This week’s blog is by Oliver Hall, a BSc Geology graduate now studying for a MSc in Geoscience for Sustainable Energy at the University of Manchester. We would love more of these student perspective articles- if you would like to tell us about your geoscience journey, please get in touch!
In secondary school, and college, I thrived in sciences and geography- subjects that allow a different vision into the world around us. However, it wasn’t until late in my second year of college when thinking about our next steps that geoscience topics became an option. To be completely honest, I was a little lost during this time. I was in two minds about going to university or joining an apprenticeship, as I’d seen a few of my friends drop out of college to follow the apprenticeship route. I was struggling with college and thought joining an apprenticeship maybe would have been an ‘easier’ option.
One day, my form tutor announced that we should start thinking about personal statements for university applications. I, in a state of panic, was still unsure what I wanted to do, so I took a trip to the career’s advice team. This turned out to be my entrance into the world of geoscience. After a chat, the advisor handed me a questionnaire with what seemed like personal questions about various aspects of life, and a ranking system from ‘unlikely’ to ‘likely’. It was basically quizzing you on various situations, with each answer corresponding with a number. After doing this, you added up all of your scores and from your score it told you (hypothetically) the best path according to your answers – which for me, was a career in Earth Sciences.
I was familiar with Earth Science; my cousin at the time was 5 or 6 years into a career as an explorational geologist, so I gave him a call and asked him about the path he took to get there. Being outside, field trips, interpreting the world around me, everything he said interested me. I spent some time looking at a few universities, trying to organise a visit for open days at the University of Keele and the University of Hull. During the open days the sound of the courses sparked excitement inside me, something I hadn’t really experienced before in other subjects.
…”there is something quite special and different about geoscience that allows this personal relationship with the environment and your peers”
Ultimately, I chose to do a BSc in Geology at the University of Hull, which was the start of my academic journey in Geoscience. Within the first week I met some amazing people, people I still consider friends 4 years later. In the first semester I experienced my first week-long field trip. In no other courses I’ve heard of do you get to spend so much time with the people on your course – not to mention the amazing places you get to visit. I quickly learned that geology allows us to not just appreciate the beauty of a location, but the complexity of how it arrived there in the first place. I found myself looking at things in a different way, a cliff for one person is a story for geologists. Some of my favourite memories associated with my undergraduate degree involve a lot of rain, mud, and cold, but there is something quite special and different about geoscience that allows this personal relationship with the environment and your peers.
Throughout my first and second year of university, the dissertation we have to do in third year was always talked about. From lecturers briefly mentioning it, to seeing students in the year above doing it. The plan was always a mapping project. My friends and I decided on Snowdonia and had even looked into accommodation for 6 weeks. 6 weeks… in Wales, with your friends, doing geology. The idea was perfect. But Covid-19 ruined this, along with other field trips and physical activities for the next 18 months. This changed geology from my ideal course, to one which involved sitting behind a desk everyday – my worst nightmare.
Due to this, the dissertation structure changed to a desk-based research project on a given topic. We had to rank our choices of topic from 1-3 and pray we got the desired one. I got my second choice, which I was happy with. My topic was “The role of geology of NE England in the UK energy transition – A case study of carbon capture, sequestration and utilisation (CCUS)”. At first, I was overwhelmed, what was this topic? And how on earth was I going to complete a dissertation about it?
Within a few weeks, I realised I was incredibly interested in this topic. CCUS is an up-and-coming industry – on the cusp of big things. It made the completion of my dissertation manageable and helped me realise my passion for CCUS as well as for the energy transition. Spending 6 months of your life researching something really increases your interest for it! Before starting my dissertation, similar to my second year of college, I was unsure about my next step, but afterwards I knew that my passion, and hopefully my future career, lies with CCUS.
This realisation helped me discover my next academic move – a masters degree. A couple of courses stood out to me; ‘Subsurface Energy Engineering’ and ‘Geoscience for Sustainable Energy’. The first obviously a little different to my undergraduate degree and previous training – however the challenge and potential path into the fundamentals of subsurface systems appealed to me. I got onto the course, and at first, it was so interesting, and absolutely packed with information I wasn’t familiar with. I had five modules, two of which were solely engineering. After a couple of weeks, I found myself really enjoying the geoscience modules but dreading the engineering modules due to the sheer unfamiliarity – this planted the seed of a potential course change.
It was in the background of my mind after the first engineering lecture, but it wasn’t until a field trip to Scarborough when I knew what I had to do. I had to change for the sake of my own interests, grades and passions. Field work, data collection, wind, and rain – all things which helped me realise my passion for geoscience, and not the slight detour I took. I was able to change course, and after three or so weeks of my new course ‘Geoscience for Sustainable Energy’ I know I absolutely made the right decision. The whole ordeal taught me to always stick to your passions and interests.
So, now I am back on track – it is time to start thinking about my career. I recently visited PETEX, a conference in London related to geological data and the energy sector. I spoke to a lot of people, which helped me realise that studying geoscience leaves many doors open in terms of my next move. Is it a career within industry? I think this applies to me, although there is also the option of choosing a field which interests me and doing a PhD. Many of the people I spoke to said that within industry, geologists tend to change between careers – one month they might be mud logging, the next consultancy work. Personally, I like change and the opportunity to expand my knowledge is massively appealing.
I have a keen interest in the energy transition. The idea of being part of a very hot topic and potentially changing the way humans create energy to reduce global emissions is something I am passionate about. Recently in my masters we have been covering energy storage, as well as waste storage such as nuclear waste and carbon dioxide – these are all paths I am considering taking. Geoscience has given me many different paths to follow, be they in academia or in industry.
Feature image @j.diegoph on Unsplash
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