Serious question, why do some geologists act like office politics matter more than rock formations?

Focusing on cubicle gossip over continental drift shows a total loss of passion for the science!

3 comments

3 Comments

Wait a sec, that's just how any big workplace runs though. You need to play the game a little to get funding for the cool field projects. It doesn't mean they love the rocks any less.

annas871mo ago

Saw an article last year that basically said the same thing as @kevinp56. It was about how pure research jobs are so rare now, most geologists are stuck in corporate or government roles where your boss decides what you study. If your boss likes you, you get to work on the good stuff. So the politics directly control what rocks you even get to look at. It's less about losing passion and more about the system forcing people to act that way just to do any science at all. The article argued that's why so many young geo grads leave the field entirely.

angela4161mo ago

But isn't that just giving up? If you really love the rocks, you find a way to work on them no matter what the job is. Sounds like an excuse to quit.