Craig is temporarily a post-doctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who is looking for a permanent position. He spends most of his time balancing his overwhelming geekdom with normalcy so he can function in the real world. Luckily his wife likes his geekiness.
Peter Etnoyer is a Graduate Research Associate at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He studies deep corals and ocean fronts, and he loves to be on the water.
Kevin Zelnio is a Graduate Student Researcher at Penn State studying the ecology of hydrothermal vent and methane seep communities. He raises awareness of the plight of the spineless through folk music.
I am gone for little over a week and come back to find out I have one of the Worst Jobs in Science. Popular Science wishes to "salute the men and women who do what no salary can adequately award." Salary...I am supposed to be receiving a salary? Number 2 on PopSci's list it Oceanographer because we get "nothing but bad news, day in and day out." No seafood by 2048, no coral reefs in decades, 200 deoxygenated "dead zones" and counting, a vortex of plastic the size of Texas residing in the Pacific, ocean acidification, etc. Of course, you can go here and read more about this. Luckily the ocean is still safe to work in...
Recently, Ron Johnstone, an Australian marine biologist, broke out in boils while studying sediment. He was poisoned by fireweed, a toxic cyanobacteria exploding across the globe in response to pollution.Jim over at Archaea to Zeaxanthol wonders what our reaction at DSN will be? Well in graduate school I thought this was going to be all fame, fortune, and groupies. I guess one of the three ain't bad...I let you guess which one it is. Unfortunately, I have to partially agree with PopSci. I love what I do but every year it's more bad news. This with often ostentatious peer-review process and a pitiful funding climate make my days jolly!
Comments
This Popular Science article get it all backwards. I tried working in Hollywood, where "all news is good news".
I just couldn't take it. Instead, dead zones and collapsing fish stocks give me an odd kind of comfort. In those cases, we know what's the problem. The really worst job must be in politics or fisheries, where they have to go and fix it.
Posted by: Peter Etnoyer | June 27, 2007 1:33 PM
actually I think the worst must be one of the jobs Mike Rowe showcases on 'Dirty Jobs' - some of them are just downright awful.
even after reading about the failed Sea Mount expedition, I have a hard time believing your job even comes close to "worst" (I guess I don't really have the right to proclaim the trip a failure, but it certainly doesn't sound like a success)
Posted by: Jim Lemire | June 27, 2007 1:59 PM
I would agree with Mike facing the worst jobs. The seamount trip wasn't failed so much as not quite what I expected. Any day at sea and ROV dive is a good day.
Posted by: CR McClain | June 27, 2007 2:32 PM
Dude you are a rockstar. Keep on keepin on.
Posted by: Historical Wit | June 28, 2007 7:57 AM
NPR's Science Friday talked about this 2 weeks with the editor of Popular Science (aired June 22). You can check it out here on podcast: http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2007/Jun/hour2_062207.html
Posted by: Kevin Z | July 4, 2007 6:56 AM