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Geology vs Environmental sciences

So I wont be going to uni until 2021 but I'm not sure which course to take. I'm mainly interested in earth sciences and anything to do with environment. I'm not sure what career I want to do however, I want to be able to do loads of field work and take samples and test them in a lab. That's what I want to do and I'm not sure which one would be better. I'm also interested in environmental toxicology and geochemistry however I don't want to be restricted to just geology that's the thing. So what would be better?

Reply 1

Plagioclase

Original post by _sm0n3.

You can go into environmental sciencey professions from either degree. However, whilst there will be overlap in the types of skills you'll learn from each degree, the degrees are rather different. Environmental science is focused on how environmental systems work on anthropic timescales, whereas Earth sciences is more about how the Earth works on geological timescales. Environmental science degrees will cover more biology whereas Earth sciences covers more physics (and obviously geology). Earth sciences is probably a broader subject overall, environmental science might be more closely aligned with the kind of profession you've outlined - there are advantages to both.

As I say though, it's completely possible to go into the kind of work you're describing from either background. One word of warning - there are big differences between Earth Sciences courses, some of them are basically just rebranded geology (which isn't what you want, from what you've written) whereas other courses will be more up your street. When you're looking for Earth sciences courses, make sure you look for courses with plenty of geochemistry/environmental modules.