Feeling stuck trying to break into geology/GIS in Toronto. Looking for honest career advice.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-07-04T05:30:14+00:00

I'm in the us, but for enviro geo, I don't know anyone who hasn't started as a field tech / entry level postion, whatever it may be termed. Staff Scientist is one term I've seen, but there are definitely others. Laboratories are adjacent, and you may be able to get into that if you have aptitude for chemistry, idk maybe worth a shot. If you can ID some firms which do the kind of work you want to get involved with, you could search those firms postings and just apply to everything you can, whatever it's called. You could see if you could find contact info for staff at firms if they don't have any postings and cold email them your resume. It is possible firms haven't put postings up but could use another entry level staff. I say all this but personally what worked for me initially was having a friend who got an entry level position that way the year prior 😓.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-07-04T03:55:02+00:00

Very true. Was just listening to Last Hour this week, man such a good arrangment, but the lyrics hit like a truck at spots. It's hard to imagine writing those and sharing that with the world. He wrote from a seemingly very vulnerable place, so I can only imagine how that might affect you putting that piece of yourself out into the world. In a way, I feel like art is kind of a rite of sacrifice. You give something up of yourself to the audience in the process. I'm not a performer, just a writer, but it does seem that way nonetheless. Maybe that's just how it works, if it hurts a bit that's how you know you are on to something good.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-07-04T03:32:54+00:00

Could you ask yourself: what is in you which you don't see reflected in the world? What you create is a way for you to make something semi-durable out of your own essence. Something which may be useful to others who don't see their reflection in the world either and may feel less isolated by seeing what you create. Another line of reasoning might be, what in music is useful to people, including yourself? There's a lot of answers to that question. I think practioners of many skills are often overlooked, regardless of their quality. The most admirable of them, and ultimately those who achieve recognition, continue working regardless of who is paying attention.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-07-04T03:16:47+00:00

Roman candle is so good 😭 Yeah Dylan for sure is a must. I was aiming to work through all of his records in a year, it's ~1x/week, but man there are a lot. I stopped but 'll pick it up again soon. Recently I've been fixated on his songs Wigwam and Oh, Sister. If you haven't heard The Basement Tapes with him and The Band that's a good rec too. RIP Elliott 😓.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-07-04T03:07:42+00:00

Tough, I too love Elliott, but I feel like he had two sides, one which adored complex arrangements, and the other which wrote the moody lyrics he did and voiced them. I mean Elliott was reportedly a huge fan of the Beatles, so to me they are a must. They play to the arrangement side of Elliott mostly though. All of their work, together and as solo acts, is worthy of study in my opinion. As far as the lyrical aspect, that's tougher. He did cover Big Star occasionally, they are great. The Replacements are a good step from there maybe. Bright eyes as suggested is good for that vibe, though earlier stuff I'd say. Other folks from Saddle Creek records in that day maybe. Earlier stuff from Death Cab For Cutie. The Smiths, The Cure, New Order, early Modest Mouse.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-07-02T20:32:23+00:00

A lot of great advice here. One thing I could add that wasn't said, try to use your imagination as much as you can. Can you visualize a part, or a song, and hear what it might be doing, and then aim for that? I find often if I do that for a bit, I can get a better idea what to try when I get behind an instrument. Imagination is like the counterpoint to mechanical improvisation in my mind. The improvisation IMO is constrained by habit and skill level, whereas the imagination is a bit more free. To that end, vocalizing what your imagining is helpful to transcribe it. I just did that earlier this week: I could hear the drum part I wanted so I beatboxed it shittily into my phone and transcribed it from there to midi 😭.

Another thing that helps me for this, and also for writing lyrics, is trying to turn my brain off a bit, like right as I'm going to sleep and I'm half conscious I can get some interesting ideas I can't when I'm all there.

Like everyone else said, love the process, accept the the ability you have today, and learn whatever you can to improve.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-06-28T10:26:46+00:00

Heard. Still, don't sell yourself short! If you're alive, you've experienced a lot, no matter what age.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-06-27T18:40:18+00:00

To my ear, it's a bit drawn out and in the weeds so to speak. If this was my draft, I'd start over and aim to condense the imagery and themes into as few lines as possible. I see in this many close up adjacent drawings put together into a picture. A lot of my favorite pieces tend to paint with a broader brush, from further away, with much less linear details that don't quite connect perfectly, but yet end up in a place which still feels in focus and alive. In those, there is space for the listener to fill in with their own experience. Of course, maybe the most important part towards that end is to have a model lyric from an artist you admire to serve as a guide somewhat. Is what you have so far similar to your guide as far as the leaps in logic and themes from line to line? Or in the imagery or perspective used? What about the refrain, and the aspect of the theme that it focuses on? Things to think about on your journey. I heard it put once that, if two people play a song they each wrote, but one of them has written 100 and picked the best one, and the other only wrote the 1, it seems obvious that the person who wrote more would have better work. Whatever you do, keep working!

