In 1935, Carson was hired as a Field Aide for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. Her job was to assemble information about natural history and conservation and write about it, Carson was more than happy to write about science as it was exactly what she wanted to do. She earned $6.50 an hour and mainly wrote short scripts for a radio program called “Romance Under the Waters”.

In 1936, she submitted an essay entitled “The World of Waters” to her boss- Elmer Higgins, who said that it was too good to be a minor government production. He rejected it and suggested that she sell it to the Atlantic Monthly magazine instead. Atlantic accepted it for $100 but asked that it be renamed “Undersea”, which Atlantic Published in 1937. That same year, Carson’s sister- Marian Carson died, leaving behind two daughters in the care of Carson.

Carson’s job gave her access to a wealth of information and research about the sea, which gave her topics to write about for newspaper and magazines articles. Hence while writing for the Bureau, she also continued to sell her articles to support her family.

“Rachel Carson on University of Miami research boat Nauplius, to do shallow diving with copper helmet, 1949”. By Shirley A. Briggs, Courtesy of the Rachel Carson Council.

Carson was later appointed to a full-time position at the Bureau as a junior aquatic biologist, where her job included the writing of reports on fisheries conservation issues and some lab work. By this time, her salary was $2000 a year.

In 1939, the Bureau of Fisheries was transferred from the Commerce Department to the Department of the Interior and was later merged with the Bureau of Biological Survey in 1940 to form the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. She retained the same position, continued editing and writing reports and her pay was now $2300 a year.

“Rachel Carson at microscope, 1951”. By Brooks Studio, Courtesy of the Rachel Carson Council.

In 1942, she became Assistant aquatic biologist at the Fishery Biology section of the Interior Department’s Fish & Wildlife Service and by 1944, Carson had been promoted to a newly created position- Information Specialist, she now earned $3800 a year. As Information Specialist, perhaps the highlight of Carson’s career at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was the creation of the Conservation in Action Series, a series of pamphlets that explained what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was doing in federal refuges and taught the public the importance of preserving wildlife habitats.

Although she was happy to have a good job that was paying well, Carson felt that something was missing, she longed for something more and by 1945, had started to think about a career change. Eventually, Carson left the Fish & Wildlife Service in 1952 to become a full-time author.