To become a successful marine veterinarian, you first have to be very passionate about marine life. It is your passion that will drive to you excel in this field. There are very few marine veterinarians around the world, but getting into this field is still difficult. In fact, if you ask most marine vets, they will tell you that it is probably more difficult to become a marine vet than it is to become a dentist or get into medical school.
To start with, you have to go to college for a 4-year degree in zoology or biology, taking as many animal related courses as possible along the way. Make sure that you are diligent and have a high GPA. Since there are just a handful of veterinary schools, the competition to get in is very stiff.
Towards the end of your tenure in college, start preparing for the GRE. The GRE is a veterinary school entrance exam and consists of Math and English. It would also be smart to get a job at an animal shelter or an animal volunteer organization. This will give you some much-needed experience that will help with your vet school applications.
While you are in college, you will probably be very busy with your intense course load, so use your vacations to build on your resume by working at animal shelters or with established vets. If you happen to work near a marine park, try to get a job there, so that you can start building your experience and resume for specializing in marine animal care.
There are not many courses that specialize in Marine Mammal care, so you have to make sure that your GPA is high and your experience is vast, so that you can get into the appropriate course of your choice.
It takes a lot of perseverance and years of hard work to become a marine veterinarian but if you are persistent, you will be on your way to a very fulfilling career.
