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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » Planning for the Future (college stuff)

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May 5, 2009 10:09 p.m. PHeller HalfDork

Well, finished my junior year as a 24 year old college student in Geography. Took a GIS class, loved it, did well in it too. That stuff seems to come easy to me. I'll probably take an advanced GIS and cartography course as well. Only the tip of the iceberg, but better than nothing.

I've always dreamed of "getting paid to walk around in the woods" and "preserving God's green earth". Yes, I'm a hippy. An avid backpacker, and outdoorsman, I love the woods...but I can also appreciate the city. I love the city because its where people thrive. Just like the colony of ants, urban areas are beautifully efficient (even if you don't think so).

So I got interested in planning and regional development. I'd love to be able to help people and businesses better plan their development so as to not "waste space". Planning, however, is an office job. You spend lots of time doing advocating and convincing this "better way" of building. It's not an outdoor job. Maybe more so than a computer technician, but not anywhere near the life of a marine biologist.

I'm not a math guy, but Chemistry is doable. If I could magically make any degree appear in my lap I'd want an Environmental Engineering degree...but I'm not sure my Bachelors of Art in Geography is going to do anything to get me towards that pipe dream.

Any suggestions on graduate programs that might lead me in a new more out of doors field of study?
May 5, 2009 11:11 p.m. Paul_VR6 Reader

My sister has a MS in Environmental Science (I think her BS might be in Forestry.. or something, hippy) and she works for a large commercial developer and is 'in the field' doing environmental analysis pre-development. She makes sure you are/aren't building on protected wetlands and stuff like that. Sounds right up your alley.

PS I'm sorry you're a hippy
May 5, 2009 11:12 p.m. PHeller HalfDork

I'm not like a tie-die pot smoking hippy...I just like the outdoors.

Site assessment stuff is cool, but I'm not sure I'd need a master's to get into it.
May 5, 2009 11:17 p.m. Paul_VR6 Reader

If you own Birkenstocks or just don't wear shoes at all you qualify.

You might not need the masters to do that job at all, no idea. I was just actually surprised when she 'finished' school and got an actual job.
May 5, 2009 11:19 p.m. Luke Dork

Well, if your sole aim was to get a well-paying job working primarily outdoors, I'd recommend Surveying. I did 2 years of a Surveying degree (in Australia, mind you), and absolutely loved the out-doors aspect. For a while there, I was quite literally, "getting paid to walk around in the woods". However, the heavy math content proved to be beyond my comfortable ability, and I didn't fancy a life of measuring boundaries.

I enjoyed studying GIS, too, but all the jobs I see advertised now are office-based, stuck-in-front-of-a-computer type deals.

Remote Sensing is fascinating, and would probably get you out in the field. But it's quite specialised, and I've no idea how you would begin on something like that.
May 5, 2009 11:23 p.m. PHeller HalfDork

Remote Sensing is a crazy combination of math, computer science, with a light dusting of photogramtry and GIS whipped into it.

I've thought about it (as I was interested in intelligence fields for awhile) but I'd be worried that the math aspect might kill me.
May 5, 2009 11:35 p.m. rebelgtp Dork

We actually use people that are trained in cartography and the like for my field work. We have our teams setup in threes (including the dog). There is normally the dog, the biologist handling the dog then we have a navigator. They are responsible for keeping track of the location, marking collection points and making sure the team does not get lost lol. They are also responsible for marking locations of other finds, like the time a team found a temple ruin in the rain forest. We do conservation research around the world and get paid to walk in the woods, mountains, plains, deserts, jungles where ever you can think of with dogs lol.
May 5, 2009 11:40 p.m. PHeller HalfDork

so cartography might be an area to look into?

Remote Sensing looks like is involves using images to specifically not go to the field to make measurement and samples...which is what I'd like to avoid.

Sitting in front of a computer the rest of my life would seriously blow.
May 6, 2009 12:07 a.m. rebelgtp Dork

Cartography and advanced navigation. We have at times been in areas where the jungle canopy is so thick you cannot get ANY GPS signal so you have to navigate the old fashioned way. If you want to work in the field knowing the old ways is a must (at least for us).

My main degrees are in Biology and Geology, though I will be taking some of the geography mapping courses as well.

Providing I get a new detection dog, this summer I'll be running a project out in the desert here in Eastern Oregon.
May 6, 2009 12:13 a.m. PHeller HalfDork

Environmental Engineering looks so darn cool, but it would suck to completely change fields, and not only that...get into subjects that I'm very poor at. Statistics and Calculus would almost decidedly require me to focus on them at a 1-2 courses per semester...and that'd take forever.

