Give it a go

Trying out a career helps you discover if it's right for you. This week: geosciences

Planet Earth, on BBC1 on Sundays, is remarkable television. One of the programmes, on fresh water, showed us everything from gruesome giant salamanders in Japan to freshwater dolphins in the Amazon. The crew was the first to film a snow leopard pursuing prey, in an episode on mountains. But probably the most remarkable aspect of the series is the way it puts everything in context. We see mountains and rivers first from space, then zoom in, but not too quickly. These are documentaries in which the world's terrains star alongside their inhabitants.

Looking at the Grand Canyon, mountain ranges or even desert, it is easy to understand why some people decide to spend their lives trying to understand earth and how one thing relates to another. According to Sonja Masterson of the Association of Hydrogeologists in Ireland, geosciences offer even more varied jobs than one might expect.

"A career in geosciences could mean as diverse a working environment as investigation of ancient organisms through a laboratory microscope to office-based analysing of aerial photographs or images from space," she says. "You could be surveying the profile of the sea floor from a boat or locating borehole sites somewhere in Africa."

Masterson says that many people working in the area are applied scientists, which means they work in the field. A hydrogeologist can be concerned with finding water supplies in places as far away as Sudan or as close to home as Galway. A geochemist might have to investigate arsenic poisoning in wells. A geomorphologist might be studying the melting of the polar ice caps. A geophysicist might be involved in predicting earthquakes and tsunamis.

Students interested in the geosciences should have a keen appreciation and enjoyment of the outdoor environment, according to Masterson. Logical thinking is very important, although an ability to think laterally is also a plus. "You should have good observational skills and enjoyment of solving tangible three-dimensional problems," says Masterson.

In his or her career, a geoscientist uses elements of biology, geography, physics, chemistry and maths, and a degree in an earth-science subject is required for any geoscience role. There are job prospects for graduates, although you usually need a master's degree if you want to specialise.

The good news for transition-year students is that consultancies and some local authorities have taken students for work experience. Take a look at the website of the Geological Survey of Ireland, www.gsi.ie, for more details.