I used to visit my grandmother every summer in her province where landslides were commonplace. After a particularly strong typhoon caused a landslide that swallowed half her house, she told me to study well, so I could stop the next one from wrecking the other half.

It took a lot of convincing before my parents finally allowed me to take geology as my undergrad. I still remember their exasperated “sure” as I was listing down my choices in the UPCAT application portal two years ago. In the end, it was only because the program could still land me a practical job at a mining company that my parents allowed me to take it.

While I disagree with my parents about what line of work to pursue, I can’t argue against their parental instinct to ensure I can survive without them. It is no secret, after all, that scientists in academia are still undervalued in the country. 

Entry-level salaries for geologists in the government, for example, are pegged at around P28,000 to P30,000 per month. But even that’s barely enough with the cost of living nowadays. 

Even assuming I’d acquire additional credentials from going to post-grad—which is even more time off earning at a regular job—securing funding to conduct research will be extra work in itself. This year, and even the ones before, the Department of Science and Technology’s approved budget for grants to various research and development programs still falls short by almost half of its proposal.

With all this, work in academia seems to be a much riskier choice given the stability and convenience of a private sector job.

But as I immerse myself further in my studies, the idea of being confined to just one subfield of research becomes less enticing, especially considering the harmful impacts of mining activities across the country. At least in academia, my contributions to the field wouldn’t be confined to the needs of just some company.

It’s hard to grapple with the idea that I won’t be able to pursue research in environmental geology, as 9-year-old me promised his grandmother. And that I’d need to work for the adversary to my desired field is not only an ironic but a bleak prospect.

Well, I still have three more years to properly contemplate my future job. Until then, I’ll just have to hope that my next major won’t make me fall in love with my program even more. ●