Strong Geoscience Job Outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a strong outlook for careers in geosciences.  The median income for geoscientists in May of 2015 was $89,700.  The report states, "Employment of geoscientists is projected to grow 10 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than the average for all occupations. The need for energy, environmental protection, and responsible land and resource management is projected to spur demand for geoscientists in the future."

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 Sciences faculty provide terrific opportunities for undergraduate research, and our connection with the South Dakota Geological Survey has provided many Earth Sciences majors summer internships/jobs.

USGS collecting soil samples in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota (USGS photo)

2015 Sioux Falls Annual Climate Summary

The Sioux Falls National Weather Service Office has released their Annual Climate Summary for 2015.  It was a pretty interesting year!  The summary provides a nice combination of how the year fits into historic climate data, seasonal comparisons, patterns during the year, and highlights exciting meteorological events that occurred during the year.  It was a warm (13th warmest) and wet (9th wettest) year, good for regional agriculture.  Perhaps the most exciting event was the derecho which brought ~100 mph straight-line winds to the Garretson area in the early morning of June 22nd.

Check out the summary report for yourself: http://www.weather.gov/media/fsd/climate/2015FSDNarrativeSummary.pdf

2015 Daily Temperature Data for Sioux Falls, SD.  Average highs and lows in brown,
extreme highs and lows in red and blue, respectively.