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Msc Environment and Development

  • 19-12-2011 3:51pm
    #1
    meathawk
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 334 ✭✭


    Hi there, I am just in the final stages of my BA in Geography and Sociology. I'm currently searching for a Masters for next year and I was wondering if anyone on here has done this course. It looks fascinating and I'm very interested to find out about the fieldtrip. I think it'd be a perfect balance between atmospheric geography which is what I've been concentrating on in my dissertation and the subsequent human interaction with a changing environement.

    Anyways, any thoughts or opinions from current students would be a big help. Also, any recommendations from people in other courses would be fantastic.


Comments

  • #2
    ninebeanrows
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,780 ✭✭✭✭ninebeanrows


    I haven't done this but i did do your undergrad.

    My advice would be decide what career you want to follow and pick a much more focused masters.

    This looks wishy washy and i doubt would add that much to your career effort, yea i am sure it is extremely interesting and is taught well but that doesn't help you when you are eventually going to have to enter the job market. Unless of course you want to go down the path of research or a PHD.

    Just make the choice carefully.


  • #3
    meathawk
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 334 ✭✭meathawk


    Wishy-washy yes, but that's the path I want to go down I think. To ultimately remain in academia or possibly work for an NGO overseas.

    I was thinking about possibly doing either development practice or environmental science in Trinity, climate change in Maynooth or GIS in UCC. Do you have any insights into which of these would have better potential for employment? I would consider changing my career path and all of these Masters (other than GIS) look fascinating.


  • #4
    El Siglo
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,803 ✭✭✭El Siglo


    Environmental Science in TCD is pretty good, there are jobs out there but tough at present.
    Environment and Development in TCD, I knew some people that did this and they enjoyed it. Not necessarily a bad course, it's probably the human geography version of the environmental science course. More policy analysis and all that jazz. I haven't a clue about jobs in this area.
    Climate change in NUIM, I've no idea. It's probably a very good one for doing a PhD afterwards alright and NUIM have probably the best geography department in the country. I know a chap that did the UEA climate change course and he said it was more or less environmental science with more modelling involved.
    GIS in UCC, again no idea so couldn't comment. I know NUIM do GIS as well and it's the funded masters (something like 85% of the funding is from the EU and you pony up the rest).
    Don't do something because of the job, you'll never enjoy it especially if you don't have a particular interest in the field (e.g. I hate all human geography, that's why I did Environmental Science after the BA and enjoyed it).


  • #5
    ninebeanrows
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,780 ✭✭✭✭ninebeanrows


    El Siglo wrote: »
    Environmental Science in TCD is pretty good, there are jobs out there but tough at present.
    Environment and Development in TCD, I knew some people that did this and they enjoyed it. Not necessarily a bad course, it's probably the human geography version of the environmental science course. More policy analysis and all that jazz. I haven't a clue about jobs in this area.
    Climate change in NUIM, I've no idea. It's probably a very good one for doing a PhD afterwards alright and NUIM have probably the best geography department in the country. I know a chap that did the UEA climate change course and he said it was more or less environmental science with more modelling involved.
    GIS in UCC, again no idea so couldn't comment. I know NUIM do GIS as well and it's the funded masters (something like 85% of the funding is from the EU and you pony up the rest).
    Don't do something because of the job, you'll never enjoy it especially if you don't have a particular interest in the field (e.g. I hate all human geography, that's why I did Environmental Science after the BA and enjoyed it).

    What world are you living in? Yes you should like something you are going to work at but the reality is that you need to compromise unless you are just doing the courses for enjoyment and have all the money in the world to live on. Most people want practical experience and education to enter the workforce or create business in a particular field of interest.

    The worst advice would be to go waste 6 or 7 years doing something that is interesting but leads to you being qualified in something but won't get you near a job.

    This is the problem with the half the courses in this country.

    People need to realise life ain't all rosey, you need to go out and earn some dollar. If you manage to do that in a job you love then kudos, but you are likely going to need to compromise especially in this current climate.


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