Most Earth science students want to do fieldwork. It’s one of the big reasons we go into the field.

The most common way to do fieldwork is to apply for a field position with a big organization: a large lab group, an established field course, or a field-focused program like Geoscientists in the Parks.

This post is not for those projects. It’s for independent, student-led field campaigns.

My first two PhD chapters are built on field data from the Colorado Front Range. This data cost me a few thousand dollars and many cold days. It stretched the limits of my physical endurance and inspired my scientific thinking.

Interested in doing something similar with your PhD? Read on.

Find the right opportunity

Your PhD work competes – for journal space and for scientific attention – with research from around the world. Most of this research is produced by scientists who have more experience, more connections, and more funding than you do.

To make your research stand out, you’ll need to tell your peers that you (1) found something important to study, (2) found the best site to study that thing, and (3) made the most useful measurements possible.

Sometimes, taking the right measurements in the right place requires dozens of support staff and millions of dollars of equipment (Antarctica, anyone?). As a graduate student, you can’t lead that kind of project.

Instead of pursuing the big project, look at the resources you have (I’ll help you find them below). Find a project where those resources are the right ones.

Apply for grants early, apply for grants often

Funding buys plane tickets and equipment. It pays your salary, and it may let you hire assistants.

As a student, you are eligible for a variety of small grants worth $1000-$20,000. I’ve collected a list of these grants and opportunities here. This list is biased by my interests (in geology and computation), and my identity (as a woman and a US citizen). Many of these small grants are under-subscribed, and give awards to the majority of applicants. If you know of grants I’ve missed, email me – I’d love to add them!

You can also write grant applications to large organizations, like NASA or the NSF. These grants may need to be led by a faculty member, and they are very competitive.

Whatever you apply for, read guides on grant writing, tailor your application for the grant organization, and follow the instructions carefully. You’ll need to apply for many grants before you win, but they do get easier with practice.

Go local

My field site, Niwot Ridge, is only 30 miles from my house (plus a five-mile walk uphill in the snow). This has scientific advantages: I can make lots of observations in person and test new ideas rapidly.

Being local also keeps my costs low. Transport is cheap, and I can trade labor for money. For example, I can buy cheap, less-reliable equipment and go fix it often, and instead of installing a data uplink I walk in once a month to swap out memory cards. This isn’t ideal, but it is doable.

Finally, being local means I get lots of field assistants: a number of visiting researchers, undergraduates, and CU faculty have volunteered to go up on day trips with me. I haven’t lost anyone in the snow – yet.

You may be able to find a local field site and a research problem together. Hike around with your eyes open. Go on field trips. Ask your favorite local geologists about the coolest things they’ve seen.

Dig through the basement

Most universities have a basement or storage closet full of spare equipment. Find yours, and find the people who know what’s in there.

Invite your faculty and invite your friends

Earth scientists want to be in the field. If you have a field site, your lab mates, co-workers and students want to visit it.

I’ve been lucky to spend a lot of my time in the field learning from people who know more than I do. This has happened in many dimensions. Several of my undergraduate students grew up in Colorado, and have a more practical sense of its mountains than I do. Others were better with equipment or electronics (not my strengths). My advisors have a great eye for interesting details, and my engineer friends have better ideas for ways to take accurate measurements.

Invite people to help you. Figure out how to pay for their plane tickets if you must. Learn from them.

Have fun out there.