Looking Ahead: How has the pandemic shaped the future of the geosciences?

The pandemic has led to significant and lasting changes in the geosciences, primarily through the integration of virtual technologies into work and learning environments. Within academic departments, virtual instructional activities have been permanently integrated into curricula to support student learning and most commonly as supplemental materials or for cases where students cannot attend the in-person course or activity. This has opened doors for students in terms of accessibility and improved retention of course content and has allowed faculty to leverage the resources and skills they developed during the pandemic to enhance student learning.

Employers have also integrated virtual technologies into their workflows, moving towards more flexible work environments and providing employees with more flexibility in the location and hours they work. Likewise, employees have upgraded their home workspaces to be more conducive for remote work. The increased flexibility has improved morale, as employees can more easily balance personal and work commitments, and the reduction in commute time also helps to increase work-life balance. Previously having to work in the office meant long commutes during inclement weather and employees working through being sick. With more flexible arrangements, employees can work from home during inclement weather, and if ill or caring for sick family members, employees can return to the office when they and / or family members are fully recovered.

The pandemic also provided the opportunity to learn new skills, and proficiency with technical skillsets have increased across the geosciences, including skills related to virtual work and collaboration. In part, new skills development was driven by facility and travel access restrictions and the need for employees, faculty, students, and researchers to pivot their work to computational research activities.

The need to deliver course instruction in different formats during the pandemic provided faculty with experience in new ways of designing and delivering curriculum across many different modalities. Familiarity with virtual platforms has enabled academic departments and faculty to invite guest speakers from around the world to speak in courses and colloquium, and for researchers to develop new projects and collaborate on existing research with a wider network of colleagues. While the pandemic posed many challenges over the years, it also provided new opportunities that many within the geosciences have pursued.

Changes to academic instruction

The pandemic has led to permanent changes in instructional activities within geoscience departments, with these departments integrating virtual instruction where it would be most supportive of learning. The majority of departments indicated that they had permanently integrated virtual instruction as a back-up for non-attendance in lecture courses and labs, and just under one-fifth did the same for field activities.

Virtual instructional activities were permanently integrated as supplemental material by most departments for lecture courses and labs, and by less than half of departments for field activities. Just over half of the departments reported using virtual instructional materials as preparatory exercises for in-person labs, while just under half did so for lecture courses. Only a quarter of departments used virtual activities as preparatory materials for field activities. Virtual instructional materials were integrated by half of the departments for follow-on activities in courses, just over a third for labs, and just under a fifth for field activities.

The use of virtual course modules that could be incorporated into the curriculum was reported by over a third of departments for lecture courses and labs but was not noted by any departments for field activities. Course replacements were considered by less than a third of the departments across all course types. Additionally, less than half of departments indicated they had no plans to integrate virtual instruction into field activities, and less than a tenth indicated the same for lecture courses and labs.

We had substantial funding to get our institution technologically ready for a post-COVID world. So we were able to integrate audio and video cameras in all of our classrooms. This concept of hyperflex classrooms, where the faculty member is there face to face with a group of students, but the students who just can't make it to class that day, childcare issues, they're sick, can still log on, see the classroom, participate, ask questions. That has been a big shift in terms of the way we do things inside the classroom. And I think that's something that will continue in a post-COVID world and may be the new standard.
–academic department

Virtual instruction in lab courses / sections

From 2020 to 2022, the plans for the integration of virtual instruction in lab courses by academic departments experienced substantial changes. Plans for using virtual instruction as a back-up for non-attendance grew from one-fifth to just over half of the departments. The utilization of virtual instruction for supplemental materials, preparatory material, follow-up material, and course modules all peaked in 2021 before declining in 2022. The use of virtual activities for supplemental lab material rose from a fifth of departments to half in 2021 but then fell to a third by 2022. Likewise, plans for incorporating virtual instruction as preparatory material for in-person labs increased from less than a tenth of departments to just over a third in 2021, then decreased to just under a fifth of departments in 2022. Virtual follow-on activities for in-person labs, which were not noted in 2020, dropped from over a quarter of departments to less than a fifth between 2021 and 2022.