Cartography looks cool, but it seems pretty specialized...and especially those people your working with, Rebel.

I wonder what kind of market there is out there for being a mapping consultant. Aka, someone who gets paid to collect data, take it home, and make a map from it.

I'd think I'd probably need to get into biology or ecology to do that kind of stuff though.
May 6, 2009 1:56 a.m. Luke Dork

I don't think Cartography usually involves a whole lot of field work. It seems (to me), mostly pulling maps from existing databases, then fiddling around with them on a computer. Unless you could score some cool job like Rebel was talking about.
May 6, 2009 4:52 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

Our state DNR uses folk like you a lot documenting activities in the woods and on the waters. Pay is not great, but you are outside with a GPS datalogger.
May 6, 2009 7:02 a.m. Kramer Reader

My father and brother are land surveyors--my brother has a degree from Ohio State, and it took a lot of math, I think. But surveyors spend a lot of time outdoors--many of their employees, past and present, have been outdoorsy-types.
May 6, 2009 7:57 a.m. Duke Dork

The only downside to surveying is, at the moment, an extremely high unemployment rate in many areas of the country.
May 6, 2009 8:41 a.m. Wally UltraDork

Matbe you could get in with the people at Family Feud. They seem to do a lot of surveys.
May 6, 2009 8:50 a.m. Mental UberDork

Forrestry. I knew a guy who got his degree and spends his days driving his 4x4 in the woods.
May 6, 2009 8:53 a.m. PHeller HalfDork

Forestry would require considerably less math than engineering and probably have me out in the woods just as often if not more.

I shall look into it.
May 6, 2009 9:25 a.m. Kramer Reader

Duke wrote:

The only downside to surveying is, at the moment, an extremely high unemployment rate in many areas of the country.

Very true. My father's business has cut back to 32 hours per week, in order to keep from laying someone off. He has about 12 employees, and they all get paid before he does, so he often goes with very little or no pay.

He is counting on the stimulus plan to create new government projects, and he has expanded his business to much more than just surveying.

New college graduates from Ohio universities get a free one-year membership to PLSO, the Professional Land Surveyors of Ohio organization, and Michigan does something similar. Other organizations (ACSM) do this, too. By joining these organizations and attending their meetings/conventions, you can really find something that interests you, and network with the companies.
May 6, 2009 9:39 a.m. rebelgtp Dork

Cartography will also be useful for forestry as well, in fact I think its required in some of the programs. The reason being you need to be able to map out changes in the forest landscape. Again a background in biology can help as well especially considering you will be working closely with people like me and in some cases have to assist us in our research.
May 6, 2009 7:57 p.m. InigoMontoya Reader

I have a couple of friends that are civil engineers back in Alabama, they end doing a whole bunch of surveying over in Colorado for the government. Not sure what the day to day job entails, but you can also look in that direction.
May 6, 2009 10:45 p.m. PHeller HalfDork

I'm looking into Engineering Technology 2-year degree.

Figure that if I get that far someone will pay the rest of my education.
May 7, 2009 6:50 p.m. knb13 New Reader

PHeller wrote:

Site assessment stuff is cool, but I'm not sure I'd need a master's to get into it.

normally no you do not need a masters for it.
Oct. 21, 2011 9:21 a.m. PHeller Dork

Update:

Two years later I got a job in County Planning. Still stuck indoors though. Seriously thinking of surveying through a civil engineering technology (2 year) degree.

Still miss being outside.
Oct. 21, 2011 12:29 p.m. toad9977 New Reader

Being in the environmental field myself I would say look at a civil tech or environmental tech program. Im still low enough with my company that I get to go out and do a lot of field work. It's not all wondering around in the forest, mostly taking water samples from monitoring wells, soil borings, sediment sampling and my favorite, oversight. I can tell you it's not always the best or most fun work, but it beats staying in the office all day. On the other hand I can't really see myself being a field guy my whole life so that's why I oppted for the BS degree. A tech type program for you might not be bad. It would give you the education to do the field work, and you have the GIS background that when you dont want to be a field guy anymore you can work in the office. Plus GIS knowledge in the environmental field is a big plus if you get into the consulting world. It is the one skill that I wish I had working in this field.
Oct. 21, 2011 12:38 p.m. HiTempguy Dork

Don't go into forestry (or at least don't go into a specific forestry career/education path). Forestry has never been a business to make money in. The company I work for does R&D for all major industries in Alberta, Forestry is like the red headed stepchild, no money, and we want nothing to do with them.

Now, considering you are a hippy and can probably live off the land in your granola crunching ways, maybe that industry fits the bill for you :p

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