EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Expected versus Marketable Skills
Aaron W. Johnson, MEM-2783
awj@aipg.org
Recently, I was invited to give a colloquium at my alma mater, the University of Missouri. I was flattered and excited that I would be able to help make the University more aware of the ways that AIPG helps to support the profession and students, and to give some insight into the current state of the profession. My talk focused on the job market, and the fact that it’s a good time to be a geologist or to be a student who will earn a degree in geology. The American Geoscience Institute produces a biannual report called The State of the Geoscience Workforce. The next report should be out sometime after the first of the year. I encourage you to find a copy and read through it carefully. I thought I might share some of the same insights here, in The Professional Geologist.
In addition to giving an overview of the job market, I spent a fair amount of time talking about expected skills versus marketable skills. I chose to spend some time addressing that topic, because I review resumes for students who are getting ready to enter the job market, and I see a trend to list skills that, quite frankly, are expected of any student who has earned at least a B.S. in geology. It is quite common to see “field rock and mineral identification” and “taking strike and dip with a Brunton compass” under the skills section of a resume. While these are valuable skills, they do not set the applicant apart from others who have degrees in geology.
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Increasingly, I hear from our members, and from others in the field, that students com- plete their degrees without learning significant skills that will help to set them apart.
tions of higher education. We must work together to address this ‘skills gap.’
To that end, AIPG has partnered with Northwest Missouri State University to offer the first ever AIPG endorsed Environmental Geology Certificate program. The program is open to all students, regardless of their academic classifica- tion (undergraduate, graduate, returning) and enrollment status (full- or part-time). The certificate is designed to equip students with a set of skills that commonly are required by those working in environmental consulting and remediation. Students will be trained in water and soil sampling methods, will learn to use a total station, will learn applied surficial mapping techniques, and will take a capstone course in geologi- cal data analysis and report writing. Each student pursuing the certificate will be required to pass a program-based final exam that covers both classroom and field skills. This exam will be administered by the University and observed by one or more members of AIPG. We hope to expand this program to include other colleges and universities across the country.
Increasingly, I hear from our members, and from others in the field, that students complete their degrees without learn- ing significant skills that will help to set them apart. Most undergraduate and many graduate students in geology have no introduction to geostatistics. Few have completed a technical writing course with a geologic focus. Almost no students have used a theodolite or a total station. Very few have sampled a monitoring well, used field water testing kits, or measured soil moisture. These observations are not meant as a criticism of our colleges and universities. In an era of decreased fund- ing and shifting public priorities our institutions of higher education continue to do an admirable job. Rather, this gap reflects a disconnect between our profession and our institu-
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Our goals in pursuing this program are three-fold. First, by partnering with a University Program, we hope to use our knowledge of the profession and of the job market to provide critical information about desired skills to allow colleges and universities to create curricula that remain abreast of industry needs. Second, we hope to help meet the need for qualified field technicians in the environmental industry. Third, we hope to build a stronger connection between professional geologists and university programs. Our ultimate goal is to provide criti- cal information that will provide a solid basis so that college and university geology curricula continue to provide a mix of intellectual and applied opportunities that make college and university geology degrees inherently valuable.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, or if you are interested in participating in this program as a partner institution or as an AIPG member on our education committee, please feel free to contact me via email,
awj@aipg.org.
I hope each of you has a warm, productive winter. Best Regards,
Aaron
www.aipg.org
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