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Any hydrologists here?

 
   
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type-B

Jul 31, 12 22:24

Post #1 of 6 (393 views)
Any hydrologists here? Quote | Reply
I have a chance to return to school and this field fascinates me (am looking at doing undergrad at Oregon State.)
I know ST has a huge variety of professionals, but I cannot recall ever seeing a hydrologist post.

If one is here I'd love to hear your thoughts on the profession, how you got there, ratio of time in office vs field as you career evolved, or anything else you'd like to share.

Thanks
--------------------------------------------------------

It seemed like a good idea at the time. . .

(This post was edited by type-B on Jul 31, 12 23:17)


nublar

Aug 1, 12 0:39

Post #2 of 6 (375 views)
Re: Any hydrologists here? [type-B] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
You are probably better off doing Civil Engineering with a concentration in water resources/hydrogeology. Most of the major aquifers are pretty well mapped out and if you go private, you might spend a lot of the time digging test wells and remediation wells so that you can remove benzene, mtbe, and other nasty groundwater contaminants.


instigator

Aug 1, 12 6:56

Post #3 of 6 (343 views)
Re: Any hydrologists here? [type-B] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
I am "kind of" an hydrologist. I don't have a degree in hydrology (Chemistry and Environmental Science with a MSPH in Public Heath with a focus on surface water) but I play one at work as I had a ton of course work in hydrology. My company also has one other person with a hydrology degree and we do the same type of projects. I would tend to agree with nublar that you might want to look into a CE program that has a hydrology/water resource specialization track as it would make your potential for job opportunities a lot wider than just a hydrology degree.

I am 12 years post masters having spent 3 years working for state government (right out of school) and the last 9 with a private consultant. The 3 years with government and the last 5 with my current employer have been spent focusing on watershed planning, water quality modeling and water quality sampling. My company is small (30 people) so I still spend a ton of time in the field. I would say about 30% of my time per year is spent in the field collecting samples and whatnot. The work I do also involves a ton of public interaction so I am out and about doing that as well. I had about 4 years between my government job and my current job where I worked for a due diligence and remediation focused consultant and spent about 50% of my time in the field.

I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you might have.


duffman

Aug 1, 12 8:39

Post #4 of 6 (320 views)
Re: Any hydrologists here? [type-B] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
You might call me a hydrologist ;)

I've got a PhD in Environmental Engineering from UT-Austin. Currently I'm studying pesticide fate and transport associated with biofuel feedstocks in the upper Mississippi River basin. I actually went to grad school with a professor at Oregon State, Jeff Nason, though he is more on the treatment process side than hydrology (and really that's more my background also but my current project certainly qualifies as hydrology). FWIW he ran XC at Cornell. If memory serves they have environmental engineering lumped with ChemE rather than CE at OSU. Not sure what would make more sense for you. PM if you want more info.
__________________________

Oh yeah!


Derf

Aug 1, 12 11:07

Post #5 of 6 (297 views)
Re: Any hydrologists here? [duffman] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
I'm pretty sure you're right on the Environmental Eng. being on the Chem E side rather than Civil at OSU--at least that's what I remember from a few friends in that department. I am EE, so not entirely trustworthy on this information. :)


chainpin

Aug 1, 12 11:10

Post #6 of 6 (294 views)
Re: Any hydrologists here? [duffman] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
duffman wrote:
You might call me a hydrologist ;)

I've got a PhD in Environmental Engineering from UT-Austin. Currently I'm studying pesticide fate and transport associated with biofuel feedstocks in the upper Mississippi River basin. I actually went to grad school with a professor at Oregon State, Jeff Nason, though he is more on the treatment process side than hydrology (and really that's more my background also but my current project certainly qualifies as hydrology). FWIW he ran XC at Cornell. If memory serves they have environmental engineering lumped with ChemE rather than CE at OSU. Not sure what would make more sense for you. PM if you want more info.

If you hold out long enough you might get a big payday from Monsanto.

"I really wish you would post more often. You always have some good stuff to say. I copied it below just in case someone missed it." BarryP to Chainpin on 10/21/06