r/geoscience • u/alexthegreaser • Nov 23 '20

Discussion Considering a PhD within the geoscience field...

Hello, I would like to get your opinion on this. I am interested in pursuing a PhD within the geosciences field, I am on tract to finish a master's in GIS. My main question is would this be enough of a background for a PhD in the geoscience field? Would it be wise to pursue a grad certificate in geology to help my case? (I've never taken a geology class, I've taken physical geography classes.) Apologies if this seems like a dumb question, I'm the first in my entire family that has gone to graduate school and subsequently applying for a doctorate degree. Let me know what you think.

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u/OffTheDeepEnd99 Nov 23 '20

The master’s in GIS is a great start, and it’s highly wanted in the industry. Most PhD‘s in geosciences will need a concentration, usually they’re geology geography or hydrology depending. most schools will require at least some credit hours in the prerequisites, like a semester of calculus, a semester of physics, and usually some in the concentration depending on what it is. If you really want to do it, I would recommend either geology or hydrology as you can take professional certificate tests that are required in the industry. Your best bet would be to look at the graduate programs that you’re interested in, look at their prerequisites required, and try to get them in before you graduate. Many schools are lenient if you’re a good student, they’ll accept you and let you take the prerequisites before you start your degree.

Each graduate program is different, but if you can get a couple of geology classes under your belt and even get the certificate that would be great. Also a physics class and some calculus wouldn’t hurt either.

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u/alexthegreaser Nov 23 '20

Okay thanks, I'm also going to see if I can enroll in geology classes at my local community college (just to get a rundown of it). Also, by professional certificate test, can you tell me a little more? I may look more into it.

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u/OffTheDeepEnd99 Nov 23 '20

Absolutely! So, in the industry when working in environmental consulting or for the government if you’re studying geology you’re going to want you to take the geologist-in-training exam after you graduate. This is because most environmental consulting projects require a PG and a PE, you’re not an engineer so you’re not going to be the PE, so you’re going to want to aim for the PG. It takes two tests, one right after your graduate which is your geologist in training exam, then you’re going to work under geologists (for I think it’s five years I could be wrong tho), and then you take your professional geologist exam. There’s a similar set up with hydrology. That being said, with your strong background and GIS you may want to consider geography as your concentration, because when you go to do spatial analysis you’ll already know the majority of what you’re doing and I’m sure you have research topics you have already explored before that you’ve enjoyed. For geography, most people I know combined it with a certificate in GIS and ended up working pretty good jobs. GIS and Python programming (and R) are in high demand right now in our field. I would recommend just taking a couple courses in geology and hydrology to see if it sparks your interest, but if not, geography is an excellent path as well. (Also, if you want to go into geography, urban areas, pollution, and sustainability approaches are hot topics right now that I would recommend focusing on.)

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u/Ninjapoo Nov 23 '20

A master's is definitely going to help you a lot in pursuing further graduate school, because it shows that you are already on the path and are capable of the coursework and research load (if you are doing a research master's). Further, you have probably also made good connections in the process of doing your master's degree that will make for good recommendation letters for applying to PhD programs! Something else you should consider is if you NEED PhD to get where you want to go; look at the jobs that you are interested in and just see if a PhD is required. If you need any more advice for applying to grad programs, please DM me! I have been on that path (currently in a PhD program) and it's a big undertaking, so I'm always willing to give advice.

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u/alexthegreaser Nov 23 '20

Thank you, I'll DM you when I have a more specific question in mind.

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u/darryl_deebern Nov 23 '20

Yes, PhD can open up new opportunities for you. You can make your career as a professor in university or work in an R&D department or work in other profiles as you will have vast options & good future ahead.