The integration of virtual instruction as course modules for labs was also not noted in 2020 but declined from about a third of departments to just over a fifth between 2021 and 2022. Plans for using virtual labs as course replacements were reported by a quarter of departments in 2020 and by just under a tenth in 2022. Approximately a third of departments reported having no plans to integrate virtual instruction into lab courses in 2020 and 2022, with a drop to under a fifth in 2021.

Virtual instruction in field courses and components

From 2020 to 2022, academic departments reported changes in their plans to integrate virtual instruction into field courses. The use of virtual instruction as a back-up for non-attendance increased from a quarter to over one-third of departments over the period. Plans for utilizing virtual instruction for supplemental materials saw a sharp rise from under a fifth to over a half of departments by 2021 before falling to a third in 2022. Integration of virtual field activities as preparatory material, not reported in 2020, was planned by a quarter of departments in 2021, then decreased to a fifth in 2022. The use of virtual instruction as follow-on activities was not recorded in 2020 but was planned by a fifth of departments in both 2021 and 2022.

Plans for integrating virtual instruction as field activity course modules, also not noted in 2020, declined from a fifth of departments in 2021 to 16% in 2022. The use of virtual instruction as field course replacements was reported by less than one-tenth of departments in 2020 and not in subsequent years. Departments reporting no intention to integrate virtual instruction into field activities decreased from just under half in 2020 to a fifth in 2021, then rebounded to just over a third in 2022.

Virtual instruction integration by faculty

The integration of virtual instructional activities by academic faculty into their curricula showed variation across different course types. Virtual instruction as a back-up for non-attendance was permanently adopted by over half of the faculty for lecture courses and labs, and by just under a third for field activities. Virtual activities as supplemental material were integrated by just over half of the faculty for lecture courses, a third for labs, and just under a fifth for field activities. Virtual activities used as preparatory material were incorporated by a third of the faculty for in-person lecture courses, just under a quarter for labs, and less than a tenth for field activities. The use of virtual instruction for follow-on activities was less common, being utilized by fewer than a fifth of the faculty across all course types.

Virtual course modules were integrated into lecture courses by a quarter of the faculty and into labs by a fifth, but less than a tenth chose to integrate them into field activities. Virtual courses as replacements were noted by less than a tenth of the faculty for lecture courses, labs, and field activities. Among the faculty, over half had no plans to use virtual instruction for field activities, just under a third felt the same for labs, and less than a fifth expressed similar sentiments for lecture courses.

For the seminar series, actually I think moving forward we're planning to keep doing kind of about half of our speakers virtual and about half in person. The benefit to the in-person is the students get to have lunch with them, the faculty have dinner with the person. We have individual meetings. So it's not just their talk, but we have to be able to fly them in or, you know, pay for their travel. And so what we found is that by being able to do a mix of in-person and virtual, it gives the faculty a little bit of a break each week. It allows us to bring in speakers from broader areas, and so we've been able to have I think a bit more kind of higher profile speakers periodically because we can do that virtually. And at this point, so many people are used to doing that, but it's not a major ask.
–academic faculty

Virtual integration by faculty for lab courses / sections

The integration of virtual instruction into lab courses by academic faculty from 2020 to 2022 exhibited variation according to the type of integration. During this period, faculty increasingly planned to use virtual instruction in various ways, such as a back-up for non-attendance, for supplemental lab materials, and for preparatory and follow-on activities in in-person labs. By 2022, just under half of the faculty planned to integrate virtual instruction as a back-up for non-attendance, while less than a third planned to use virtual instruction as supplemental materials or for preparatory or follow-on activities in labs.

Plans for employing virtual course modules in labs declined over the period, with just under a third initially to less than a fifth of faculty noting this integration by 2022. Additionally, plans for using virtual labs as course replacements substantially dropped, falling from less than a fifth to under a tenth of faculty. Concurrently, the proportion of faculty reporting no plans to integrate virtual instruction into labs increased from a quarter to just over a third.

