A letter to my undergraduate friends at DoES, IITK - Part II

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This letter is primarily intended for students of the BS-MS program at the Department of Earth Sciences, IIT Kanpur, but I am putting it up on a public platform in case it may help others too.

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Hi all,

I wrote a post earlier suggesting some perspectives before you make career choices. The general lack of appreciation for Earth Sciences in our country (and maybe other countries too, I wouldn't know) can be problematic to someone who's set out on this path but is unsure why or where it's going to lead. It doesn't help that there is so much noise all around us (foreign interns! placements! startups! Netflix!!), it can easily drown out any feeble indications of where our interests truly lie. And 2 or 3 years of exposure to a discipline may not give you enough conviction to pursue it seriously.

When you choose a career, you should consider what your career would offer to you in terms of your vision for your life. Some careers allow you to earn more money and naturally, this thought is central to anyone looking to bring financial stability to themselves and their family. Some careers focus on social impact and change and can be very fulfilling even in the face of difficulties. Some careers offer more intellectual stimulation and personal growth, and people who dislike routine jobs often gravitate towards careers that keep them "on the edge". There can be many more perspectives, of course, and they need not be mutually exclusive.

It is not necessary to choose a career at your stage. Do not fret over it. However, if you give it some thought, you will find that the answer to -- "What is important to me while choosing my career?" -- is relatively easy to find. Finding the parameter that is most important to you helps towards making the bigger choices.

If the previous post about why not to not choose Earth Sciences struck a chord with you, let's take a step further in the same discussion.

Why choose Earth Sciences

Earth scientists study some seriously cool stuff

Off the top of my head, I can think of the following things that you can study as an Earth scientist, and that I personally find cool:
  1. Fossils
  2. Evolution
  3. Isotopes
  4. Orogeny
  5. Earthquakes
  6. Volcanoes
  7. Marine trenches
  8. Geological past
  9. Subsurface exploration
  10. Extraterrestrial bodies
I cooked up that list in less than 2 minutes and I am sure there is much more to add to it.

As an Earth scientist, you could study these or many more really cool things that would not only teach you amazing things about our planet, but also, make you a pretty interesting person I think.

Earth scientists use some seriously cool tools

Once again, off the top of my head, I can think of the following tools that Earth scientists frequently use and that I personally find cool:
  1. Microscopes
  2. Mass spectrometers
  3. Remote sensing tools (both the instruments and the products)
  4. Models
  5. Magnetometers
  6. Seismographs
Okay, I admit this list is a bit short, primarily owing to the limits of my own exposure to the trade. Students of Geophysics could probably add about a dozen more names to this readily. My point is, Earth scientists get to work on interesting things with interesting things. To me, this makes work much more enjoyable.

Earth scientists help solve socially relevant problems

(You know how it goes, by now.)
Off the top of my head, I can think of the following problems that are among the toughest problems society currently faces:
  1. Air pollution
  2. Climate change
  3. Groundwater management
  4. River management
  5. Natural hazard prediction and preparedness
  6. Mineral exploration
  7. Monsoon variability
  8. Ocean currents' variability (think ENSO)
As an Earth scientist, you would have the potential to help solve these problems. If any of those seem more important to you than, say, helping a company get more profits, you're already at an advantage with your branch.

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These points do not apply only to Earth Sciences. Many other branches and professions offer these advantages. The aim of this letter is not to say "Earth Sciences rocks!" (sorry, I just had to) or to "Make Earth Sciences great again". The aim of this letter is to point out that Earth Sciences also has many opportunities for an interesting and fulfilling career.

Since there is so much noise out there about pathways that are socially more prestigious or trendy or brand-obsessed, it's important that you tune all that out and ask yourself:

 - What do I want my work to be about?
- What matters most to me?
- What would I like to spend my time on?
- What would I like to be successful at?

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions, but they are the right questions indeed.

Hope this helps. 😊

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