GeologyRocks

Hello John.

Late? At 26?? Blimey, mate, I've just had a career change and I'm Precambrian compared to the rest of you young whippersnappers.

By the way, welcome to the forum.

Gus

Well if I do plan on going to college now I'll be amongst people alot younger than me. Which will make me feel old.

Thanks for the welcome. 8)

Gus's right, that's not late at all. I'm 26 and at the stage in my PhD where I need to decide whether or not to stay in academia. If not I will also be undertaking a complete career change. So don't worry!

Katie

Ps. Welcome to GeologyRocks.

Hi Katie.

But you're not changing your field like I am.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear was I?!? If I don't stay in academia I'll be completely changing fields. There's not a lot of opportunities for evolutionary biologists outside of academia!

Ah... my bad. I misunderstood what "a complete career change" meant.

That's a huge shame. I hope it's not the same for most geology fields. I keep reading that there's more geologists than they need.

No problem

I've just realised that I didn't actually answer your question...

If you're looking for an academic career then yes, you would need a PhD. However... there are plenty of geological-based careers that don't require this so fear not!

I took a look at the course you're thinking of doing and it looks pretty good. My only concern would be that you might not get enough field experience in only two years. Would you consider doing a degree? It would only be one more year if you study at an English university...

Academic careers and me don't mix.

Yes, I would do a degree after, the 2 year course would be so that I could get a job quick as possible. But would I be employable after doing the two year course and what kind of work would it be?

I'm not really sure to be honest, I'm not that familiar with HNDs. As a first step you could try looking on geology/science-related job pages to see what sort of qualifications they're looking for.

Try these:

http://www.earthworks-jobs.com/
http://www.newscientistjobs.com/search.action
http://naturejobs.nature.com/js.php
http://aaas.sciencecareers.org/js.php
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/

Is there a particular area of geology that you're interested in?

I'm completely new to this so I really don't know...

I'll take a look at the links, thanks.

No prob, just ask if you have any more questions. There'll be some more people around later so someone might be able to offer some more constructive advice than I have

Welcome to the forum John!

Although I never had a career switch like the one your considering (going went right from High Scool through college (majoring in geology)), I did go through my undergrad with several older folks who did a career change later in life. These students did exceedingly well because 1) they were focused and driven to do something they like, and 2) knew a bit about the real world and could see the practical application of the concepts that we learned. I found these folks more interesting than the young wippersnappers (colleagues of my age!).

Welcome to the forum, John!

Lots of Johns (and Jons ) on this board...

It's never too late to change direction, John. Most geology jobs require a degree (not sure how a HND compares to a bachelor degree). Some require a PhD, but only if you want to go into a more research-y job.

Jon

Currently there are over 300 Geology Jobs the UK - so if you had a look at those and see what you kind of qualifications you need, you never know you might be qualified enough! Good Luck!!

Hi there!

Firstly 26 is still very young; I know people in their 40s who went back to university.  It's about what you want and whether you enjoy learning new things, not your age.

Secondly, I worked for an energy company researching (without even a formal geology degree, although I needed the relevant info on a daily basis), and I know there are all kinds of jobs going in the energy, renewable resources and environment sectors that don't require too many official qualifications but in which knowledge of geology is a definite asset.  It really depends on what interests you have and what you see yourself doing; there's always space for one more, no matter what you wish to do

Hello Jon and Katie....nice to see you back!!!  About time. Just in time for your emailed Christmas cards.

Oh, by the way. - I have no advice to offer on a career change, except to say there is not a lot of money in geology in this country.

John

“Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.” -  Will Durant

Ha Ha John,

I though Jon and Katie were back too then I looked at teh dates of the posts...... 2006...... 

Looks like someone dredged up a very very old post but an interesting one none the less

Leah 

Thanks Leah.  I hadn't spotted the date.  That long ago its almost a 'Durasik' post!

John

“Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.” -  Will Durant