1/7 if there are fewer visible pathways to a career, many undergraduates will not choose that major — despite the projection & sermonizing coming from those already w/ degrees (whether from 50 yrs ago or 3 yrs ago) the current students I talk to are pragmatic about their future

2/7 yes, they are interested, curious, and fascinated by geoscience — but they *also* want to know how they will make a living

yes, they want to make a difference in the world, but they *also* want to know how they'll get paid

3/7 the undergraduate students I interact with are, in many cases, thinking more complexly and more clearly than their mentors/instructors (including me) — they aren't thinking in oversimplified dichotomies

4/7 they understand that learning to "think critically" is an important skill in an uncertain future, they get it — but they *also* want to know how they'll be able to pay their rent and buy food with that skill

5/7 don't begrudge students for putting some focus on practical concerns related to careers and $$$ — at the same time, pointing them to a career path that barely exists anymore isn't very helpful (I fall into this trap)

6/7 this is all so difficult because the future, both near-term as well as decades from now, is as cloudy as ever — there are going to be careers in the 2030s that simply do not exist right now and, thus, we can't point to as an example pathway when talking to students

7/7 I don't have some big revelation here, this is just a thread of some thoughts — I learn a lot by listening to students about how they think about the future, and trying my best to listen to all of them (including those that might not have a lot to say)