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October 30, 2020
Navigating an Academic Career: A Brief Guide for PhD Students, Postdocs and Early Career Faculty
Are you thinking about a career in academia, or navigating your way through the demands of your first few years in an academic job? Jeffrey McDonnell, AGU Fellow and Past President of the AGU Hydrology Section, recently pulled together some advice for people on the academic pathway in a short book. We asked him to share a few nuggets of advice from his book.
December 17, 2019
Working Towards Representation in Earth Science
Earth science is an exciting field that promotes daily discovery and understanding of our planet. Topics range from analyzing historic climate patterns to uncovering the secrets of predicting the next earthquake. Through this extensive web of research, Earth scientists have managed to cover every inch of this planet in fascination and intrigue that drives them to understand more of what surrounds us. With such a vast field that promotes and …
December 4, 2019
Fall 2019 Virtual Poster Showcase (VPS): Announcing the Winners!
The Virtual Poster Showcase (VPS) is AGU’s twice-annual, virtual student research presentation competition. With the VPS online portal, students who are not able to attend in-person conferences can bring the benefits of a poster session right to their dorm rooms! Our Fall 2019 participants submitted abstracts, created and uploaded research posters, recorded 5-minute videos presenting their research, reviewed their peers’ posters, and responded to expert judge feedback. Presenters were able …
November 25, 2019
Tips for Selecting a Senior Thesis Adviser
Completing a senior thesis is a major part of the undergraduate experience. It’s a massive commitment, so deciding who you want to work with for an entire year can cause a lot of stress and uncertainty. There are many factors to consider in selecting an adviser, such as your areas of interest, compatibility with your adviser, and project management preferences. Before you commit to working with a professor for the duration of your senior …
October 25, 2019
Career Path Feature: Active Tectonics and “Dirt Grade” Structural Geology with Christine Regalla
I was that kid who loved playing in the dirt. One summer when I was about 10, we had some construction done on our water well, and there was a pile of dirt in our yard from the excavation. That was the coolest pile of dirt. I would make mountains and watch the dirt collapse under its own weight. I would haul the hose over and make flowing torrential rivers …
October 21, 2019
First-Gen in STEM
The daily hustle and bustle of working in the lab and classroom is often enough to render anyone exhausted by the end of the day. For first-generation students, this lifestyle may just be the tip of the iceberg. Many first-gen students come from families whose daily financial struggles are all too real. On top of this, first-gen students do not have the built-in network to navigate new paths of adulthood …
October 11, 2019
Paths Through Science: Kristin Ludwig, Staff Scientist, USGS Natural Hazards Mission Area
Paths Through Science highlights the many diverse paths AGU’s scientists have charted across the disciplines within Earth and space science through interviews with professionals in government, academia, industry, and non-profit sectors. For International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction, we talked to Kristin Ludwig, a staff scientist in the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Natural Hazards Mission Area. Check out the full audio interview for more about Ludwig’s career path to …
October 7, 2019
“Which of my skills can I still use if jobs look totally different in the future?” Takeaways from the Workshop on the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education
From 12-13 September, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education hosted a public Workshop on the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education. The meeting goals included learning about trends impacting higher education and discussing the Roundtable’s work to improve teaching evaluation and evidence-based instruction. Participants left not only with new ideas about how to improve student learning in STEM, but also what skills are most important for students to develop in order …
September 19, 2019
How to Take Advantage of Networking and Software Training
“We’ve had an overwhelming response and fortunately, your application has been successful.” This is the type of favourable reaction everyone wants to achieve. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into a three-day long software training program at Datamine, in order to learn about their new software called Map Info. The knowledge provided throughout the course was exceptional, but the networking expertise gained from this experience was undeniably the most invaluable …
September 10, 2019
How to Manage Your Job Search as a Full-Time Student
Senior year of college is stressful enough without the additional pressure of finding a job or impressive internship to start immediately after graduation. Between challenging classes, on-campus jobs, senior thesis research, and trying to savor fun moments with friends, you will probably find yourself pressed for time in every area of your life. As someone who struggled with this balance, I am here to offer some advice on how to …
On the Job is an AGU blog, that provides career advice and workforce guidance to geoscience students, early-career and established professionals who are interested in pursuing professional enrichment.