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Marine Animal Care Specialist

Aquarium: Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA
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Do you want to be a Marine Mammal Care Specialist?

Are you fascinated with the sea and all of the life teaming under and soaring above its surface? Do you fantasize about working with marine animals on a daily basis? Do you love visiting aquariums and wonder what it would be like to work at one? Wonder no more. The animal care team at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, will show you the ropes on your quest to become a marine animal care specialist during a VocationVacations dream job holiday.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is an entirely salt water aquarium that features animals from the Pacific Ocean. The aquarium, which is open seven days a week, features about 600 species ranging from birds to fish to sea otters and sea lions. In total, the aquarium has approximately 12,500 specimens, according to Perry Hampton, the aquarium’s director of husbandry.

There are five animal care departments at the aquarium: water quality and laboratory; the dive department; fish and invertebrates; mammals and birds; and the veterinary department. Hampton says vocationers will get a sense of how each department works and its responsibilities.

The animal care staff’s day begins with early morning rounds, checking up on exhibits and the animals. The staff then develops a plan for the day based on what they find in their rounds. The day also revolves around regular routines and any special projects the staff may have, like moving animals from one exhibit space to another.

A big part of the day is taken up with cleaning exhibits and preparing food. Exhibit cleaning can include scrubbing algae off tanks and siphoning gravel. Food preparation is a detailed process where staff cut and prepare diets for a broad variety of animals. It’s not unusual for a staff member to spend over an hour a day chopping up restaurant-quality fish, shrimp and squid for feedings.

Another responsibility for many staff members is public presentations. Some staff host public feedings where they talk with the public about the animals, while others carry small animals out into the aquarium so the animals can mingle with visitors.

Hampton says most of the aquarium’s 40-45 employees have bachelor’s degrees in biology or a related science. The aquarium is greatly supported by 500-600 volunteers who help out on a regular basis, many in the animal care department. Many of the full-time employees started out as volunteers. The employees take personal pride in ensuring the animals receive the best care possible. But the work can also be very challenging.

“People say, ‘You work at the aquarium, that must be really cool!’ And a lot of it is, but it’s like any job, there are ups and downs. It’s good to experience what it’s really like - its warts and all,” Hampton says. “To an outsider our job can seem really glamorous until you see someone chopping fish into a fine paste for an hour and a half or scraping algae off the bottom of a tank.”

Working for an aquarium doesn’t attract people looking for really high wages, but instead people who love animals and are excited to work with them every day, Hampton says.

“People don’t tend to get rich doing this but they do it because they have a passion for it,” he says.

While on your Marine Animal Care Specialist VocationVacations® dream job holiday at the Aquarium of the Pacific, activities will include some or all of the following:
  • Help animal care staff with daily routine duties including:
  • Cleaning and simple maintenance of exhibits, enclosures, life support equipment.
  • Food preparation
  • Simple animal moves
  • Record keeping
  • Participate in inspection rounds to check status of exhibits, quarantine/holding systems and their occupants
  • Animal shipment arrivals and departures
  • Talk with animal care staff to get personal insight into the challenges and rewards of their chose occupation
  • Work and interact with husbandry staff members in one or more of the following specialized areas:
  • Aquarists - assist in basic care as indicated above
  • Mammalogists - assist in basic care as indicated above, learn basics of operant conditioning training
  • Aviculturists - assist in basic care as indicated above
  • Program Animals - assist in basic care as indicated above
  • Water Quality Lab - help collect water samples, set up and run analysis, discuss implications of results with Lab Supervisor, help provide results to animal care staff.
  • Veterinary - review of active cases; observe specialized treatments with Vet and Vet Tech.
  • Dive Operations - meet DSO and dive teams, observe routines including gear prep, briefing, liaison with animal care staff, observe feeding, cleaning and public presentation dives. Overview of Scientific Diving program.
Because of the very special nature of this VocationVacations, the unique nature of the activities, varying daily activities, and the interaction with the public, you will not be able to participate in the following:
  • SCUBA diving
  • Direct physical contact with sea otters
  • Speaking in public presentations
  • Direct participation in activities that require specialized training such as forklift, tool, respirator or compressor operation, or fall-protection.
We cannot guarantee any firm commitments to work in specific areas due to changing daily obligations but will make every effort to involve you in activities to the extent possible. We may be able to provide some opportunities for participants to get up close and personal with some animals like Miller or another sea lion, the octopus or otter. This will always be time permitting.

The Marine Animal Care Specialist Vocation Vacations® dream job holiday with Perry Hampton and his team at the Aquarium of the Pacific includes:
  • One day of one-on-one mentorship in your dream job as a Marine Mammal Care Specialist
  • The option to participate in a total of one hour of pre- and post- VocationVacations career coaching from an accredited, affiliated VocationVacations career coach
  • A pocket-size VocationVacations journal so you can document your dream job coming to reality
  • Light lunches with your mentor

Available: All year based on mentor's availability

Price: $1199 Per Person

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Suggested Accommodations

Long Beach Hilton

Renaissance Long Beach
(Not included in the price of the VocationVacations® holiday)

Other activities and tourist destinations while on your VocationVacations® adventure:

Reservation, Cancellation and Rescheduling Rules and Conditions:
Each requested date for a VocationVacation is 100% dependent upon the mentor’s approval of dates.  Each Vocationer is required to sign a liability release stating that they are 18 years or older, 21 years or older if the VocationVacation involves the production or serving of alcohol.  Full payment of the VocationVacation is required to make a reservation. A $100 non-refundable fee is assessed if a VocationVacations experience is cancelled or rescheduled prior to 14-days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday, based on the approved availability of the mentor to reschedule. A VocationVacation cannot be rescheduled and is non-refundable if cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday. Written notification of cancellation or rescheduling is required in all cases.  Grounded Nomads, LLC dba VocationVacations encourages all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling.