Thursday, December 8, 2011

Walking the Line

I have had an amazing two years. I finished my masters degree in geology (ahem volcanology!) from an amazing university in the most idyllic Washington town, and moved across the country to the capitol of the United States, the other Washington; Washington DC. I worked in Congress covering Earth science legislation. However did I get so lucky? Not long after my internship ended, and I was gainfully employed as a science educator focused on marketing education. The exact job I had envisioned for myself.

Two years later something happened, my advisor's current student called and needed some information related to my master's thesis. I spent an hour in our basement pouring over papers and notes from my thesis. We kibitzed over hypotheses; synthesizing the ideas of others, and reconciling them with our own. We mused about technological limitations, and what the impact of certain tests could do to our expected results. I looked over images and graphs, which upon first glance would mean nothing to most people, but to a select few they reveal important information about the experiences of tiny crystals - feldspar, olivine and clinopyroxene, in their host magmas. I started flirting with the idea of trying to "stay involved." 

Last Friday's blog post from The Eruptions Blog took a break from the Friday tradition of looking at volcanoes from space, looked instead at the crystals frozen-in-time in solidified lava flows. The textures of these tiny crystals betray the mysteries volcanoes conceal, and reveal clues why and eruption may have happened. This post woke me up from dormancy. This post reminded me of something I'm intensely curious about and worked very hard to understand.

The image that started it all. Copyright National Geographic
Image taken by Carsten Peter. Carsten, if you are ever on Etna
the same time as me, we're going out for wine. 
This post turned my "idea" into a "crusade."

That's why I'm determined to walk the line. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) describes four career types, three of which have career pathways that fit in packages with nice bows on top (Government, Industry, PhD/Research). The fourth is less defined, and appears to be where you place the people who can't ever be at peace with what they do. They are the people who work for non-profits, are freelance science writers, and who are invariably bound to education and communication. These individuals take "non-traditional" scientific career paths.


As I have progressed in my non-traditional career, removing myself from traditional research I have learned what the phrase "early career" means. While I love what I do, I've found the scientific aspects of my endeavor lacking. I miss using that part of my brain I spent so long developing, challenging, and engaging. The part of my brain where true science lies, where you think critically is no longer being engaged. I miss the adventure of research and somehow I intend to get back into it.

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