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Geoscience Currents transmit snapshots of the many facets of the geoscience profession, in-depth case studies of how geoscience is applied, factsheets that provide rigorous introductions to a range of geoscience topics, workforce trends, and career paths.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of a total of 350 items
November 21, 2022
Geoscience Enrollment and Degrees Continue to Decline through 2021
Geoscience programs in the United States continued to see declines in the number of enrolled students and degrees being awarded through the 2021-22 academic year. The pandemic has exacerbated ongoing negative pressure on...
November 18, 2022
In 2021 and 2022, the Geoscience COVID-19 Survey asked about the importance of and proficiency with select technical skills to working in the geoscience profession. In our previous data brief (DB-2022-008), we examined study participants’ views on the importance of these skills to the profession....
August 22, 2022
In 2021 and 2022, we surveyed participants in the Geoscience COVID-19 Survey about their views on the importance of select technical skills to working in the geoscience profession. Across participant cohorts, the skills rated most important to working in the geoscience profession were data...
June 27, 2022
Overall, geoscience median salaries declined by 2% between 2020 and 2021, lagging other science occupations which increased by 4%, but not other engineering occupations which declined by 4%. The greatest increases in median salaries within the geosciences were geoscience civil engineers (+8%),...
June 17, 2022
Throughout the pandemic, work environments have shifted between virtual, in-person and hybrid scenarios. Remote-first work policies, which allow employees to choose their work location for any given day, have enabled workplaces to more quickly adapt to changing pandemic conditions. Furthermore,...
May 23, 2022
Of all participants in the Geoscience COVID-19 Impacts study, recent geoscience graduates have been the most vulnerable to employment disruptions during the pandemic. However, the study results indicate that the most recent geoscience graduates have either remained employed or gained employment...
May 06, 2022
Lecture course instructional modes
During the pandemic, courses, labs, and field activities have rapidly shifted between online, in-person and hybrid modes of instruction in response to pandemic conditions. With mask mandates easing in early 2022 as the impacts of the Omicron surge waned, there...
February 14, 2022
Staffing
While the rate at which companies expected to increase permanent staffing grew during the first half of 2021, companies became more cautious from August through October 2021 over concerns of impacts from the Delta variant. Growth expectations returned starting in November and December...
January 17, 2022
Financial Performance
In 2021, geoscientist-employing organizations’ financial performance expectations shifted positively relative to 2020. In January 2021, nearly two-thirds of employers expected their financial performance for the year would be similar or higher than 2020, and by December 2021...
January 07, 2022
This data brief examines the monthly employment trends for geoscience occupations and industry-level employment trends for the sectors in which geoscientists work. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey provides monthly occupational employment data, while data from the U.S....