This blog originally appeared on December 1, 2020 and has been reissued.
Of all the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), geology may be the one science where it is perhaps the most instructive and imperative to do your most significant work outside of an office or lab. As the study of the Earth and its processes, you will benefit greatly from time spent in the field, observing, measuring and studying the movement and interplay between soil, rock, water, environmental factors and engineered works.