Employment opportunities exist for geoscientists at every level,
from kindergarten through research universities. In a 1993 survey
of occupations of 96,500 people with highest degrees in Earth Sciences,
4050 were teaching at the college level, and another 4000 were secondary
earth science teachers (National Science Foundation data). But the
nature of these opportunities and their potential for growth vary greatly.
Newly minted Ph.D.s will find a modest number of positions available
each year at the college level, but the overwhelming majority of these
are at schools very unlike those that train the Ph.D.s. While unemployment
among new Ph.D.s is not high, job dissatisfaction is. This mismatch
between graduate training and the available jobs in academia has bred a
host of problems, from inadequate training for teaching to unmet expectations
for research opportunities. As of 1995, one in ten full-time doctoral
faculty members in science and engineering were over the age of 60.
What will happen as these individuals retire? To predict the impact
requires
understanding of long-term demographic trends for students entering
higher education, shifts in disciplinary interests of those students that
might result in reallocation of faculty lines, and changes in how colleges
and universities accomplish their mission of undergraduate education.
At the K-12 level, the picture is quite different. Shortages of teachers
with training in the sciences has been a perennial problem, and several
trends suggest that the demand for earth science teachers in particular
may increase. National Science Education Standards, published by
the National Research Council in 1996, include specific benchmarks for
earth science content. To the extent that states implement part or
all of these standards (and such implementation to date has been highly
variable), geoscience may become an increasingly important part of
the curriculum at every level. There is a strong push on several
fronts to reduce the number of teachers teaching “out of field”, an effort
that could easily increase the number of earth scientists employed in secondary
education. At the K-8 level, recognition of the need for improved
science literacy and comfort among teachers opens opportunities for those
with an earth science background, both in teaching and in teacher
training.
These issues merge in our Geoscience departments. The pendulum
is swinging back toward greater attention to undergraduate education and
greater rewards for the scholarship of teaching. Similarly, there are new
opportunities for graduate student support that is independent of narrowly
focused, faculty research grants. If we are to prepare our graduate
students well for the available academic jobs, we must train them more
effectively as teachers as well as researchers. If we are to
prepare future K-12 teachers effectively, we must model good teaching
practices. If we are to expect greater attention to earth science
education at all levels, we must demonstrate its value to our majors and
generate enthusiasm among the large number of non-technical students who
pack our introductory courses. There is a future for geoscience educators,
but only if we foster that future through our departments.