Setback for a comeback
I graduated with my MSc. in Geology during the 2013 downturn in the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas sector can be a really lucrative one to pursue a career in but is notorious for its cycles of boom (periods of high oil prices with lots of hiring and bonuses for all) and busts (where oil prices drop and layoffs follow). I was lucky to have secured an internship in the months before graduation and was relatively optimistic about my career options. I was just about midway through my internship when I learned that the company would not be making any offers for full-time employment.
Unemployed and with my student stipend ended with my graduation, I had to figure out what to do next. Thankfully, I had a great mentor during my internship who encouraged me to consider going to Texas A&M University to pursue a PhD. With my wife’s blessing (and prodding) I decided to take the plunge.
The reluctant PhD
Getting my doctorate was never in my plans. I’d always been focused on the oil industry and a masters is the preferred degree. The transition from a MSc. to PhD program was fairly straightforward. By that time I had a good idea of how graduate school worked. The most significant difference for me was the feeling that there were more guardrails in the former. In my MSc. I had a clearly defined project, and a definite timeframe in which to complete it. With my PhD it felt like I was handed a bowl of nuts and bolts and told to make a sculpture in the style of Picasso.
My PhD program was a slog. A series of setbacks, followed by minor advances, more setbacks and a final mad flurry leading up to a photo finish. And I was done. Looking back at the journey, I could never have imagined that it would end the way it did. After applying to what must have been two dozen jobs across industry and academia, I finally accepted an Assistant Professor position at Broward College. I capped nearly a decade as a student in academia by switching to the other side of the lectern. I’m excited to start this new chapter, stick around and see where this journey takes us next