assistant

trainer

reservation agent

interpreter

manager

New England Aquarium

As an intern, I was expected to complete assignments at home. I interned three days a week and was a full-time student as well. Although the assignments weren't overwhelming, it would have been nice to know before applying more specifically how much homework I would have. They also expected me to start coming in for a fourth day a couple weeks in. I had been only presented this option before as optional. I told them I could only do the allotted three days a week because I had no remaining days of the week left to be successful as a student as well.

Although the aquarium gives cool benefits to unpaid workers, it is still tough to come in three 9 hour days a week and also have homework and also be asked when I can start working a fourth day too.

For workplace, I feel like the distinction between each "level" of work is very clear, in a bit of a negative way. I understand that certain tasks should be completed by trained and paid staff, but I think that the hierarchy can be a little stifling. This of course does not apply to the entire aquarium, but it does to certain departments and certain individuals within them.

I admire the aquarium as a whole and have gained really great work experience there, but I do wish think they could work more on making sure their volunteers and interns don't feel just like free labor. It may just be me though.

Telemarketing Supervisor for Spring and Summer Annual Campaign.
Recruited, trained and supervised a team of fundraisers in support of the aquarium's environmental, educational and research programs.  The position was fun and challenging.   However, it was clear from the beginning that it was a "temporary" position.  I heard from numerous staff that they were converting the position into a data base admin position and would be outsourcing in the future.
At the end of the summer campaign they released me and indeed they converted the position and outsourced. (I got calls from them from time to time).

One issue is that at the time they used a database for fundraising called RAISER'S EDGE.   They brought in a trainer for a few days and we had a whirlwind tour of the system.   I never truly became proficient in it beyond basics.

The Aquarium has so much potential to be an effective agent for ocean conservation, but comes up short through a work environment where initiative, creativity and critical thinking is stymied by Management. Always has struggled with being a frustrating bureaucracy that even former government employees find to be uniquely crippling, but we have seen a recent shift of removing agency from anyone but the upper management. Top down culture has become paralyzing, and so changes and even ground-level decisions are driven entirely by those at the top, with no room for information from those 'in the trenches' to be genuinely considered without first being adjusted by middle management to fit their priorities and ambitions.

A typical day would start by taking inventory of all the food for the day, followed by counting and distributing the cash drawers to the cashiers. Once opened for business, I'd go back and forth between the snack bars and make sure everything was running smoothly. I would help the co-workers or cover lunches / breaks when needed. At the end of the day, all the drawers were tallied up again and reports were presented to management. The hardest part of the job was having to ask cashiers to explain unacceptable negative or overage in the cash drawers.

New England Aquarium was a great place to work and I enjoyed every hour I worked. It was full of fun times along with a great management team and great co-workers. A day at work for me was mostly helping to train the marine mammals and taking care of them (cleaning and feeding). The hardest part of the job was when you would get a new animal and they were stressed and you would have to help them. After giving them a couple of days for them to get used to me of course. The most enjoyable part of the job is performing with the animals you helped to train.

Opening the ticketing booth consisted of getting the money from the money room and getting to the booth to set up. Set up all cash draws and waited for the people to come. During the summer, weekends, and school vacations the lines seemed to never go away, but during a school week it was pretty quiet unless there was school groups coming for the day. Management never listened to their employees. People where fired for things they didn't do and no one listened to them. I feel it wasn't an equally diverse place to work. They might have changed because this experience was over 10m years ago.

Worked with all around amazing people and could not have asked for a better experience as my first internship.

A typical days include taking and recording temperatures, observing the animals, cleaning husbandry tanks, daily feedings, and interacting with the public whenever possible. 

Hardest part of the job, be willing to constantly be on your feet- running up and down MULTIPLE flights of stairs, carrying heavy things. Don't be afraid to get dirty. 

Most enjoyable part of the job- all of it. I loved every single part of the job.

I worked in several departments during my youth. The coworkers were great, my management was great, always clear communication and expectations. There were also many opportunities to shadow other departments, go to employee-only activities and gatherings, and switch departments if you wanted to pursue something else. If you have a public-facing job, you're interacting with people during all hours, and it can be pretty draining. But the work is fun and the pay is fair.

During my time at the NEAQ I met the best people to work with they trained me and taught me so much about a non profit organization. I learned a lot about different animals. I also felt like I learned how to master public speaking because after the proper training I was talking in front of an attendance as big as 500 people. The hardest part of the job was probably knowing I couldn't go far in the company because i was so young at the time and I already went as far as I could in the company.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Leads are very kind and lenient

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Working with angry guests, and dealing with a lot of repetition

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Involved and personable. Everyone has to communicate with another about their shifts

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Go in at 7:30, open to the public at 8, switch shifts every hour, paid hour lunch in the middle before leaving at close

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assistant 5 salaries reported	$17.60 per hour
Trainer 2 salaries reported	$26.55 per hour
Reservation agent 4 salaries reported	$18.12 per hour
Interpreter 3 salaries reported	$20.56 per hour
Manager 5 salaries reported	$72,100 per year

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