YOUNG PROFESSIONAL
Stephen J. Baker, MEM-2353
The AIPG Executive Committee asked me to analyze the makeup of the membership and to delve into why people have historically joined AIPG. These questions have lead me to dis- cover a most exciting way to expand our organization and to envision how it can add relevance and value to every AIPG member, students, young professionals, mid-career people and seniors.
One thing is very true: Young Professionals are our future. David Abbott (CPG-04570) clearly showed (Fig. 1). in the third quarter 2018 TPG that three peak groups have passed through the ranks of our membership: the ‘Founders’, who aged out between 2001 and 2011, the ‘Boomers’, now the majority of our members, but whose average age is now about 65, and the ‘Young Professionals’, whose number is rapidly increasing. The numbers of members in the cohorts between these groups (i.e. ages 30 – 50 and 70+ in 2018) are relatively very small. This creates a unique and difficult environment for young professionals coming into the mar- ket: a great lack of mentors. Similarly, firms that are losing their more senior professionals won’t have enough trained and experienced recruits to choose from when seeking to fill staff openings. Young professionals will need to acceler- ate their immersion into the industry.
Doug Bartlett (CPG-08433) speaks in the same TPG article on industry’s need for new recruits with practical skill. These skill sets are best developed by merging academic training with the practical know-how of the industry at large. He also recognizes that young professionals are at a perfect juncture to find mentors from the boomer and older generation. Nothing trumps the profes- sional and life experiences gained by liv- ing a successful life. Doug stated that our young professionals characteristically want to do something that matters and to contribute to society. Success in this way so often automatically yields financial successes and respect in one’s industry.
Realistically, the role of geoscien- tists will increase in the future due to population growth, and thus growth in
Insight to Provide Practical and Relevant Support to Young Professionals in the 21st Century
demand for resources and public demand for measures to increase the safety of our populations during more varied cli- mate conditions. Heat, drought, flooding, unreliable snow packs, geologic hazards, wildfires, earth movement and agricul- tural stressors each require geoscientists with the expertise and practical knowl- edge that can solve these mounting con- ditions. So, what does it take to develop and maintain a highly skilled group of geoscientists who can respond effectively to these challenges?
To answer this, we need to look at the demographics of our organization and community/industry trends that affect the needs of the communities that they serve. I queried over 3,600 records from our association database for member birth date, join date and pri- mary specialty. In addition, I sent out a short questionnaire to all our 7,000-plus membership asking them what attracted them to AIPG, what benefits and oppor- tunities keep them interested and what additional benefits and opportunities would they like our organization to provide. Their responses, and the phone interviews that I had with students, young professional and senior members, built a database of information that, I believe, characterizes who we are now and what we need to do next.
Over three quarters of our member- ship is 55 years old or older and we are dominated by environmental profession- als (35%, approximately), with a hetero- geneous distribution of other disciplines. The breadth of geoscientific disciplines at AIPG is broad (over 34 general catego- ries). Past surges in new members (1990- 1996, 2007 and 2014-2018) were again dominated by environmental geologists and hydrogeologists, with economic geol- ogy trailing. The remaining technical disciplines have consistently been pres- ent through these years.
The age distribution is elucidated by looking at the age distribution histo- grams illustrated by David Abbott and Douglas Bartlett’s article (Fig.1). As the “Baby Boomer” peak ages from 2001 to 2011 and 2018, a second peak begins to develop among the under-25s in 2001 and becomes more significant in 2018 at the 25-30 age group (our millennial young professionals). If you visualize the “Baby Boomer” peak tracking to the right as the “Millennial” peak builds and also tracks to the right, our organization will lose senior members a lot faster than it gains young new members.
What do our members value? Based on my conversations and input from the survey, networking and the CPG credential are the primary drivers in
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