What are some pros and cons of being a soil scientist?
My wife regularly accuses me of being a kid (actually she says I’m a 12-yr old in a 40-something body), but I think it is great that I get paid to play in the dirt. I get to travel all over the USA and to foreign countries (Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, and counting) to study soil (play in the dirt there, too). I am an associate professor at a university, so my main responsibilities include teaching college students and doing research. I enjoy the lab activities most because we go outside and work with and/or in the soil. One of the other really fun things I do is meet with school children, usually fourth or fifth graders, and talk about why soil is important to their lives (food, clothes, etc.), and to the environment. I am what I want to be when I grow up – in other words, I enjoy my job. The drawbacks of a job are usually related to people’s personalities and expectations. If you enjoy being around people, then you probably would not enjoy soil survey activities in the Grand Canyon