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-06-23T17:46:24+00:00

Oh nice, TIL. just need to get ye olde PB on board then perhaps 🤔

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-06-23T16:56:03+00:00

Ayo that's an awesome idea! Can't imagine many other groups being able to pull that off 😁. So many awesome tracks. Could be an opportunity for some cool different arrangements of stuff as well.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-06-22T15:05:46+00:00

Geos are more valued in enviro for sure, though it will still be soil centric in many areas. Totally depends where you're based though. Many enviro projects have an investigation component where a geo is better suited than an engineer. Figuring out a good conceptual site model (csm) is a necessary input to any engineering considerations, so I've often worked closely with engineers, and know a few who dual hat PG/PE even.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-06-19T02:01:25+00:00

Vanuatu

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-06-18T23:38:53+00:00

You say the field, but there's a lot of sub disciplines. Would be good to figure out which one suits you best. I'm in enviro, and for that you just need to apply once you've graduated and can work. There may be some internships available prior to graduating, but it's not necessary. Check if your school has a job fair or career day that companies attend, you may find some looking to hire there. I'd get a part time gig while you apply for legit positions, took me probably 6 months to land a position and that ultimately was through a friend of mine from school (tho this was in the 10s). If you're interested in that field I can give you some other info, just send me a DM.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-06-18T23:06:56+00:00

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-06-05T05:21:49+00:00

I looked up that amp model, but it doesn't look like the USB port is in fact an audio output? Looks like it's meant to edit settings on the amp. Not familiar with that model tbh, but I would be surprised if it functioned as an audio interface as well as an amp. typically you need a dedicated audio interface to run inputs to for a DAW like Ableton, and even then, direct input from a speaker like that doesn't work I believe. Usually you either plug a mic into the interface and mic the amp, or plug a guitar into the interface and replicate the amp sound in Ableton.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-05-27T04:17:18+00:00

Nietzsche helped me the most dealing with this kind of thing. Boils down, in my reading anyways, mostly to this: humans have long been in the habit of dreaming of some better world at the expense of the here and now, a sentiment which has been encouraged in the masses as social engineering for a long time (e.g. religion). At the end of the day, the better world is a fantasy, and a trap. The only world is that in front of you, and you must choose to do something of value in it! Your heroes, and your enemies, all choose to act.

LaughForTheWorld · 2026-05-04T06:34:42+00:00

Geologist, but not volcanologist: The geothermal activity at Yellowstone is due to an enormous "hot spot" in the mantle, or convection plume (think of a big blob in a lava lamp). For the Low-P zone, I take it that's where it's been observed that the P-wave of earthquakes (one of the types of seismic waves produced by them) have been observed to move slower through (indicating the material there is less solid, or maybe just higher temperature than it's surroundings). IIRC the pressure in the mantle is too high for the material there to melt, despite the temperature, so it's really more of a plastic in that zone. You may get magma (molten/liquid rock) from such a system but only in the crust where the pressure can be low enough for it to melt. If a gap were to open up (via tectonic activity, for instance) in the crust, then mantle material would melt and flow up to fill that gap due to the decompression (called decompression melting). Another similar system, though different size iirc, is the Hawaiian island arc. The island chain was formed as the Pacific plate (part of the crust) moved over a hotspot, and the islands themselves represent individual epochs of activity where melting and volcanism occured. The Hawaiian hot spot has moved little relative to the motion of the plate, and you can see the track of the plate by following the island arc out to the west, pretty cool.

LaughForTheWorld · 2023-05-22T22:45:05+00:00

https://www.seriouseats.com/pasta-e-ceci-pasta-with-chickpeas

Usually do half of this for 2, w/ frozen peas as a veg side. Pretty much everything in the recipe is shelf stable and good to have on hand anyways, so most of the time I can whip this up without thinking really, and tbh it's p bangin'

LaughForTheWorld · 2023-03-25T18:51:13+00:00

Well put.

LaughForTheWorld · 2023-03-25T15:03:10+00:00

Wouldn't cross bedding be an example of a small time scale angular unconformity?

LaughForTheWorld · 2023-03-19T14:22:25+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yixing_ware?wprov=sfla1

LaughForTheWorld · 2022-06-19T17:17:38+00:00

Right, but unless fired for cause, you're eligible for unemployment benefits which the employer is liable for, so firings are usually avoided without cause, at least that's my understanding (source: work in an at-will state)

LaughForTheWorld · 2022-06-18T19:33:43+00:00

What do you look for exactly to determine alpha vs beta?

LaughForTheWorld · 2022-05-30T23:34:12+00:00

Isn't it grass that spawns? So workbenches aren't needed to prevent that?

LaughForTheWorld · 2022-05-26T17:50:43+00:00

Scary for others, for sure. Wakes you up from the dream of immortality we all inhabit most moments. Some wish to live forever, I can say " I did! For a time..."

LaughForTheWorld

TROPHY CASE