I’m a Communtiy college Student in Indiana Interested in transfering to a four year school to study Meteorology,Earth Science,Zoology,Hydrology,or Environmental Science. I’ve also considered Civil and Environmental Engineering.i always have loved all topics of science. I need to be in a Program where I’ll be doing lab and lecture work.i’m not going into anything for the money but for the passion and even though that I’m choosing something I like, I worry there will be consequences if i can’t make a living in the future. I know Wildlife is the least paying and predicted job growth field I’m interested in but love Animals and Biology especially reptiles and amphibians.I really love Hydrology,Meteorology,Earth science,and Environmental Science but know these have more pay and Job growth. I like the idea of learning and gaining skills in English and speaking, Math, other areas of Science, and Technology to give me a foundation for these fields. I’m not perfect at math or English and probably not perefect at Science either but I have a strong interest in Science, Have an interest in learning and using math, and my least favorite and worst subject which is English I still know is important know matter what I end up doing. I thought about Studying Chemistry, Math, or Physics too but might be too abstract and hard for me.
Hello,anyone?
What is your end career goal?
Just soemthing that I Truely enjoy doing! All of those fields I menchoned above I would enjoy!
What specifically do you want to do? Those fields are all very broad. You need to be less conceptual and more concrete. Here are a few examples: do you want to be more on the research end of things? Management end? Work in public or private sector? Work in the field or in an office? The list goes on.
Some careers you may find appealing will require a graduate degree. That also needs to be taken into consideration.
Herpetology,Ichthyology,Ecology,limnology and Marine Biology are the areas of Zoology I’m interested in! The areas of Geology or Earth Science I’m interested in or somewhat have an interest in are Oceanography, Paleontology, Energy, Oil or Petroleum Geology, Volcanology, Seismology, HydroGeology, Geology of the Rocky Mountains, or Glacial Geology. I’m not sure which areas of Hydrology or Environmental Science I’m interested in becusse It all seems interesting. climatology and operational meteorology are the fields of meteorology that seem very interesting! I live in Indiana and none of the top schools in any of these fields are in this state.IU-Bloomington and PU-West Lafayette are ranked #41 and #42 here in Indiana in Geology or Earth Science.I don’t know if I could get into or afford to go to a top school such as Penn State, University of Michigan, or any of the UC’s in California. Purdue is good in agriculture and has a wildfire Program housed in it.Ball State and Valparaiso are good for meteorology. Purdue is good for my other interest which is Engineering. I think working in the lab and field would be fun but working In the office may be required to do reports. If I become a meteorologist,I wanna work for the national weather service! How competitive are some of the government agencies I could be working for? I know NASA is competitive! How important is GPA,extracurricular activities,and other things when applying for somewhere like a government agency?
Okay, that’s a little better. A lot of geology uses GIS (geographic information systems) if you’re good with computers it should come fairly naturally. Your in-state schools sound fine, look into their programs in your desired fields. Don’t be afraid to e-mail them and ask questions.
Don’t let reports discourage you, they’re a major part of any field of science. Telepathy is not a thing unfortunately.
But how hard would getting a Job for the national weather service,a government agency,or a University be after Undergraduate or Graduate school? Does my experience or extracurricular activities during my high school years Matter or is experience and extracurricular activities during my college years good enough? I know GPA is definitely important if I wanted to work for NASA! I know math skills are important for Meteorology and Engineeing but even though Geology, Zoology, and Environmental Science aren’t as math heavy, do you think math skills are still important for these fields! At most schools,calculus I and II,Statistics,Chemistry,and Physics are required for all these majors! I’m not perfect at math but can eventually learn it to where I’m sufficiently good at it! I used to suck at doing systems of equations in high school but now I’m good at them! I’ve always been good at very basic math to where I can add,subtract,multiply,and divide most of the time without using a calculator!
@Mandalorian can you answer my previous Question?
Let’s see to answer a few questions in there. Nothing you did during high school matters. If you go to grad school your undergrad GPA doesn’t matter. GPA really only matters in a relative sense, depending on the fields. As long as you have a 3.0 or above there isn’t a huge difference.
As for math, the amount will depend on the field and whether you do a BA or BS.
@Mandalorian do you think any of these fields have declining job growth or the field itself Is shrinking? I know Zoology is the least paying of the fields I’m interested in! I know Geology would pay good if I went into the oil field! What other areas of Geology pay well? Is Hydrology in demand or pay well?
@Mandalorian did I ask good questions in the previous post?
An interest in Geology coupled with oceanography or hydrology could be an interesting course of study. I was just reading today about the causes of the tsunami in Seward Alaska in 1964. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/
The deepest parts of the ocean are relatively unexamined. More is being learned about the sea life that survives around the hydrothermal vents in the sea floor.http://www.whoi.edu/news-release/study-tests-theory-that-life-originated-at-deep-sea-vents.
Go to events promoted by the different departments of whatever college you end up at. Become known by the professors, asking about what kinds of careers their majors have been ending up in, what kinds of internships and research opportunities you should be taking advantage of. Ask other students what they have done with their summers and what careers they are going for. Everyone likes to give advice.
Internships are going to be the best way to tell if you enjoy a field as well as giving you some needed hands on experiences. A solid resume will place you higher in an employers mind.
If you want to get some exposure to underwater mapping, remote operated sensing, and other skills used in oceanography - next summer or for a semester get a paid internship as a crew member. https://www.marinetech.org/internships/
I posted some internships back in the winter. Applications open earlier that you would think!
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1957208-natural-resources-environmental-science-internships-p1.html
From the research I have been doing and what I see from my neck of the woods in California, you would have fantastic employment prospects and well paid with an engineering degree from Purdue. You mention that you are interested in that. The other ones I am not sure about that…maybe better in other geographic areas.
I shouldn’t of even metioned Engineering on here because I already know it pays well and know there’s plenty of Jobs In the field! This thread is dedicated to getting information about the science fields i’m interested in and which fields pay good, have good job growth or plenty of Jobs, and is the most interesting science field to me or which one is the most fun!
Anyone know about how good the pay or job growth is for Meteorology, Hydrology Environmental Science, Geology, or Zoology? Which fields could I stay in Indiana and which fields would I have to relocate for? I know these fields are very broad and I mentioned the areas of these fields I’m interested in previous posts! I actually would rather reclocate than stay in my home state!
Seriously no one knows how good the outlook for science majors and science Jobs are that I’m interested in from experience as being a scientist and majoring in a science related field? Engineering is more common so I guess more people know about this field than Science!
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/home.htm?view_full
Take with a grain of salt (ex. says BME will grow >20%, but that might be because it’s a new field, not because it’s a particularly prosperous one)
@bodangles does BME stand for Biomedical Engineering?
Yes. Most BME undergrads need an advanced degree for the best job prospects.