Good News for Careers in Earth Sciences

The Washington Post recently published a report on a PayScale survey of employment outcomes for different college majors.  The report is focused on underemployment.  In the report geology is found to be, along with engineering, math, physics, and law, a field where people feel "least underemployed" (now that's a double-negative we can live with).  This news follows other positive reports on employment prospects in Earth sciences (e.g., the AGI's 2014 Geoscience Workforce Report).

Of course not everyone graduates to the job of their dreams from Earth Sciences, or any other major for that matter. Students can maximize their future employment prospects by not only achieving at a high level academically, but also by engaging in undergraduate research and summer internship opportunities.  USD Earth Science faculty provide terrific opportunities for undergraduate research, and our connection with the South Dakota Geological Survey has provided many Earth Science majors summer internships/jobs.

Welcome to the USD Department of Earth Sciences Blog

This blog will serve as the official blog of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of South Dakota. Earth Sciences faculty will use the blog as a way to highlight events, research, and accomplishments of students and faculty in department. We will also use the blog as a forum for commentary on news, events, and developments in the Earth sciences.

The study of Earth Sciences encompasses not only geology, but also includes meteorology, and oceanography. South Dakota has terrific geology, from the Black Hills and Badlands in the west, to the glacial geology and Sioux Quartzite in the east. The Department of Earth Sciences has a close relationship with the South Dakota Geological Survey with whom we share a building. USD Earth scientists take field trips and do research throughout South Dakota, adjacent states, across the western United States, and around the world (China, Iceland, Greece, and Mongolia in recent years).

Follow this blog to learn more about the University of South Dakota Department of Earth Sciences!

Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Tertiary rocks of the White River Group overlying

the "yellow mounds" paleosol developed in the Cretaceous Pierre Shale. (B. Jordan)