Marketable Skills

  • temporal and spatial thinking
  • systems thinking
  • geologic reasoning and synthesis
  • asking appropriate questions
  • understand context of problem
  • problem solving in 3-D and 4-D
  • ability to work on problems with no clear answers
  • managing uncertainty in problem solving
  • working by analogy, inference and the limits of certainty
  • intellectually flexible - applying skills in new scenarios
  • data collection and interpretation, use of data and application
  • evaluation of data, data quality, purpose of collecting data, begin with understanding of how data will answer question
  • understanding data and uncertainties
  • make predictions with limited data
  • use of appropriate methods, reading and interpreting graphs
  • probability and statistics (so understand risk)
  • understanding of scale
  • encourage critical thinking
  • experience with authentic research, collection of new information
  • field camp and/or field mapping experiences
  • improves spatial cognition, creative problem solving, teamwork, geoscience synthesis
  • data support that field skills are unique and essential, difficult to replicate or substitute
  • technological diversity (need skills and training beyond point, click, and type) - i.e. not just black box
  • science writing and verbal communication
  • knowing your audience
  • listening skills
  • goal setting
  • managing problems on the front end
  • solution-oriented approaches
  • time management: ethics, ethical awareness and conduct
  • emotional literacy, learning styles, awareness of implicit bias