Overwhelmed
I decided to go into oceanography because it's such a broad, interdisciplinary field. The physics, chemistry, biology and geology all interact, so even though oceanographers typically specialize in one of the four areas we need to know something about them all.
I'm more certain than ever that this is the right field for me, but I'm starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed about how much I don't know. It's hard to know where to start, especially since I'm just jumping into things this summer, and haven't even started classes yet.
To be the sort of oceanographer I want to be, I'll need to know much more about:
- Math and physics
- Ecology (my main interest is in applying physics to problems in ecology)
- Computer modeling (probably involving more advanced programming techniques than I ever used as a software engineer, actually, namely programming for massively parallel supercomputers)
- Electronics (for designing/troubleshooting instrumentation)
I also need a lot of practical skills in areas like observational techniques, SCUBA, small boat handling and giving scientific presentations. Maybe most important of all, I need to be able to write proposals to get grant money.
I also have an interest in doing some popular-level science writing. The broad training that oceanographers get seems like it would be ideal for this. I could work my photography skills into this as well.
On my plate right now, I'm trying to work on a "box model" for the Neuse River estuary, which is a simple mathematical model of water flow. I'm starting to learn MatLab (a mathematical computer program) so I can produce graphics for the wave and current data coming out of the ADCP on our buoy. (Of course I first have to go through the ADCP documentation to figure out the data format) I'm starting to learn ecology by reading "Fundamentals of Ecology", a classic in the field. And I'm occassionally being interrupted by the need to do something for May's project in the Cape Fear estuary.
posted by MarkCi @ 11:06 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I'm feeling the same way with my own career shift and return to life as a student. So many things I wish I already knew that are still so fuzzy in my mind. It's natural to look at all that will have to be accomplished and feel overwhelmed. There will be plenty of time to learn it all, I keep telling myself. It doesn't all have to be learned in the next week. I was listening to old CDs last week and heard the message in Billy Joel's "Vienna" with a different ear. It's a good sentiment to remember (don't try to do it all too fast). But its hard to convince myself that it's ok to take my time when 4 decades have squeezed up in my past!
At least it keeps you out of the cubes, es verdad?
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