Getting Started - Aquaculture Student

Tommy has just graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor's degree in Biology (Marine Biology and Ecology option) and is now in his first term at Oregon Coast Community College. He has enjoyed the hands-on experience that the classes he is taking to obtain his aquarium science certification have given him. In the short term, he hopes to obtain his master's in aquaculture, specifically in genomics and animal husbandry. Long-term, he hopes to work in the industry as a farm technician or researcher and eventually potentially own his own farm.

Tommy mentioned that when he was growing up., both of his parents were in academia, so he had plenty of opportunities to experience field work growing up, which allowed him to fall in love with the outdoors and ignited his passion for nature. His mother was part of an aquaculture extension education program, which allowed him to “get his feet wet” and experience the world of aquaculture through the aquaculture conferences he attended with her. He mentioned that aquaculture is becoming an increasingly prominent research focus, despite being a relatively new field, and highlighted research being done at the University of Washington with Dr Steven Roberts, to develop sterile oysters. Sterile oysters tend to be better quality organisms for consumption. In addition, farm-raised animals are often less genetically diverse and thus pose a genetic threat if they escape the farming grounds, so developing sterile animals is beneficial. 

The main “soft skill” that Tommy mentioned has been helpful to him throughout his education, and as he applies for jobs and master's programs, is people skills. Knowing how to communicate clearly, efficiently, and relate to people has allowed him to come in contact with a variety of exciting opportunities. He also mentioned that experiencing a mixture of field work and lab work to determine where your strengths, weaknesses, and passions lie is important. The hands-on experiences that you gain throughout biology classes and chemistry classes can be a great starting point, as well as allow students to gain experience with more technical skills, such as pipetting, gel electrophoresis, and even genomic structuring. Similarly, experiences in statistical software such as R Studio can set you apart as an applicant. Lastly, any experience that gets you out in the field, such as boating, trapping, animal husbandry, and/or handling, will prepare you for future experiences. 

Similar to the last question, Tommy highlighted that experiencing field work is invaluable. Some experiences he has had have included BI 450 at Hatfield Marine Science Center and the research project he completed there, working with the small boat program to see how a professional academic unit runs, and the hands-on experiences studying at OCCC, all of which brought him in touch with the field of aquaculture.

Whether you have been interested in aquaculture for 7 years, 2 years, or a couple of months, Tommy emphasized the importance of showing that this field is your passion (and that doesn’t just go for aquaculture). You may not have the specific field work experience, but showing genuine interest and a willingness to apply the transferable skills you have learned shows employers that you would be willing to learn the more technical skills you may not know yet, especially at entry-level positions. 

Tommy wishes he had experienced working in a lab to widen the breadth of experiences he had to determine what he wanted to do. Between his course load and working as a media and communications technician at MACO. He mentioned he wishes he had gone to the professor's office hours or just after class to ask if they had any openings in their lab. Even just volunteering for a couple of hours a week will provide you with invaluable experience that you can mention in your resume, in internship applications, etc. 

Tommy immediately mentioned that rejection and denial “come with the territory,” and the hardest part has actually been finding those job opportunities. Rather than being able to have them handed to you on job boards, career fairs, and on listservs, you have to do the digging and get your hands dirty once you graduate from college. Putting himself out there and mentioning to professors what his interests are has required practice, including walking up to them at conferences and cold emailing for opportunities.  

Continuing off his answer to the question above, he mentioned that networking as an undergrad is something students should take advantage of. Even something as little as going to talk to a professor after class can have a cascading effect. Even if they themselves cannot take on any undergrad or don’t have the opportunities you are looking for, they could connect you to people who do. They can then also serve as an advantage in opening up a line of communication. Tommy also mentioned the value of job fairs and their ability to connect you to your chosen field.

Tommy mentioned that failure and figuring out what you don’t want to do are more important than figuring out what you do want to do. Often, students feel pressure to have every aspect of what they want their career to be figured out, but it is often more useful to know what they do not like to do because the scope of what they do enjoy is so vast. As mentioned before, taking advantage of the opportunities that are available as a student, such as networking, talking to graduate students, and other peers, will be invaluable even if the effect is not immediately seen.

After spending the last 5-6 weeks around moon jellies, taking care of and raising them, Tommy has become surprisingly fond of these creatures, even if he didn't expect to at first.