Agricultural Careers
Ichthyologist
By: Dr. Frank Flanders and Taylor Ginn
Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office
Georgia Department of Education
June 2005
START
•Collecting data
•Sampling fish
•Keeping accurate records
•Managing fish food supply
•Using statistical math to
make sense of the data
•Catching fish and
analyzing them
•Designing and
implementing studies
•Traveling to conduct
research
•Tagging fish
•Conduct laboratory
research
Job Duties & Responsibilities
Qualities and Skills
•Demonstrate the capability for collaboration and working in an
integrated program involving colleagues from several different
countries and cultures
•Excellent written and verbal explanatory skills, with the capacity
to engage scientific, governmental and public audiences
•Exhibit a willingness to travel to diverse locations, sometimes
under difficult physical conditions
•Patience is necessary when conducting research
•Exemplary record keeping skills and the ability to use various
types of technology
Salary
The salary of an Ichthyologist is from about $22,000 to $70,000
with a professional scientist earning a starting salary of $22,000
and a college professor earning between $45,000 and $70,000
depending on years of experience.
-Working at aquatic site to prevent fish from extinction
-On a boat using sonar to track fish depths and distribution
-Work in a laboratory, in a museum, or in an aquarium
-Work in the field doing research, possibly in other countries
Work Environment
Becoming an Ichthyologist
•In high school take:
•Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science,
Writing, Speaking, Animal Science, Wildlife
Management, Natural Resources Management,
Physical Science, Environmental Science, Agricultural
Sciences, and Algebra.
•In college take:
•Aquaculture, Aquatic Ecology, Biology, Biology of
Fishes, Biology of Shellfishes, Chemistry,
Conservation and Management, Fisheries Techniques,
Freshwater Ecology, Marine Biology and Ecology.
•Be in organizations like:
•FFA
•4-H
•If you participate in the FFA, your Supervised
Agricultural Experience (SAE) Program would be an
excellent opportunity to conduct a research project
involving fish.
Career Resources
Professional Organizations
American Fisheries Society
Internet: http://www.fisheries.org/html/jobs.shtml
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Internet: http://www.aaas.org/
American Elasmobranch Society
Internet: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Organizations/aes/aes.htm
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Internet: www.asih.org
Web Links
University of Georgia
Warnell School of Forest Resources
Internet: http://www.forestry.uga.edu/warnell/
Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Internet: http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/
Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology
Department
Internet: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/