GeologyRocks

 Hey Silver
 In a word, no! Its not mad at all- the OU is pretty good, I know as i've studied with them for the past year, as long as you have enough time and enough commitment to it, it works....

39 is a fine age to begin anything new, ultimately jobs still need to be filled by people with the right expertise and enthusiasm - I say go for it.

Best of luck
Marj

I know a guy who recently began his phd in Biochemistry, and he's 52. Being able to persue the things that interest you is one of the joys of life and a degree can be a great way of achieving that. Too many people play the "I'm too old" or "I can't get away from work" card as an excuse to avoid taking risks, and while they might be valid concerns they are by no means insurmountable.

If you want to do it, then 39 is a fine age to start, and it's at least worth a try in my opinion. Also don't forget that you can do part time degrees at most universities, it's worth checking all the options availiable to you.

Best of luck with it ~

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

Who would employ me at my age though? I mean what company is going to want to pay a beginner in the field a 39 year olds wage? Wouldn’t most places want to go for the younger guy?

And if I wanted a job in this field where would I be best to work towards?

Thanks

The simple truth is that there is a worldwide shortage of geologists, so if you have the skills then you'll more than likely you'll be able to find work.  If you have the contact and can do the job, you'll get the job (i suspect).  Only question is what field would interest you? That's probably something you'll discover during your degree if you don't know already.

 The paths open to new geologists are greatly varied. Some of my friends went right into oil industry and got jobs as offshore mudloggers, whilst some others went to work for site investatgation/site cleanup/minieral exploration companies right around the world.If you go into the industry the basic rule is that you're a junior geologist working under a senior for a couple of years, then you become the senior yourself - moving up the paygrade.

But of course this will be something to discuss with geologists from your chosen university about, as they will be the ones with the contacts and industry knowledge. 

The only field that may be harder for you to get into is the academic side of geology, unless you go onto do a phd like my good friend the biochemist. 

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

I have some other questions too

What complimentary skills are good with geology? I was thinking of starting with some short courses in chemistry and maths for science (my maths is quite bad) just to see if I have the self motivation to work from home on an OU course.

As a newcomer to geology is there any fun things can I do in my area (Norfolk and Suffolk coast UK)? I really do like learning by doing, its much more fun . Is there some basic equipment I could buy to help me in this?

Hi,

Chemistry, maths and biology (evolution in particular) are all good underpinnings for geology. They will help immensely.

Some good fossil locations can be found here: http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/locationseengland.htm

There's also probably a geology guide for the area. I found a couple here:
http://www.ukge.co.uk/UK/prodtype.asp?PT_ID=119&numRecordPosition=21&strPageHistory=&strKeywords=&st...

Basic equipment: http://www.ukge.co.uk/uk/prodtype.asp?PT_ID=78

Hope this helps!

Ther are a lot of quaternary features around north Norfolk. I remember the cliffs to the west of Cromer in particular were interesting. All kinds of glacial or periglacial features and even the odd interglacial deposit. I don't remember too many specifics about any sites so can't be of much more help, but maybe your local bookshop or library will have some guides to geological sites in the area.

I'm in Cambridgeshire, so I can understand why you'd be having a hard time finding a whole lot geological- mostly just chalks, clays and soils around here. If you want to find some relatively impressive geology then a trip to the coast, like Matt suggests might be worth your while; or maybe a trip to the peak district.

But if like me you find yourself stuck in a city, you could always have a go at testing out your geology skills by looking at building stones. Urban areas import remarkable amounts of stone from all over the country, typically for decoration. Going around looking at walls may sound kinda dumb, but it was actually of the first tasks set to me as an undergraduate.

 It's not ideal, but as we find so often with geology, we have to make do with what we've got.