Thread: Can I do this?

Hi All,

I'm new to the forums but have been lurking for some time. I'm a 27 year old female, wanting to go back to school and make a career shift in Earth Sciences/Environmental Science. A little background: Have a BS degree in Organizational Leadership, served in the Air Force for four years and spent the past three working in defense contracting and for the federal gov't. I've been accepted into a MS in Geoscience program that is aimed generally at teachers, military professionals in Emergency Management (me) fields, extension agents, etc. I would like to get into environmental geology, natural resource conservation and management, possibly specifically military land sustainability. My husband is active duty Army so ideally I would love to work for NAVFAC, NOAA, Army Corps of Engineers, or an in-house environmental team (state or federal). I'm concerned about not having an undergraduate degree that is either in Geology or Environmental Science. Is it realistic to think that I could be competitive after completing this MS degree without undergrad experience in a specific area of Geoscience? Is having an MS in Geoscience valuable? Worth it? Especially with an unrelated bachelor's?

I also have an "unrelated graduate" degree. I wish you luck and for someone here to give a useful opinion.

From my experience, it was the work I did outside my degrees that was most interesting to employers. That having been said, my degrees are related to my field so I am not perhaps the best person to speak on the issue.

I can't speak with authority on the specifics of your question. I can make two general comments as someone who has been involved in hiring for major international companies.

Someone with clear career goals, as you appear to have, is preferred over someone who just wants a job.
Those with military training are rarely bad employees and typically have a head start on non-military.

Also, build as much basic knowledge of geology as you can in the interim and be prepared to demonstrate that knowledge.