INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES: EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND STUDENT PREPARATION NEEDED WITHIN THE GEOSCIENCES

Graduate students entering today’s workforce run into challenges that their colleagues graduating only 2-3 years prior did not face due to the cyclical nature of commodity markets. Although the current job outlook for geoscientists and other STEM graduates is bolstered by reports that a future workforce shortage is occurring in many sectors, it is still important that university faculty prepare their graduate students to find rewarding and productive careers. Geoscience departments historically have had mixed results introducing many of the market sectors to undergraduate and graduate students alike as faculty often have limited professional experience outside of academia. This presentation will discuss the major sectors available to students, breadth of courses and experiences to be competitive upon graduation, hard and soft skills employers are focused on for landing that first job, and what the recent graduate can expect upon embarking on a career in several sectors. These topics are to aid the faculty mentor in determining where their student excels and where they may need areas of improvement.

In addition, advancements in environmental consulting will be discussed – often seen as a ‘safety’ job in academia but is a sector that may require vigorous and challenging data analysis, data interpretation and problem solving from many sub-disciplines in geosciences. For example, an emerging tool that is being utilized in non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) conceptual models is Environmental Sequence Stratigraphy (ESS). ESS begins by reviewing the depositional environment of the site and identifying fining and coarsening sequences where small variations in grain size, and therefore permeability, may create capillary barriers to NAPL movement. Other examples of technologies that harness students from non-hydrogeological or environmental backgrounds include recent advances in geophysics, LIDAR, drone mapping, and petrography. Departments that seek opportunities to expose students early on to the range of employment options available in the workforce by integrating skills needed for job preparation through experiential learning in the curriculum are best equipped to foster a culture of career-ready individuals committed to the future of geosciences and STEM fields overall.