How to hire a Marine Scientist

How to hire a marine scientist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step marine scientist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a marine scientist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new marine scientist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a marine scientist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A marine scientist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, marine scientists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of marine scientists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type Of Marine Scientist	Description	Hourly Rate
   Marine Scientist	Zoologists and wildlife biologists study animals and other wildlife and how they interact with their ecosystems. They study the physical characteristics of animals, animal behaviors, and the impacts humans have on wildlife and natural habitats... Show More	$21-61
   Environmental Service Technician	An environmental service technician is an employee who works in a hospital or healthcare facility to maintain cleanliness and a healthy environment within the premises. Environmental service technicians are involved in traditional janitorial tasks as well as proper handling and disposal of biological waste... Show More	$12-17
   Environmental Technician	An environmental technician is responsible for identifying, evaluating, preventing, and controlling contamination of the environment. They study how it affects human health with the supervision of environmental engineers and environmental scientists... Show More	$14-24

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • NOAA
   • Water Quality
   • Geotechnical
   • DMR
   • Fisheries

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
   • Conduct research and analyze data to identify potential biomarkers and provide input for selection of candidates for non-clinical studies development.
   • Facilitate customer acceptance of demand forecast by developing visualization processes, tutoring clients in methodology, and providing detail walk-through examples.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your marine scientist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A marine scientist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a marine scientist in Michigan may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level marine scientist usually earns less than a senior-level marine scientist. Additionally, a marine scientist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average marine scientist salary

   $76,640yearly

   $36.85 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level marine scientist salary

   $45,000 yearly salary

   Updated March 24, 2025

   Average marine scientist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	California	$99,588	$48
   2	Washington	$81,260	$39
   3	New York	$80,909	$39
   4	Massachusetts	$79,688	$38
   5	Maryland	$74,334	$36
   6	District of Columbia	$73,730	$35
   7	Hawaii	$61,326	$29
   8	North Carolina	$60,060	$29
   9	South Carolina	$58,176	$28
   10	Georgia	$48,906	$24

   Average marine scientist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Center for Coastal Studies	$86,282	$41.48
   2	General Dynamics	$81,791	$39.32	43
   3	San Jose State University	$74,741	$35.93	1
   4	AECOM	$71,084	$34.17	75
   5	Versar	$59,855	$28.78
   6	S.C. Department of Commerce	$43,432	$20.88
   7	Maine	$42,816	$20.58

4. Writing a Marine Scientist Job Description

   A good marine scientist job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a marine scientist job description:

   Marine Scientist job description example

   World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the world's leading conservation organizations, seeks a Marine Conservation Scientist: Monitoring and Evaluation.
   Major Function
   
   Across the Chilean Seascape, WWF-US is collaborating with diverse rights holders on locally-determined efforts that promote sustainable livelihoods, nature-based economies, inclusive conservation, and improved governance of marine and fisheries resources.
   
   Under the supervision of the Director of Marine Science, the Marine Conservation Scientist will plan and implement overarching monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) framework for WWF's marine activities across the Chilean Seascape. This future framework will evaluate the impact of multiple interventions (i.e. fisheries, area-based conservation, market-based) across the seascape, as well as to measure both ecological and social outcomes.
   
   In addition to the work in Chile, the Marine Conservation Scientist will conduct research and analysis to support the implementation of the WWF-US Oceans MEL program, working across oceans subteams to track progress, outcomes, and impacts across projects. They will support the communication of the work internally to ensure it informs programmatic work as well as externally to interested institutions, donors, partner organizations, and the general public through publications and presentations.
   
   This position is preferably based in the WWF-US Washington, DC office. Remote candidates will be considered.
   
   + Works with WWF-US, WWF-Chile, and relevant stakeholders (Indigenous Peoples, fishers, government agencies, local research institutions, etc.) to co-design cross-cutting monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan to measure the impact of WWF's work across the Chilean Seascape. This includes:
   
   + Developing a participatory framework/methodology for community-managed marine areas.
   
   + Tracking the management and governance of fisheries, aquaculture, etc. across the seascape.
   
   + Monitoring social and ecological conservation impacts of interventions in fisheries, aquaculture, OECMs, and marine protected areas.
   
   + Conduct an inventory of existing MEL tools and identify researchers and institutions to support this MEL work. Build/strengthen local partnerships with academic, research, or evaluation experts.
   
   + Develop communications outreach for MEL products to facilitate decision-making and learning. This includes mapping out audiences, policy engagement, and other opportunities to inform adaptive management. Represent WWF-US for internal and external audiences.
   
   + Provides technical support and coordination of this interdisciplinary monitoring and evaluation plan. This includes oversight and support of project personnel, grantees, consultants, and others to facilitate coordination, communication, and regular reporting.
   
   + Builds marine science capacity within WWF conservation programs, including how to design, implement, conduct, analyze, and communicate MEL.
   
   + Performs other duties as assigned.
   
   + A Master's Degree is required. A Ph.D. in marine natural or social science or related discipline is highly desired. The position requires four years of experience in international biodiversity conservation projects/conservation science (or related fields).
   
   + Strong analytical skills; quantitative skills. Spatial analytical skills are highly desired.
   
   + Experience in monitoring and evaluation of conservation impact and interdisciplinary methods and data.
   
   + Experience designing participatory monitoring and evaluation processes.
   
   + Experience including Indigenous knowledge alongside scientific knowledge in research or MEL is a plus.
   
   + Experience in marine spatial planning is a plus.
   
   + Excellent organizational skills.
   
   + Strong project management skills.
   
   + Ability to work on initiatives with multiple and competing priorities.
   
   + Ability to work effectively as a team member with a wide range of individuals, across cultures and time zones.
   
   + Fluent English; Proficiency in Spanish a plus.
   
   + Committed to building and strengthening a culture of inclusion within and across teams.
   
   + Identifies and aligns with WWF's core values: Courage, Integrity, Respect, and Collaboration:
   
   + Demonstrates courage by speaking up even when it is difficult, or unpopular.
   
   + Builds trust with colleagues by acting with integrity, owning mistakes, and holding oneself accountable.
   
   + Welcomes other points of view and ideas, recognizing and embracing different and contrary perspectives with kindness, curiosity, and encouragement.
   
   + Makes conscious efforts to promote cooperative practices, behaviors, and ways of working across many groups and individuals.
   
   WWF is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace and requires all US-based staff to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. WWF will consider requests for accommodation from the vaccine requirement based on disability, medical contraindication, sincerely held religious belief, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.
   
   Please Note: The application deadline is October 23, 2022 at 11:59pm ET. The job advertisement will be taken down after this date.
   
   To Apply:
   
   + Submit cover letter and resume through our Careers Page, Requisition #23041
   
   + Due to the high volume of applications we are not able to respond to inquiries via phone
   
   As an EOE/AA employer, WWF will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or protected Veteran status. WWF values diversity and inclusion and welcomes diverse candidates to apply.
   
   External Company URL: www.wwfus.org
   
   Street: 1250 24th St. NW
   
   Post End Date: 10/23/2022

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right marine scientist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with marine scientists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit marine scientists who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your marine scientist job on Zippia to find and recruit marine scientist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit marine scientists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new marine scientist

   Once you've found the marine scientist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new marine scientist. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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