Virtual integration by faculty for field courses and components

Plans for integrating virtual instruction into field courses and components by academic faculty from 2020 to 2022 reveal several trends. Plans for using virtual instruction as a back-up for non-attendance more than doubled, increasing from a fifth to nearly half of faculty. Similarly, the intention to use virtual instruction as supplemental field activity material rose from about a quarter to just under half of faculty. There was also growth in plans for incorporating virtual instruction as preparatory material and follow-on activities for in-person sessions, both increasing from less than a tenth to just over a fifth and just over a tenth, respectively.

Meanwhile, the consideration for using virtual instruction as course modules or course replacements were less prominent, noted by less than a fifth of faculty, with course modules being considered by more faculty than course replacements. Throughout the period, the proportion of faculty reporting no plans to integrate virtual instruction into field courses and components remained relatively steady, staying near a third.

Permanent integration of virtual instruction into departmental curriculum

Departmental plans for integrating virtual instruction into lab activities for the long-term

Departmental plans for integrating virtual instruction into field activities for the long-term

Permanent integration of virtual instruction into faculty teaching strategies

Faculty plans for integrating virtual instruction into lab activities for the long-term

Faculty plans for integrating virtual instruction into field activities for the long-term

Changes to work environments

From February 2020 through December 2022, changes to work environments occurred across all cohorts, with varying degrees of integration into remote work. For academic faculty, in December 2022, the percentage working in the office was similar to February 2020, but nearly three-quarters also reported remote work, up from 4% in February 2020. Nearly three-quarters worked more than half-time in the office, with just over a fifth working remotely.

For K–12 faculty, the shift to remote work was less substantial. By December 2022, work in the office was similar to February 2020 levels, with just under a fifth working remotely less than half the time, an increase from 5% of K–12 faculty working remotely in February 2020.

For post-doctoral fellows, there was a substantial increase in remote work, with all fellows working remotely in some capacity in December 2022, up from 4% in February 2020, while over three-quarters worked in the office, down from 100% in February 2020. Half of the post-doctoral fellows worked at least half-time in the office, and over half indicated they were working remotely at least half of the time.

For non-academic geoscientists, by December 2022, the percentage of the cohort reporting in-office work was similar to February 2020 at just over 80%. However, there was a substantial difference in the percentage working remotely with three-quarters of the cohort working remotely in December 2022, a marked increase from just over one-tenth in February 2020. In December 2022, over half of the cohort reported spending at least half of their time in the office, with just under half working remotely for at least half the time.

We are in a permanent hybrid work schedule now. We've got some people who come into the office every day, some will be in the office three days a week, some two days a week, but we do have people continuing to work at home at least a few days a week. I think that's the most major change that we've had because prior to that, you know, people would only work at home on very rare occasions.
–geoscience employer

Academic faculty: work locations

Academic faculty: time spent at remote client office

Academic faculty: time spent at field sites

Academic faculty: time spent at lab facility

Academic faculty: time spent at employer’s office

Academic faculty: time spent at other locations

Academic faculty: time spent at remote work location

K–12 faculty: work locations

K–12 faculty: time spent at remote client office

K–12 faculty: time spent at field sites

K–12 faculty: time spent at lab facility

K–12 faculty: time spent at employer’s office

K–12 faculty: time spent at other locations

K–12 faculty: time spent at remote work location

Post-doctoral fellows: work locations

Post-doctoral fellows: time spent at remote client office

Post-doctoral fellows: time spent at field sites

Post-doctoral fellows: time spent at lab facility

Post-doctoral fellows: time spent at employer’s office

Post-doctoral fellows: time spent at other locations

Post-doctoral fellows: time spent at remote work location

Non-academic professionals: work locations

Non-academic professionals: time spent at remote client office

Non-academic professionals: time spent at field sites

Non-academic professionals: time spent at lab facility

Non-academic professionals: time spent at employer’s office

Non-academic professionals: time spent at other locations

Non-academic professionals: time spent at remote work location

Importance and proficiency with new skills

Between 2021 and 2022, various study cohorts were surveyed to rate the importance of and their proficiency with a set of skills, including data visualization, programming, data science, database management, business skills, and graphic design. Departments were also queried about the integration of these skills into their curriculum, and the cohorts were asked to evaluate their proficiency with virtual skills needed for working and collaborating within online environments. Overall, the study revealed a general acknowledgment of the importance of technical and business skills, albeit with some variations in perceived importance across different groups and over the period.

