5 Ways to Combine Your Career with Your Love of the Sea

There is no doubt to feeling amazing when you are near the sea. Scientific research proves that spending time on the beach is really good for one’s well-being.

There are a number of factors why the sea calms us. For one, clinical psychologist Richard Shuster, PsyD said, “The color blue has been found by an overwhelming amount of people to be associated with feelings of calm and peace.” Science also explains that seeing the waves or hearing the soothing sounds of water set offs a flood of neurochemicals in our brains. Thus, studies by the University of Exeter show that living by the sea reduces stress and makes one happier.

In the book by marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols titled Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do, he revealed the truth on the remarkable effects of water on our health and well-being.

Sans all research and studies, we’re sure you know how calming the sea is. While some of us gets the chance to live near bodies of water, many are landlocked and needs to drive for hours to get some vitamin sea. If you’ve entertained the idea of living near the sea, there are ways for you to enjoy a career that’s directly or closely connected with your love of the water, here are some.

Get into a Career Related to Water

Maritime and sailing jobs vary from sailboat designing to ocean engineering, from being a stewardess to becoming a naval architect as what you would see on Oyster Yachts sailing careers and other job pages. There’s a wide range of expertise to explore, and there surely is one that you’d fit in. The cliché goes, “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” is a perfect quote if you’d want to work in the marine industry. Here’s some you can consider to become:

Aquarist

An aquarist is a person who keeps an aquarium, they often work at public aquariums. Most aquarists also work at nature reserves, zoos, and amusement parks.  Aquarists may also conduct field research outdoors, in the sea or ocean, of course. In business, aquarists may work at pet stores too,  as commercial fish breeders.

Marine biologist

If you are curious about life, studying the creatures within the waters might satisfy both your love of the sea and your curiosity.

Naval Architect and/or Marine Engineer

Naval Architects and Marine Engineers both work with the ships and the marine industry. Though they have different roles, they work closely together. Naval architects design the vessel, while marine engineers make sure that the ship systems function as per the design.

Diver

Divers are as diverse (no pun intended) as could be. They do work underwater, performing many jobs that could be easier done on land. For example,  divers can for construction and maintenance work on offshore oil rigs.  Some are members of scientific research teams tasked to photograph fish, vegetation, and other underwater dwellers and habitation. More important works also include those for law enforcement agencies or investigation firms like searching for accident victims, lost valuables, and such.  For lighter work, some divers are at resorts as recreation specialists.

Aquatic Veterinarian

Aquatic veterinarians are licensed animal health professionals who specialize on marine animals and invertebrates. They pretty much do the same work as your cat’s vet but they have special knowledge of aquatic creatures to be able to administer health work.

Watersports Manager

Watersports managers are responsible to supervise the water sport facilities and activities in resorts, cruise ships, even yacht clubs. Watersports could include snorkeling, diving, scuba diving, Bananaboat riding among others.

Ship Crew

Cruise ships aside, there are about 16 types of shipping vessels that function from being passenger vessels to cargo ships to container vessels to chemical carriers. All these ships require a lot of crews, ranked accordingly to the nature of their jobs.

Choose a Job you Can do Remotely

If shifting careers seem too big a task, try a remote job. Working at home has been the norm for many even before the pandemic. Then there are those who work from anywhere. Digital nomads, as often referred to, are remote workers who travel or hop to a different city/location regularly.

If you are able to do remote work, you can either do one of these two points.

Find a Spot By the Sea

Not all beaches may be suitable as a workplace. Find one with coffee shops that allow people to stay for long, or co-working spaces you can spend hours at to do your work. If you only need a few hours to finish work, head to the beach and soak in some vitamin D while sending emails out.

When Travelling, Choose the Beach

If you travel a lot and still do work while away, there are a lot of beautiful beaches to explore. Barcelona is one of the top go-to-places for digital nomads, but Kefalonia is also good idea. Look for like-minded people – those who both love being out in the water, and who doesn’t mind combining work and leisure.

Live Near The Sea

Write About the Ocean

“The cure for anything is salt water—tears, sweat, or the sea. ”

Isak Dinesen [Karen Blixen]

Many authors were inspired by the ocean that they wrote great pieces about it. One quote that resonates to us goes “For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always our self we find in the sea,” (E.E.Cummings) : we will lose things at some point in our lives (pet, people, even ourselves), but at the end of the day the sea has a way of reminding us that life comes and goes.

Set up a Tank at Home

If the above suggestions aren’t doable, you can always set up an aquarium at home to somehow get a feeling of being near the shore. It doesn’t have to be an extravagant saltwater tank, even nano cube tanks and biOrbs will give a relaxing atmosphere.

Aquascaping is a therapeutic past time. You also get that feeling of fulfillment when you are able to care for plants and fish in a small ecosystem. You can ask the help of an aquarist from your friendly pet shop, and also learn the ropes from online videos. There are those who started out with home aquariums as a hobby but later earned from selling off fish they bred.

What other possible ways can you think  of if you want to combine your career with your love of the sea? Let us know in the comments.