70 people each year, according to the International Shark Attack File. Of those attacks, between eight and twelve are fatal. Shark attacks get a lot of attention, even though more people are struck by lightning every year.
As the education program instructor, Xeller works full-time teaching students from kindergarten to high school about marine life. She and the education staff give talks to visitors to the aquarium. She also sets the schedules of five full-time educators and one part-timer. “I work with schools to create lesson plans,” she says.
Throughout the aquarium, she and the other educators impart their knowledge about the numerous exhibits. The aquarium also has an Amazon-themed exhibit, so Xeller works with boa constrictors, anteaters, opossums, macaws, and other animals from that part of the world.
Xeller earned her degree in psychology and education. She credits getting her job to volunteering. “The last two openings we had brought in over 100 applications from all over the country,” she says. “That number was narrowed down to a handful. I applied and got the job because I already had my foot in the door as a volunteer. They knew me here. Many of us got our start that way.”
Moser Gurrola agrees that volunteering definitely puts you ahead of the pile of resumes. She suggests getting a master's degree in education with an emphasis in the sciences, and interning or volunteering at a place you want to work.
Salaries vary greatly. In South Carolina, educators can earn between $23,000 and $28,000 to start. The salaries in California are higher, and reflect the cost of living.