Importance of skills

In academic departments, data visualization skills remained highly valued, with all respondents consistently noting their importance. Programming skills were highly regarded by all departments in 2021, but this perception decreased to 87% by Fall 2022. Data science and ML/AI skills also saw a decline over the period, with only three-quarters of departments recognizing their importance by Fall 2022. The perceived importance of database management skills dropped as well, from nearly all departments to just over two-thirds in Fall 2022. Business skills were considered important by over three-quarters of departments in Spring 2021 but decreased to just under three-quarters by Fall 2022. Graphic design skills also saw a slight decline, with the importance acknowledged by 96% of departments initially, dropping to 88% over the period.

Employers' perceptions of various skills fluctuated from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022. Data visualization skills were consistently deemed important, with an increasing percentage recognizing their growing significance. Programming skills and data science, along with ML/AI skills, were considered important by over 70% of employers but ranked the least significant among the skill sets examined. Business and database management skills were highly valued. However, there was a slight dip in the perceived importance of database skills, decreasing to just under 90% by Spring 2022, while business skills maintained high regard, noted by over 90% of employers throughout the period. The importance attributed to graphic design skills showed a marked increase, from just under three-quarters of employers recognizing their significance in Spring 2021 to over 90% in Spring 2022.

Among study participants, there was a general increase in the importance of various skills from Spring 2021 to Fall 2022. Data visualization and database management skills were deemed important by over 90% of respondents during this period. Meanwhile, the importance of programming skills, data science and ML/AI skills, business skills, and graphic design skills all increased to over 90% during the same time frame.

For academic faculty, data visualization and programming skills remained the most important over the period, with over 90% of faculty acknowledging their importance. The importance of data science and ML/AI skills, database management, and graphic design skills also increased to over 90% by Fall 2022. Business skills were considered important by about three-quarters of faculty.

For students, programming and database management skills were consistently perceived as important throughout 2021 and 2022. Data visualization skills were noted as important by over 90% of students through Spring 2022 but dropped to just over three-quarters by Fall 2022. Data science and ML/AI skills were considered important by over 80% of students during this period, with most students acknowledging the growing importance of these skills. Business skills were noted as important by over two-thirds of students in Spring 2021, increasing to 100% by Fall 2022. The perceived importance of graphic design skills also increased from 80% in Spring 2022 to 100% by the end of 2022.

For recent graduates (2014–2018), the importance of most skills either increased or remained high from Spring 2021 to Fall 2022. Data visualization skills were seen as vital by all respondents, and other skills, including programming, data science and ML/AI, database management, business skills, and graphic design, were also highly valued by this cohort. For slightly more recent graduates (2019–2022), at least 90% of the cohort consistently perceived data visualization, programming, data science and ML/AI, and database management skills as essential. The percentage recognizing the importance of business skills increased from over three-quarters to nearly 90%, while graphic design skills were noted by over 80% of graduates during this period.

I think the core thing that is incredibly in demand is the computational side. I cannot tell you how many CV's I have seen on lab websites that are like bachelors, masters, PhD, postdoc, that are all research-oriented and then they go on to become a data scientist at Zillow or something like that. Those skills are just so cross cutting and so useful. On the research side, I cannot tell you how many papers I have seen that used machine learning. I am glad I spent all that time teaching myself a lot of that stuff because it is the most important thing in this field right now.
–recent graduate

For post-doctoral fellows, data visualization, data science, and ML/AI were seen as critically important, valued by over 90% of respondents throughout the period. The importance of programming skills slightly declined from 100% to just under 90% by Fall 2022, while the significance of database management and graphic design skills fluctuated. Business skills saw an increase in importance from 80% in Spring 2021 to 100% by Fall 2022.

Non-academic geoscientists consistently highly valued data visualization skills, database management, and business skills, with over 90% agreement over the period. Programming skills' importance rose from over three-quarters to just under 90%, while data science and ML/AI skills fluctuated between 80% and 90%. The significance of graphic design skills rose from three-quarters to just over 90% during this period.

