Env. Scientist with science related grad school questions... please help!

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>Let me start by saying this is a pretty cool forum you all have here and I would like to thank all of you in advance for your responses. Now on to my questions…</p>

<p>Before I start with my predicament, I’ll give a brief academic background of myself. I graduated in 2006 with a BS in environmental science and a BA in geography from a small liberal arts school. I finished school with a 3.33 GPA and I took the GRE after graduating and I scored an 1100 (~600 Mth). I slacked off my sophomore year and I played collegiate golf ¾ years, which contributed to my lower GPA, but I managed to get straight A’s my senior year. I suck at standardized tests and I don’t consider myself book smart (I rely more on common sense). </p>

<p>Since graduation I have held two jobs. My first job was working with a private consultant doing underground hydrocarbon remediation. I thought this line of work was pretty boring, but before I could find a better job, the firm that hired me laid me off. Now I am working and have been working for the state government doing air pollution related work. Most of the time, I enjoy what I do, but I am worried because there is little means of advancement both position-wise and compensation-wise. I must say that I really enjoyed being a student—especially after I was able to take chemistry/ecology related courses. I am starting to think that now is a good time to go back to school (probably to get a masters degree) so that I can be more marketable in the job market. Within the next year I plan on moving (out west possibly) because I am sick of the ocean/living in a Navy town.</p>

<p>While doing a rather extensive graduate school search on the internet, I have come up with several problems. (1) First, most graduate programs seem to want their students to focus their studies on a specific topic. My major was rather broad in nature. How do I choose a graduate school when their programs all seem to be focused on a specific topic without trying out several jobs involving many different topics? For example many programs have an environmental program and as a student in the said program you are then required to choose a specific media in which you study more extensively in i.e. air, water, etc. It sounds like a bad idea for me to randomly choose a specific program to study for two years—especially if I find out that I hate it one year into the program. Also I doubt that many programs let students into their programs not knowing what they want to study. Additionally I have thought of totally switching gears and trying out a totally new area of study. Two subjects that sparked my curiosity were environmental chemistry and ecology. But my concerns in addition to the ones mentioned above are would I be is my background strong enough in these areas to support my ambitions as a grad student and what positions are out there in the real world would I be giving myself if I chose to go this route. In summary... how does one choose what they want to get a degree in... do people really have to flip quarters? (2) My second area of concern basically has to do with whether or not the trouble would be worth it in the long run. My fear is that I go through a program and get a major just to be back in the same place when I started. Do any of you all know any resources that can help me with this i.e. lists of jobs with salary and job availability information? (3) If anyone knows... are my grades going to be a major factor in my acceptance into most programs... i.e are they strong enough? </p>

<p>Lastly if anybody has a personal experience similar to mine then by all means do tell! I am interested in hearing from anyone that has been in a similar predicament. I have more questions, but I am unable to think of them at the moment. The above questions are the most important... so I thought it would be a good idea to start with those.</p>

<p>If I am asking these questions in the wrong place, then I would like to apologize in advance. Thank you again for your time.</p>

2

<p>Bump to the top...</p>

3

<p>Possibly the reason that there are no responses so far...is that nobody else knows what to do with an Environmental Science degree either.</p>

<p>As you pointed out, the major is "rather broad". Unfortunately, it's also rather shallow. Environmental Science majors usually get some exposure to a wide range of fields, such as biology, chemistry, earth sciences, economics, and policy. But there's usually not much depth in any one of these areas. Chances are that you aren't sufficiently prepared for graduate school in a field like biology or chemistry.</p>

<p>The good environmental jobs, in both the government and consulting sectors, tend to go to engineers, and sometimes geologists. There are some jobs for environmental chemists and ecologists, but they aren't particularly numerous. </p>

<p>So many environmental science majors ultimately leave the science sector. For example, they might pursue studies in urban or regional planning, or go to law school.</p>

<p>One thing that strikes me about your resume is that you also have a degree in geography. So you probably have some familiarity with GIS software. All branches of environmental science are increasingly reliant on GIS technology, and there is solid demand for good GIS specialists in the environmental industry (and elsewhere). Unfortunately, most GIS specialists don't know much about environmental issues, and most environmental scientists don't know much about geographic information systems. If you could "speak the language" of both groups, I suspect you would be quite employable.</p>

4

<p>OP, it seems from your post that you are not really ready to go to grad school. Yes, grad school will expect you to focus on a particular area. If you are unsure what area you want to study, you need more experience in your field to decide. I can't point you to a high-paying job with an envsci degree, but you can check out internships, etc.</p>

<p>You also say that you are not "book smart" but rely on "common sense." Grad school is all about book study and lab research. Common sense will not get you through. If you don't feel you can apply yourself to scholarly research, grad school is not for you, because that is the purpose of grad school.</p>

<p>Grad school is great for people with a focused plan. You need more time to develop a solid plan for yourself before you choose the grad school route. Best of luck!</p>

5

<p>No hurt in applying.</p>

6

<p>"OP, it seems from your post that you are not really ready to go to grad school."</p>

<p>I totally agree... I'm not even close to applying. I was trying to find a better way of testing the waters to see what area of study best suits my interests without trying out a dozen jobs before I find the best one. I guess eventually i'll take another position and hope that it is more stimulating that my current job.</p>

<p>"You also say that you are not "book smart" but rely on "common sense." Grad school is all about book study and lab research. Common sense will not get you through. If you don't feel you can apply yourself to scholarly research, grad school is not for you, because that is the purpose of grad school."</p>

<p>My definition of common sense is applying reason to problems vs. just uttering out a pre-memorized response that was taken from a book. I did not mean to make myself sound stupid or anything. I have reason to believe that I would excel at grad school if I found the right program that sparked my interests.</p>

<p>I guess my real problem is that I already have a good job that pays pretty well (but not well enough) which will be hard to leave when the time comes. </p>

<p>Anyways, again, thank you all for your help.</p>