Without knowing how rigorous your current program is, knowing that you are making a 3.0 in your major classes doesn’t tell us all that much. At some schools, a 3.0 GPA is good. At other schools, it’s just adequate.
You seem passionate about your GIS course. Why not pursue a degree in something more GIS related? I don’t know if the market for GIS specialists is oversaturated, but GIS know-how is definitely a marketable skill. All the GIS specialists I know are also great at database management–another another marketable skill. One that scientists don’t learn in school.
In my experience, people who enter the hard sciences when they know they are afraid of math are cruising for a bruising UNLESS they face their problems head-on. If you want to get a good education in grad school, you’re going to take some math classes–even if it’s just a basic statistics class. A scientist who doesn’t know his or her statistics is not a scientist, IMHO (sorry for being so dramatic…but I’m dealing with such a “non-scientist scientist” right now and I think I’m fixing to kill him!) The good news is that most grad-level statistics courses just require you to be able to endure calculus derivation before you get to the more “fun” stuff. I know that while I personally didn’t like calculus, statistics for me was an absolute blast. Chances are if you like problem-solving, statistics will appeal to you.
The reason why the math stuff is so important is because you’re going to be competing against geologists who aren’t afraid of the math. Geologists with advanced degrees will be expected to handle some number-crunching (which to be honest, no one is doing by hand nowadays. You just need to know how to analyze and interpret data. A computer will carry out your bidding if you give it the correct instructions). You don’t want to cross any skills off your list before you even get out of the gate. At this point in your life, you need to be grabbing as many skills as possible.
You need to change your direction ASAP. You have a miniscule chance of being offered a position in NASA with a sub-par GPA. GIS offers lots of opportunities in various fields. MY daughter is a GIS major with about a 3.0 and she has lots of opportunities because of her interning and networking. If you want to go the hard science end of GIS and beyond that to the super elite NASA class hiring you are holding very short stick.
I dont think that the math stuff in its entirety was my issue. If there is anything mathematically that I can expect to see in the field it will most likely be in a geological context. My performance in my geophysics and remote sensing classes to the very least tells me that I am competent enough to succeed in real world work situations. What did me in with my calculus classes was the fact that there was no context, you just simply did x operation because thats what you were supposed to do. For research purposes as long as I am not doing pure calculus with no context or reference in any geological concepts then I think I will be fine, and even then if it turns out that that is the type of math that I will run into from time to time then fine; I dont think that I will necessarily solve it within a matter of seconds, but I do believe that given some time I will be able to produce the right answer.
I will admit making a 3.0 in my universities geology courses isint as rigorous as say our petroleum engineering program, but at the very least it makes me confident enough to say I have a firm grasp of the material and can adequately display the proper knowledge and skills as a result
Not to disagree that this is the proverbial writing on the wall, but I honestly believe that if I can manage to get into a good grad school things will look up. If I can manage to get into Arizona or any other reputable MS program I dont doubt that I will do well. The only reason I’m in this mess in the first place is because of my slip up in Calculus and Chemistry freshman year. For all intensive purposes I do not feel like I am exaggerating when I say that I know my geology concepts well enough to do well in a geology MS program. From there it will be much easier to get into a good PhD program as well as getting a decent job. The way I look at it, once I start grad school its a chance at a fresh slate. If I do really well in grad school PhD programs wont really put too much weight on my undergrad (but for the sake of argument my hypothetical gpa would be at least a 3.0 since I am still framing this in the context of me going to Arizona). I admit I dont know much about this, so maybe that’s not how the academic ladder works, but from my point of veiw it seems the most reasonable. As of now yes, NASA will not hire me or even look at me, but if I can manage to rally myself to a 3.0 before I graduate and get into a good grad school and do well, I dont see why they wouldnt.