For K–12 faculty, by Fall 2022, all skills except for graphic design were noted as either continuing or increasing in importance by all respondents. Graphic design skills were considered important by 80% of K–12 faculty in Fall 2022. Similarly, retired geoscientists, by Fall 2022, deemed all skills as continuing and/or increasing in importance, with over 90% agreement within the cohort.

Skill proficiency

In terms of proficiency, employers observed that from 2021 to 2022, their employees demonstrated at least intermediate proficiency in business skills, database management, graphic design, and data visualization. This means that they had the ability to practically apply these skills. Conversely, proficiency in data science and ML/AI was generally low, with less than a third of employers noting that their employees had at least intermediate ability in these areas. Likewise, between 30% and 40% of employers indicated that their employees had at least intermediate proficiency in programming skills.

Within academic departments, data visualization was the only skill set where the majority of departments expected undergraduates to have at least intermediate proficiency. More than half of the departments expected that upon graduation, undergraduates would possess basic to novice proficiency in database management, graphic design, data science, ML/AI, and programming skills. Slightly less than half of the departments held the same expectations for business skills among undergraduates. For graduate students, most departments expected at least intermediate proficiency upon graduation with skills related to database management, graphic design, data visualization, and programming. Consistent with the expectations for undergraduates, more than half of the departments expected graduate students to have basic to novice proficiency in data science and ML/AI skills, as well as business skills.

Skillsets in the curriculum

Academic departments predominantly did not include business skills in their academic curriculum, with only about 30% of them indicating that these skills were offered outside of the department. Over the period leading up to Fall 2022, an increasing percentage of departments reported that they did not offer database management skills as part of their curriculum, reaching nearly two-thirds by that time. Among the departments that did integrate these skills into their curriculum, they were usually taught by tenure-track faculty.

Similarly, graphic design skills were not offered by just over half of the departments. Where they were available, a third of departments indicated that these skills were taught by tenure-track faculty. In contrast, data visualization skills were offered by most departments, with over half of them indicating that tenure-track faculty provided instruction in these areas. Data science and ML/AI skills were not included in the curriculum by about half of the departments, and when offered, they were primarily taught by faculty outside of the geoscience department. Programming skills, too, were increasingly omitted from departmental curriculum, with one-third of departments noting this by Fall 2022. Where these skills were taught, they were usually taught by either tenure-track faculty or faculty from outside the department.

For my students, because we added this more computational modeling component, they have become much more willing and accepting of that kind of work and before it was really daunting to say like, “Oh I have to go take a computer science class or something if I want to learn about this new AI machine learning that's happening.” But they're interested now. They're actually taking the steps to do some online learning classes on their own which is really cool. I've been hearing them talk about it. Becoming familiar with doing a little bit of coding in MATLAB or in Python gave them just enough confidence to then push themselves to start thinking about more higher level applications. I had a student recently who just applied for this workshop on using machine learning for sparse data sets or something like this and so I was like, “Wow this is great!” I didn't teach them that. I don't do that work, but there was just enough like movement in that direction that they had the confidence to do that.
–academic faculty

Skill proficiency among study participants

Among individual survey participants, over a third reported having at least intermediate proficiency in business skills, database management, and graphic design, while about half indicated the same level of proficiency in data visualization. Just over a quarter of participants claimed at least intermediate proficiency in programming, and about a tenth indicated the same proficiency level with data science and ML/AI skills.

Academic faculty reported the highest levels of proficiency in graphic design, with at least half indicating at least intermediate ability. More than half of the faculty stated basic to novice proficiency in business skills, database management, data visualization, data science and ML/AI, and programming skills.

Among students, the highest proficiency rates were seen in programming and data visualization, followed by database management. Over half of the students cited basic to novice proficiency in business skills and data science and ML/AI skills.

For recent graduates (2014–2018), about half reported at least intermediate proficiency in graphic design and data visualization, while indicating basic to novice proficiency in business skills, database management, data science and ML/AI, and programming.

