Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Factor?

[TRON JA307020]

I thought this would be a fun thread. Maybe its been done before but I haven't been around here long. I worked as a Geologist/Hydrogeologist for years. Basically I had to investigate underground contamination of aquifers. The hours were long and the pay was only good on my last few years. The job was interesting though and I got to travel a lot. I no longer do it because the industry can be cyclic and I was never home much so I went back to school and switched careers a little less than 2 years ago but I can always go back if I want.

Also watching Trek as a kid did inspire me to get into a science field.

I am also aware that Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory thinks geologists are low on the scientist totem pole.

 

[Amaris]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I work in the science field, and yes, Trek was very much involved.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I work in the science field, and yes, Trek was very much involved.

What field?

 

[Amaris]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I work in the science field, and yes, Trek was very much involved.

What field?

Computer Science, primarily involving networks.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I work in the science field, and yes, Trek was very much involved.

What field?

Computer Science, primarily involving networks.

Pretty good. Spock in particular was an influence I take it?

 

[Amaris]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

What field?

Computer Science, primarily involving networks.

Pretty good. Spock in particular was an influence I take it?

Scotty, actually. I wanted to be an engineer.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

Computer Science, primarily involving networks.

Pretty good. Spock in particular was an influence I take it?

Scotty, actually. I wanted to be an engineer.

Ah good old Scotty. James Doohan was proud that so many people were influenced by his character.I worked with a lot of civil engineers. They designed things like caps for landfills and environmental work plans. I did work with one mechanical engineer at one point. Most seemed to like what they did just not the money they were paid.

 

[K'Toska]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I don't currently work in a science field but am in school for chemistry. I used to go to school for Latin but sci-fi (among other things) has definitely influenced me to change my career choice. Most recently, I cemented down the idea that I want to go into astrochemistry. Trek was a big factor in that. I've always been interested in astronomy, beginning as a child with my first telescope, and my high school actually had a planetarium so I took an astronomy course there. I knew as of a few years ago that I definitely wanted to go into chemistry. More recently though I was thinking about it and realized I DON'T want to work as a chemist for some large corporation that is likely raping the environment. Trek got me thinking - surely there was some field where I could use both astronomy and chemistry to make a living and explore both subjects. Then I found astrochemistry - ta da!

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I studied biology in college before attending medical school. Although I'm proud of the fact that I'd almost certainly wear a blue uniform on Star Trek, Spock and McCoy were not factors in my career decisions.

--Sran

 

[Melakon]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I worked for about 10 years in computer rooms, but had no formal training when I started.

Star Trek was sort of a factor. It was 1970, and I was very much of the 'computers are EVIL and must be destroyed' ilk. In college at that time, I wrote a one act play for a student directed performance night. The hero talked a computer to death.

I didn't start working with them professionally until about 3 years later.

 

[Cyke101]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

Not myself, but my associate director, a professor of African American Studies, credits her interest in sociology and law -- thus social science -- to TOS. She was less interested in Scotty's doohickeys or Spock's random anomalies, and was much more interested in the alien species the crew would encounter every week and how our heroes fought or befriended them.

She occasionally would regale me with her adventures at various Star Trek cons, of course.

 

[MacLeod]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I did Engineering in college.

 

[Greg Cox]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I got a degree in chemistry, before I realized that I was better at science fiction than real science. (I was a pretty mediocre chemist, to be honest.) Not sure if STAR TREK specifically steered me toward science as opposed to just generally being a sci-fan fan type whose crowd mostly gravitated toward math and science . . . .

If I'd known I was going to end up a writer, I would've taken a lot more English courses.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

Nice to see there are a few science nerds here at trektoday. We have geology, computer science, astrochemistry, medical and engineering. Pretty cool. All would work on the enterprise.

 

[Greg Cox]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

For what it's worth, my little brother is a geologist, and he's raising his kids on STAR TREK and STAR WARS, too.

 

[MarsWeeps]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

I'm just curious why you capitalized every word in the thread title except for "have" -

 

[TRON JA307020]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

For what it's worth, my little brother is a geologist, and he's raising his kids on STAR TREK and STAR WARS, too.

Cool. Not many geologists out there. Does he do environmental cleanup/aquifer work or is he in research/education?

 

[Chronos]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

Definitely. Scotty was one of the deciding factors when I was choosing which path my life would take. I had known that I wanted to do something with technology, as I was fascinated by video game systems like the NES as well as personal computers, but I didn't specifically pick engineering until I had started watching Star Trek.

Now I'm an electrical engineering student. It's not exactly an easy field, and the workload is quite extensive, but thinking about Scotty's legendary problem solving skills... "What would Scotty do?" is enough to keep me from getting off track.

Before I had decided on a technological field, I wanted to be an astronomer because I've loved space for a very long time. Even before I started watching Trek. Now I'm hoping that I can eventually get a career that involves the two of them. Maybe working as an engineer for a space company, or else one that manufactures computer processors.

 

[K'Toska]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

It was 1970, and I was very much of the 'computers are EVIL and must be destroyed' ilk.

What changed your mind? Trek?

 

[Melakon]

Re: Anyone Here Work Or have Worked In A Science Field? Was Trek A Fac

It was 1970, and I was very much of the 'computers are EVIL and must be destroyed' ilk.

What changed your mind? Trek?

Actually working with them and realizing they couldn't take over the world, like in Colossus: The Forbin Project, which came out in 1970. I'd first read the novel. Computers weren't commonplace in homes then, they were in businesses and government offices.

All Trek taught me was Kirk could talk them to death.