The reason they won’t hire you is that they are required to consider any veteran that meets the minimum qualifications before they even pick up your resume. And there are a LOT of veterans out there who have made very good use of their education benefits. Federal hiring is not like private sector hiring. It’s complex, there are many different ways to get in, and each comes with hundreds of pages of tiny regulations that will make the difference between you having a shot or not. NASA isn’t a huge Agency. You’ll need to understand what the actual hiring options are, and you aren’t going to learn that by looking at want ads. You need to talk to people who understand federal hiring and you need to do that early so you can make sure you are using your summers and the like in a way that helps you.
It’s not impossible. It’s totally possible. But even for people coming out of the best programs, they aren’t going ot have their pick of NASA jobs just laid out in front of them.
If I were you, OP, I would imagine what you would do if NASA were to suddenly close up shop. Does the type of geology you’re passionate about still have a market? It always kind of worries me when someone has their dreams set on working in one particular niche, for one specific employer.
I totally understand why you are fixated on GPA–which seems to be the barrier to you getting access to research opportunities. But a mediocre GPA is not the hugest barrier to grad school. What’s really important (unfortunately, IMHO) is how well you do on the GRE. So in your copious spare time between bringing up your grades and inquiring about technician positions, I’d be boning up on your vocabulary and working sample problems (the quantitative and analytical stuff). At the very least, practicing will take away some of the anxiety on test day.
I agree 100% with you. I didnt make it clear, but the plan after getting a PhD would be of course to do research elsewhere and gain experience with other companies and such. The issue with that is finding other companies with relevant positions to the ones such as NASA, and so far all I have come up with is SpaceX. In my own personal time frame (and this is of course not based in any actual solid proof) I would expect to work and research elsewhere for anywhere between 10-15 years. The best option for this is of course to work at a university and do research there, but at the same time the money is far better in the private sector with companies such ash Shell or Exxon, which is why I would like to try to have at least my MS be in a field that is applicable to those industries. Going all out for NASA and doint nothing but planetary sedimentology from MS to PhD is far too risky. I know it will take time and experience elsewhere, which I am assuming makes the relevance of my undergrad gpa all the less relevant when applying to NASA if I were to have 10-15 years experience in the field and multiple research programs under my belt. Like I said I think that the biggest barrier to all of this is getting into a good MS program so that I can do well and take the next step(s), and that is where the gpa is hurting me the most
I have seen all of the projected funding reports, and current state of NASA budgets enough to know that they are doing everything but expanding and looking for more employees. I enjoy sedimentology with mineralogy coming in a close second as my prefer fields of study, and if all was to go wrong I would have no problem making a career out of a job at Shell, Exxon, or even the USGS. My only worry is that since I am going to be going for the gold by placing my PhD in Planetary Sedimentology, companies will not look at me as “wholly” as they would if I had just gotten an MS in petrology or sedimentology. I already hear that in some cases a PhD is less sought after than an MS when it comes to working in the private sector, but I am all to dedicated to a job at NASA to not pursue a PhD in a field of study that would most benefit me for the opportunity for a job placement. What I am really getting at is that my not having a 3.0 at the moment is preventing me from getting internships, research opportunities, and eventually enrollment into the MS program at Arizona. Sure there are other schools and other routes to take, but the reputable MS programs will all more than naught require at least a 3.0 for admission. I am stuck at the crossroads of deciding to try and retake the classes from freshman year and getting an A so that they average out to a more respectable grade, or dedicating myself to the rest of my classes ahead of me and raising my gpa that way. Whichever one gets me to a 3.0 quicker is the one that I want to do, but if I make anything less than an A on the retakes, then taking them again makes the chance to increase the average almost twice as difficult
I have absolutely no knowledge of grad school programs (aside from medical school). However, that will not stop me from giving you advice.
First, find a professor you like and who is doing research you are interested in and ask if you can work in their lab. Do not wait until the semester is over to ask. Ask them now and if you feel the commitment is too much right now then ask if you can start working at the beginning of the next semester. Do not wait for a certain GPA to ask. The longer you do research, the more likely you will be to have your name on a paper which will help your grad school plans.