Similarly for recent graduates (2019–2022), over half noted at least intermediate proficiency in data visualization and basic to novice proficiency in all other skills. Interestingly, over a third of both cohorts claimed at least intermediate proficiency in programming, and about a third of the 2014–2018 cohort also indicated at least intermediate proficiency in business skills and database management.

Among non-academic geoscientists, business and data visualization skills had the highest levels of proficiency, followed by database management and graphic design. More than half of this group noted basic or novice proficiency in data science and ML/AI, as well as programming skills.

Most post-doctoral fellows cited at least intermediate proficiency in programming over the period, and by Fall 2022, at least half indicated the same proficiency with data science and ML/AI, data visualization, and graphic design. Over half also reported basic to novice proficiency in business skills and database management.

For K–12 faculty, at least half noted basic to novice proficiency in data visualization, data science and ML/AI, and programming skills over the period, and by Fall 2022, over half indicated the same proficiency with database management. Slightly fewer than half reported similar proficiency in business skills. Retirees exhibited the highest proficiency in business skills, with over half indicating at least intermediate ability in this area.

More than a third of retirees reported the same proficiency in database management, graphic design, and data visualization, while less than a fifth indicated the same level of proficiency with data science and ML/AI and programming skills.

Proficiency with virtual technology skills

Regarding virtual skills, from 2020 to 2021, most departments reported that their faculty and staff were moderately to extremely proficient in the use of virtual platforms, virtual tools for collaborative work, presenting research and projects via virtual platforms, and collaborating with colleagues in virtual environments. Collaboration with colleagues and using virtual tools for collaborative work saw the largest increase in departments noting at least moderate proficiency over the period.

From 2020 to 2022, employers noted a general increase in their employees' proficiency with selected virtual skills. By 2022, all employers reported that their employees had at least moderate proficiency in the use of virtual platforms, an increase from three-quarters in 2020. The proficiency levels for using virtual tools for collaborative work were reported to be the same by most employers, although the percentage of employers reporting this level of proficiency declined from under two-thirds to just over half by 2022. Employers reporting employees with at least moderate proficiency in presenting research or projects via virtual platforms increased from nearly three-quarters to over 90%. The percentage of employers noting employees with at least moderate proficiency in collaborating with colleagues via virtual platforms also increased, from just over half in 2021 to two-thirds by 2022.

I think our LMS's were always this nice little shiny object that was attached to classes, but not that many people paid too much attention to them. I think thanks to the pandemic, all of our faculty members are extraordinarily well trained on how to integrate that into their face-to-face classes as well as a whole new kind of group of individuals who are now fluent in online teaching, which was something that, you know, we didn't really have too much to begin with. So I'm really happy to see a lot of my old timers take to online with and enthusiasm that they didn't have prior to COVID.
–academic department
You assume people are proficient in these platforms and so you assume you can because you have to communicate with your clientele like this now and so we go down that path of having an expectation that these new folks have this ability to interact in this new post-pandemic way. The other side of the coin is we realize they may not have as much of those skillsets that we wish they could have from the coops and the real-world experience. And so I think we raise our level of expectations that new hires have some new skills that we expect, you know how to set up a Zoom or Teams meeting. You know how to record it if you need to. You know how to turn on your screen and be at least properly dressed from the waist up kind of thing. That's an added skill and I think that the takeaway is those folks who were caught in the middle of that pandemic are likely missing some skills that we ought to be cognizant that they may not have from experiential learning. But I think it's probably a good trade off as obviously they can get the experiential learning.
–geoscience employer

Individuals reported growth in their virtual abilities. Those reporting at least moderate proficiency in the use of virtual platforms increased from just over three-quarters to just under 90%. Proficiency with virtual tools for collaborative work remained near two-thirds, and there was an increase in proficiency for presenting research or projects via virtual platforms from 61% to 70%. Collaborating with colleagues via virtual platforms also increased from just under to just over two-thirds.

