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HOW JOBS AND ATTITUDES ABOUT THEM INFLUENCE THE SUCCESS OF GEOSCIENCE DEPARTMENTS

HOW JOBS AND ATTITUDES ABOUT THEM INFLUENCE THE SUCCESS OF GEOSCIENCE DEPARTMENTS. Christopher M. Keane Margaret Anne Baker American Geological Institute 25 October 2006. 1982 All Over Again?. Rising commodity prices Rising public awareness of resources Sudden increase in enrollments

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HOW JOBS AND ATTITUDES ABOUT THEM INFLUENCE THE SUCCESS OF GEOSCIENCE DEPARTMENTS

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  1. HOW JOBS AND ATTITUDES ABOUT THEM INFLUENCE THE SUCCESS OF GEOSCIENCE DEPARTMENTS Christopher M. Keane Margaret Anne Baker American Geological Institute 25 October 2006

  2. 1982 All Over Again? • Rising commodity prices • Rising public awareness of resources • Sudden increase in enrollments Not quite…. • Retiring workforce • Student shift from other STEM areas

  3. Intern Signing Bonuses and Other IdiocyThe plague of internal competition • Old rivals: petroleum and mining • Continue to recruit at same schools • Bidding war of bonuses • Water is the new wildcard • New demand for geologists • 4:1 job to graduate rates • Bad publicity and low interest • Resource industries bad images reflected in the students

  4. The Enrollment Rollercoaster1955-2005 40000 35000 Undergraduate 30000 25000 20000 Majors 15000 Graduate 10000 5000 0 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1955 1957 1959 1961 1963 1965 1991 1993

  5. Newly Minted Geoscientists 8000 7000 6000 B.S. 5000 4000 3000 M.S. 2000 1000 Ph.D. 0 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995

  6. Female Geoscience Enrollment and Degrees 1974-2004 50 45 40 Enrolled 35 30 Percent Female Graduated 25 20 15 10 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 Year

  7. Attrition Math • Attrition Math • 340,000 Intro Geo Students • 6,000 New Geo Majors Per Year • 2,700 New Geo BS Degrees Per Year

  8. Top Students, Smart Choices Top students choose certainty • Medicine, Law, and Business • ~17% go to professional school • High entrance requirements • Fixed exit from graduate school • High completion rate • High economic return • Science & Engineering • ~10% continue in STEM areas • Lower entrance requirements • Vague completion timeframe • Low graduation rates • Unattractive earning potential Zumeta & Raveling, 2002

  9. Oil and EnrollmentsUniversity of Texas at Austin 80 900 800 70 Enrollments 700 60 600 50 Undergraduate Students 500 $ per Barrel Oil Price 40 400 30 300 20 200 10 100 0 0 1952 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 Year U. Of Texas

  10. Geoscience Career AttitudesMarch 2006 100% 90% 80% 70% Students 60% Advisors Intention Rate 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% K-12 Other Non-Geo Federal Cont Ed State/Local Academia Mining Environ Business High-Tech Petroleum

  11. Is there a regional difference? • Petroleum • Sharply lower in the NE (27%) • Higher in Mid West (41%) • High tech • Sharply higher in NE & West (10%) • Business • Sharply higher in the NE (12%) • Outside geosciences • Much higher in the NE (22%)

  12. Program level differences? • Mississippi State • Focus on government & continued ed. • Low interest in all parts of private sector • SUNY Geneso • Even distribution across trad. Sectors • SUNY Stony Brook • Modest Government & Env. Interest • Focus on academic careers • UT and Texas A&M • Big on petroleum, low on government, and average with environment • Arizona • Big on mining, lowest on petroleum • Strong interest in government, environmental and academia

  13. Local influences and opportunities • Success will be local • Local culture • Departmental culture • Impact of current boom • Some will rise very high • Stable programs will appear to lag • Can we leverage uneven strength across the board?

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