Second, I personally would not recommend retaking courses. Sure, it may raise your GPA but the admissions folks at graduate schools are not idiots. You may get past the initial cut-off but if they are deciding between a candidate who took the same course 3 times getting a progressively higher (but passing) grade each time and one who used the time to explore more advanced courses even at the risk of a lower grade, they will go with the latter. Not to mention that you are paying tuition for these courses. Is it the best use of your money to continue to repeat the same material in hopes of raising your GPA? ISTM that the better use of your resources is to use your time and money to actually learn something new. This is especially true since you have the option of taking courses that interest you rather than repeating courses that do not seem to thrill you. Don’t waste your undergraduate years trying to get a certain GPA in order to get into a certain school. You will regret it.
Finally, if you really want to work at NASA, do everything in your power to get an internship there. Write to people who are doing what you want to do. Ask them if you can volunteer in their labs unpaid if you have to. Get a foot in the door. That is how most hiring decisions are still made.
This advice actually helps A LOT! I went ahead and crunched the numbers, and if I take my courses and dont overload myself, a 3.0 is well within reach far before I graduate. I will contact a few professors about research assistant opportunities as well.
This is another little snippet that really tells me you need to talk to some professors and grad students in your field. In all other fields I’m aware of, nobody pays to get their PhD. Tuition and a stipend is typically funded by some mix of research assistantships and teaching assistantships.
And I second the advice to get as much research experience as you possibly can. That’s how I ultimately got the recommendation letters that balanced against my 2.5 GPA. I worked for a couple summers in a lab as an undergraduate, where I did good enough work to earn a recommendation and a personal reference that got me a job as a technician. There I continued to do excellent work, earning a recommendation from my boss, as well as getting to work on projects with Big Shot Collaborators that have also given me recommendations.
Recommendations from professors that you’ve just taken a few classes with aren’t very useful for getting into grad school. They’re better than nothing, but admissions committees know that there are plenty of “good students” that really don’t have what it takes to be good researchers.
Research also isn’t for everyone. It’s an intensely grueling way to spend your life. You have to learn to live with a high degree of uncertainty and failure. Successes, while intensely rewarding, can be rare and fleeting. The sooner you get some research experience, the sooner you’ll learn whether it is your calling.
Oh, and when you start asking about research opportunities put some effort into the emails you send to professors. A simple cut-and-paste “Hello I’m interested in research opportunities on (topic) in your lab” will be immediately disregarded. For everyone you contact, read a few of their papers, and mention a few specific topics and questions that interest you. It’s OK if you don’t completely understand every detail in their papers (that’s what grad school is for) but you need to be able to sound reasonably intelligent and informed.
It sounds like you do have some stuff planned out and have a good start. I agree with the others, that you should talk to some professors, do not retake classes just to get your GPA higher, and study for the GRE as much as possible.
Could you clarify, are you saying that you have tried to get internships and research positions and were not able to because of your GPA, or do you think your GPA will prevent you from getting those things and haven’t tried?
Both essentially. The internships I would normally apply to have so far mostly had 3.0 GPA requirements. Those that did not have 3.0 requirements I applied for, but as of now have yet to hear back from any of them (although at this point I think this is mostly due to insufficient letters of recommendation, which I am now going to be working to improve)
It is much easier to get a high GPA in a PhD program than an undergrad program. First, you are mostly taking classes in a subject you are good at. Since PhD students are selected by the professors, the professors mostly think they are smart, and the non-smart ones wash out in quals. Also, many of your later classes are seminars and the like, where getting an A is easy as long as you show up, participate, and give the necessary presentations.
The undergraduate stuff is the hard part, since GPA is easy to sort on. However, I’d agree about not waiting to get research opportunities, because for most in the field an A in a relevant course far outweighs a C in history. Enthusiasm also counts.