Aquarist Review

I was a volunteer aquarist, so came into the site 4 out of 5 days a week. I started off working with the other aquarists in their sections and helped where I could. When I felt a little more confident I was given my own list of jobs daily, this would include cleaning, feeding, water testing etc and food prep. Often I would be dealing with my own sections alone.

Yes, I have become more confident and better at time keeping as I had to get all my jobs done before I left for the day. I also developed new specific skills relating to my course. This included keeping marine animals and learning about their behaviours and feeding patterns. I also learnt more about water quality testing and gained skills working in a real job.

Yes I would be responsible for prepping all the food for all the animals in the aquarium and if this wasn't done properly it would affect the next days feeding. I would also be left in charge of sections making sure all the animals in the specific sections were fed, their tanks had been cleaned and their filtration systems etc were all working properly

I was supported from both the team at SeaLife, they always asked if I needed help with certain things and asked how I was doing throughout the day. I was also supported through university as I would be sending regular emails and receiving check-ups from my placement tutor and from the placement team.

They were all super supportive of eachother and very happy and grateful for me being there aiding them in their tasks. We would have morning meetings every day where the manager would ask how our days were going and how our evenings / weekends had been

I really enjoyed my placement year, I was able to get hands on experience working in a proper job and gained valuable skills that I can now bring forward to my final year at university and for a future career.

Yes

I would say its very hands-on and repetitive with lots of work to be done. But it is really rewarding work and fun to work so close with animals. If you dont like working with fish it isn't going to be ideal as food prep is a lot of chopping fish!