Hi! I'm a quirky tree-hugger environmental geologist. I'm leaving this comment as a placeholder until I have time to provide more thoughtful answers - I have to run to represent my interdisciplinary employer at a job fair :p
But I might forget to come back, so feel free to ping me if I don't reply in greater detail by tomorrow.
haha, awesome. did you mean for me to solicit further response on here, or in a PM or something? I've certainly gotten an earful of different perspectives and I'd love to hear more from you. :D
It really depends on where you want to work. Most of the money is in your standard mining/oil industry planet rapeage, but in fully developed western countries, it's more in the engineering side of things.
it might depend on some extent to your region, or the region in which you want to end up
haha, you're living in the region I'd definitely like to end up in.
Stridency and/or stumpbox speeches about any philosophical, political, or lifestyle topics are not advised.
half the reason I'm leaving social science behind is because I'm trying to tone this stuff down a few notches. it's kind of impossible to be an idealist of my variety (gay, pagan, vegetarian, living in arkansas) and to remain engaged without going slightly nuts. I'm done bashing my head against a brick wall. interesting, stable, and fun is quite enough for me at this point.
3. Of course grad programs are competitive. You're one of hundreds of similarly qualified students applying for some school to pay for your education. It's hard to know what you mean by "anywhere good," since schools typically specialize in (i.e. have better lab equipment/faculty/resources) a few areas of research. So if you're interested in thermochronology you'd better apply to schools that have thermochron labs. If you want to study Cenozoic paleontology don't apply to a university that doesn't have a paleontologist on the faculty. And since you're obviously not at the application stage yet, your first step should be finding schools or programs that may interest you and asking them what would make you a better candidate when the time comes
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thanks for the information. I asked on here because I'm just now taking my first geology course, which is at night, and my professor commutes so hanging around after class seems like a bad plan. figured I'd get a better cross-section of viewpoints online, too.
as far as snappy, I was somewhat caught off guard and dismayed at first but in comparison to rolinator's comment your restraint and consideration are nigh angelic, so no worries. You're right, I'm looking for validation, and was a bit confused as to why that bothers people. past majors include psychology, sociology, and social work, so this kind of culture shock is exactly what I want to encounter online rather than elsewhere.
1. I feel kinda bad for snapping at you now that I know you're not just another freshman at a big university going "oooh, geologists get to go CAMPING and not many people like to do THAT! I'll be perfect!" The freshman at my school were pretty annoying at times (and pretty awesome at times, can't lie
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re: grad schoolhatchlingJanuary 29 2010, 00:36:45 UTC
I just finished applying for this fall. Things I wish I'd known when I was an undergrad: *Keeping your overall GPA over 3.0 is more important than I thought. *Research experience is a great boon, but so is knowledge of GIS, remote sensing, and programming. A lot of profs I contacted seemed to expect- or at least really want- a lot more skills than anyone ever told me I should acquire as an undergrad. In other words, do as much as you feasibly can.
Things that have been helpful for me: *Taking a higher level of physics than was required *Getting experience as a grader and TA as an undergrad
Other advice: network, network. Get in touch with professors that are working on the kind of stuff you want to do as early as possible. Let them know you exist and you like what they're doing and you want to be their grad student. Ask them what kind of skills they need while you still have time to learn them. Go to seminars, talks, etc.
Re: grad schoollitteraocciditJanuary 31 2010, 02:04:36 UTC
hmm. I've wondered if I ought to take a few computer science classes. there's an IT minor at my school. I know they offer a few GIS courses in the earth sciences department too.
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But I might forget to come back, so feel free to ping me if I don't reply in greater detail by tomorrow.
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haha, you're living in the region I'd definitely like to end up in.
Stridency and/or stumpbox speeches about any philosophical, political, or lifestyle topics are not advised.
half the reason I'm leaving social science behind is because I'm trying to tone this stuff down a few notches. it's kind of impossible to be an idealist of my variety (gay, pagan, vegetarian, living in arkansas) and to remain engaged without going slightly nuts. I'm done bashing my head against a brick wall. interesting, stable, and fun is quite enough for me at this point.
*off to class*
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as far as snappy, I was somewhat caught off guard and dismayed at first but in comparison to rolinator's comment your restraint and consideration are nigh angelic, so no worries. You're right, I'm looking for validation, and was a bit confused as to why that bothers people. past majors include psychology, sociology, and social work, so this kind of culture shock is exactly what I want to encounter online rather than elsewhere.
thanks again =)
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I just finished applying for this fall. Things I wish I'd known when I was an undergrad: *Keeping your overall GPA over 3.0 is more important than I thought.
*Research experience is a great boon, but so is knowledge of GIS, remote sensing, and programming. A lot of profs I contacted seemed to expect- or at least really want- a lot more skills than anyone ever told me I should acquire as an undergrad. In other words, do as much as you feasibly can.
Things that have been helpful for me:
*Taking a higher level of physics than was required
*Getting experience as a grader and TA as an undergrad
Other advice:
network, network. Get in touch with professors that are working on the kind of stuff you want to do as early as possible. Let them know you exist and you like what they're doing and you want to be their grad student. Ask them what kind of skills they need while you still have time to learn them. Go to seminars, talks, etc.
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thanks!
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