From 2020 to 2022, academic faculty reported an increase in at least moderate proficiency in the use of selected virtual skills. The faculty who reported at least moderate proficiency in using virtual platforms remained fairly consistent at just under 90% throughout the period. However, there was a more substantial increase in the use of virtual tools for collaborative work, rising from about two-thirds to three-quarters. The percentage of faculty reporting at least moderate proficiency in presenting research or projects via virtual platforms grew from just over half to slightly under three-quarters. Additionally, proficiency in collaborating with colleagues via virtual platforms increased from just over half to 70%.

Among students, over three-quarters reported at least moderate proficiency with virtual platforms, virtual tools for collaborative work, and with presenting research and projects via virtual platforms by 2022. Just over two-thirds in 2022 reported similar proficiency with collaboration with colleagues via virtual platforms.

From 2020 to 2022, over three-quarters of recent graduates (2014–2018) reported at least moderate proficiency with the use of virtual platforms. By 2022, at least three-quarters of these graduates also reported the same level of proficiency with the use of virtual tools for collaborative work, presenting projects and research virtually, and collaborating with colleagues via virtual platforms.

In a similar trend, over three-quarters of more recent graduates (2019–2022) reported at least moderate proficiency with the use of virtual platforms during the pandemic. By 2022, at least three-quarters of this group also reported the same level of proficiency with the use of virtual tools for collaborative work and collaborating with colleagues via virtual platforms. Additionally, just under three-quarters reported at least moderate proficiency with presenting projects and research virtually.

Post-doctoral fellows also saw increased proficiency levels with virtual skills, with over 80% reporting at least moderate proficiency with virtual platforms, using virtual tools for collaborative work, and collaborating with colleagues via virtual platforms by 2022. Over half indicated moderate proficiency with presenting research virtually.

I think my collaborations have grown through the pandemic in part because it was easier to send people an e-mail and set-up a Zoom. It might be harder to schedule 30 minutes with someone to get a coffee or to try to meet them at a conference or a meeting when the when the week is jam packed already. That was certainly harder. I am happy to say that I have made a lot of great and new collaborations during the pandemic and in this more recent period as well. Those continue to grow. I think I have been able to have a fair amount of personal and professional resilience, and I acknowledge that that is a privilege that some others do not have that same experience and have struggled with it.
–recent graduate

Non-academic geoscientists showed an increase in proficiency, with over three-quarters indicating at least moderate proficiency with virtual platforms over the period. By 2022, over three-quarters reported the same proficiency level with presenting research and projects virtually. Just under three-quarters were proficient with using virtual tools for collaborative work and collaborating with colleagues virtually.

For K–12 Faculty, over three-quarters reported at least moderate proficiency with virtual platforms and virtual tools for collaborative work over the period. By 2022, just under three-quarters also reported moderate proficiency with presenting research and projects via virtual platforms and collaborating with colleagues virtually.

Over half of retired geoscientists reported at least moderate proficiency with virtual platforms, whereas less than half reported the same level of proficiency with using virtual tools for collaborative work and with presenting research and projects virtually. By 2022, over half of retirees noted at least moderate proficiency with virtual collaboration with colleagues.

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (academic departments)

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (geoscience employers)

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (academic faculty)

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (students)

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (recent graduates 2014–2018)

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (recent graduates 2019–2022)

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (post-docs)

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (non-academic geoscientists)

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (K–12 faculty)

Importance of selected skills to the geoscience profession (retirees)

Expected proficiency of graduate students with selected skills upon graduation

Expected proficiency of undergraduate students with selected skills upon graduation

Integration of selected skills into academic curriculum

Employee proficiency with selected skills

Proficiency with selected skills

Proficiency with selected skills (academic faculty)

Proficiency with selected skills (students)

Proficiency with selected skills (recent graduates 2014–2018)

Proficiency with selected skills (recent graduates 2019–2022)

Proficiency with selected skills (post-docs)

Proficiency with selected skills (non-academic geoscientists)

Proficiency with selected skills (K–12 faculty)

Proficiency with selected skills (retirees)

Faculty and staff proficiency with selected virtual skills

Employee proficiency with selected virtual skills

Proficiency with selected virtual skills

Proficiency with selected virtual skills (academic faculty)

Proficiency with selected virtual skills (students)

Proficiency with selected virtual skills (recent graduates 2014–2018)

