Being prepared to apply for jobs, schools, and internships is highly important as you will often hear about opportunities at the last
minute. Have your CV/resume up to date. Know who you can rely upon for recommendation letters (make sure they know you will be asking).
Know how to get your transcripts out quickly. Be ready!
Internships, Research Experiences, and Scholarships
There are hundreds of paid internship programs relevant to geoscience students every summer and therefore thousands of opportunities.
To get these very important first research experiences you need to be thinking about what you want to do in the summer about 5 months ahead of its arrival.
Many of the application deadlines are Feb 1 or sooner. However, there are numerous others with later deadlines. It will take some time, but it is worth
sifting through the websites and see if there is something you want to do! It could lead you down your career path. Remember there are probably
many more out there than listed here so do some research on your own too (i.e. your favorite research agency probably has a program).
There are many sites out there to look for jobs. I recommend indeed.com because it seems to search most every other site.
Indeed also provides some info on trends and is good for searching by location. It is especially good for looking for consulting
opportunities by location and or company, though you could also search by employer websites. For other types of employment there are more specific places
to search. I recommend looking at state government websites, especially those with either a geological survey (such as utah)
or a department of natural resources (i.e. Washington or Oregon) or the department of conservation in California. Additionally, USA jobs
is a nice place to see what is available for the USGS, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Defense, etc. You will need to familiarize
yourself with what you would qualify for (GS-7) is probably an Bachelors degree with no experience (GS-9) is for a Masters degree and G-11
and up is for Ph.D. graduates. As some of the job outlooks from the websites below state... The sweet spot to maximize your employability is
with a Masters Degree. However, if you want more control over what you do in your job (i.e. research) then you want a Ph.D., but be ready
for competition for highly sought after professorships as you enter the job market. I recommend seeing what is out there and how it fits your
expertise. Perhaps you can use the information to tailor your future education so you can get the job you want.
Fellowships for graduate school are usually reserved for Ph.D. programs and are often highly competitive. There are basically 3 types.
Those that are awarded by the federal government, those by the school you are applying to or their donors, and those by private entities
such as companies or non-profit foundations. Even if you are going to pursue a Masters degree there are opportunities for scholarships and
research monies that you can apply to as a student (often from professional or local organizations). Be aware of these as you develop your
research ideas. If you can get a fellowship from outside of the school you are applying to (the government or private entity) it will be
hard for a school not to admit you as you are basically free to them. However, these are very competitive and don't fret if you don't
get one. Most graduate schools in the sciences provide admitted students with at least sustenance level funding and pay your tuition/health
insurance. Hopefully your new research adviser will have funding for your research.