For those of you not familiar with the Soil Science Society of America and our publications, I write a column called Tales from the Pits for our Crops and Soils publication, which will now be moving to Soil Horizons as that publication makes its debut. The Tales from the Pits column is meant to be a place where adventures in soil science can be shared; they are primarily light-hearted stories that carry a message on what goes on and lessons learned in the career of a soil scientist.
The Tale of Working in a Male-Dominated Field was a story that I thought a lot about before actually sitting down and writing it. I wanted to make sure I conveyed my message in the right way, but I also wanted people to recognize that there are obstacles out there for wormen and that those obstacles present challenges that need to be overcome or they can essentially ruin a person's career.
I have to say that I have been amazed at the response that I have received from this article and so I decided to reprint it here. I have received many emails from both men and women with support of what was written and bringing the issue out in the open. I have also received many emails from women relating their tales and their struggles. One of the reasons I wrote the article was to let women know that they aren't alone in what happens out there, but some part of me was also hoping that behaviors were changing over time and people would tell me that it doesn't go on anymore and that I am outdated in my views. Given the number of stories I have heard from women very early in their careers I see that there are still struggles out there that in some cases show nothing has changed. I'd be interested in hearing from readers of this blog too.
The Tale of Working in a Male-Dominated Field appeared in the November-December 2011 issue of Crops and Soils. The article can be found here: http://bit.ly/z4b5us
Wired for Soils
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Ag Degree: Anything but a Dud
Yesterday there was an article posted on Yahoo Education with the title of "College Majors that are Useless". The #1 spot went to Agriculture. I guess that ticked me off just a little bit. Then, as I read down the list I found #4 was Animal Science and #5 was Horticulture. Really? I understand how the author ranked these majors - jobs available or decreases in jobs. I have to wonder however, how short sighted the author's conclusions were and how, through their condemnation of these areas of study, they may affect the future of food and fiber production in a world whose population is only growing and land resources are decreasing.
From my perspective agriculture and related sciences will only become more important in the future as we search for ways to increase production, enhance soil quality and provide crops that will grow in an ever changing climate. We will need people in these career paths that understand the science and the challenges and can work to facilitate solutions. Calling agriculture "a dud of a degree" is counterproductive to the issues facing us globally today.
I also know that many universities are cutting programs and there are less people going into the agricultural and related sciences. In my opinion, this just doesn't bode well for the future. I don't have the answers on how to change that, although education comes to mind, but there is always the issue of targeting and having access to the right audiences. We talk amongst ourselves about the challenges of agriculture, soil, water, and climate but the general population tends to just live in the belief that these commodities and corresponding environmental issues will "be taken care of". I'm not convinced that most people give it much thought unless they cannot find something at the grocery store or find increased prices on the products that they depend on. There is a quote in the article from a Laurence Shatkin, PhD (author of "The 10 Best College Majors for your Personality") that says "It's true that farms are becoming more efficient now and so there is less of a need for farm managers." While that, in part, may have some truth to it, there is still the issue of the environment and its affect on production (and vice versa) - which requires people who understand the environment and production. It is unclear to me what Dr. Shatkin even knows about agriculture, so disuading people from even entering the field shows little foresight and does a disservice in the long run. What happens in 5, 10 or 20 years when all of us with degrees and knowledge of these systems are retired? Who fills in behind us with the ability to address the issues and what will be a very real and critical problem with providing the global economy with food, fiber and an environment that can sustainably support a very large population?
If you would like to read the article, it can be found here: http://education.yahoo.net/articles/most_useless_degrees.htm
As per usual - I invite comments, thoughts, etc.
From my perspective agriculture and related sciences will only become more important in the future as we search for ways to increase production, enhance soil quality and provide crops that will grow in an ever changing climate. We will need people in these career paths that understand the science and the challenges and can work to facilitate solutions. Calling agriculture "a dud of a degree" is counterproductive to the issues facing us globally today.
I also know that many universities are cutting programs and there are less people going into the agricultural and related sciences. In my opinion, this just doesn't bode well for the future. I don't have the answers on how to change that, although education comes to mind, but there is always the issue of targeting and having access to the right audiences. We talk amongst ourselves about the challenges of agriculture, soil, water, and climate but the general population tends to just live in the belief that these commodities and corresponding environmental issues will "be taken care of". I'm not convinced that most people give it much thought unless they cannot find something at the grocery store or find increased prices on the products that they depend on. There is a quote in the article from a Laurence Shatkin, PhD (author of "The 10 Best College Majors for your Personality") that says "It's true that farms are becoming more efficient now and so there is less of a need for farm managers." While that, in part, may have some truth to it, there is still the issue of the environment and its affect on production (and vice versa) - which requires people who understand the environment and production. It is unclear to me what Dr. Shatkin even knows about agriculture, so disuading people from even entering the field shows little foresight and does a disservice in the long run. What happens in 5, 10 or 20 years when all of us with degrees and knowledge of these systems are retired? Who fills in behind us with the ability to address the issues and what will be a very real and critical problem with providing the global economy with food, fiber and an environment that can sustainably support a very large population?
If you would like to read the article, it can be found here: http://education.yahoo.net/articles/most_useless_degrees.htm
As per usual - I invite comments, thoughts, etc.
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