Proficiency with selected virtual skills (recent graduates 2019–2022)

Proficiency with selected virtual skills (post-docs)

Proficiency with selected virtual skills (non-academic geoscientists)

Proficiency with selected virtual skills (K–12 faculty)

Proficiency with selected virtual skills (retirees)

Looking toward the future

The pandemic has led to significant and lasting changes in the geosciences, primarily through the integration of virtual technologies into work and learning environments. The pandemic brought to light the criticality of frequent in-person interactions, and the lasting impact on social skills has been a concern noted by employers, academic departments and faculty who have commented on the stunting of social interactions and interpersonal communication at some level. Interestingly, some participants also noted more personal connection coming out of the pandemic, namely people taking time and giving each other the space and time needed for work and interaction, and improved empathy for each other.

They have extraordinarily poor social skills right now, and I think that can be seen at all levels of the institution. And I'm not just talking about students. I'm talking about staff and coworkers. We need to learn how to talk again to others, especially in large groups, because when you're in large groups, you're working off of other people’s facial cues of when to stop and when to go. And when cameras are off, you don't have those social cues to work with.
–academic department
I think kind of on the emotional you know, skill gap, was the ability to kind of handle frustration that generally is something I've just been seeing students since the pandemic.
–academic faculty
People are more understanding I think and flexible with one another and especially in terms of family events and personal needs and I just hope we remain understanding of one another and giving each other the space we need to not just be effective scientists but also you know good people and good family members and things like that and I think we are seeing that I just hope it's something that sticks.
–academic faculty

The pandemic also showed how virtual technologies could be leveraged to augment work and learning environments. Employers and academic departments have integrated remote work options into their workplace policies and most employees are now working remotely in some capacity, with flexibility in location and/or hours. Since the start of the pandemic, both employees and students have upgraded their work and study spaces at home, moving to more dedicated workspaces, improving internet connectivity, and acquiring the necessary equipment to facilitate better focus and productivity.

Across academic departments, faculty have integrated virtual components into their instruction or are in the process of planning these integrations. Primarily, virtual components are being integrated as supplemental materials and as backups for students who are unable to attend in-person activities, as well as preparatory materials and post-event materials for in-person instruction. Some faculty are using virtual course modules to enrich student learning. Changes to degree programs include increased flexibility in the mode of defense or final capstone project presentation and allowing course substitutions in degree plans.

Over the past few years there has been a substantial increase in the percentage of employers hiring at the doctoral level. Pre-pandemic, employers tended to primarily hire at the bachelor’s and master’s level, and the career pathway for doctorates was primarily into academic positions. Since the pandemic, there has also been an increased expectation from employers that new hires be proficient with virtual platforms for communication and collaboration, and an increase in those looking for new hires with database and data visualization skills, as well as project management skills.

The pandemic has left a lasting imprint on the geosciences, but also has provided new opportunities for the geosciences in support of society, shaping the future trajectory of the geosciences discipline. Integration of virtual technologies has opened many doors for research advancements, collaborations, and new ways of teaching and learning. The immense challenges posed by the pandemic in terms of the limitations on in-person activities, including lab and field work, has provided the opportunity for geoscientists, employers, and academic departments to think strategically about how to be more efficient in how they work and learn going forward.

The pandemic has given people a broad resilience. It has given us a real-world case study of what could happen. It really has underscored that we need to change the way we think about business as usual. Before we saw tremendous, and we still see tremendous loss of life on the roads during inclement weather. But now that places have embraced virtual work, you see that people do not go out on the roads in the middle of a blizzard because there is not that same pressure. That is a privilege that might not be standard across all communities. We just have this overall change in thinking too. Let us be more strategic and efficient and all that we do I think has led to you some increases in research money or at least renewed interest in some of these areas that focus on the next grand challenges that our society's going to face. Climate change and extreme weather being one of the many. Let us put some investments into understanding this so that we are not caught up in a COVID-like situation of scrambling at the last minute to learn as we go. How do we best implement and communicate? This kind of thing. My hope is that we have this collective learning experience and come out on the other side, all the better for it.
–recent graduate