Report 2000—one year later

I am delighted that the Bulletin has published the essence of the Advisory Committee''s work for 1998-1999, its Report 2000 . The Committee attempted a far-forward look at the HGS and its membership. This was tempered with a mix of immediate issues, such as joint meetings among diverse groups in the earth sciences, and a hot topic like "mid-career management." The technique used to weave these subjects together is known as "STEEP," an acronym for Social, Technology, Economics, Environment, and Politics. One scans the horizon for emerging trends in these areas and then attempts to develop a future view from the findings.
The subject of mid-career management has been building steam since the report was developed in late 1998. The AAPG is going to subsidize mid-career training for geologists with money raised by a registration premium attached to the upcoming conference commonly known as "Pratt II." The Gulf Coast Chapter of the Society of Petroleum Engineers has begun a series of mid-career management courses. This training tracks some of the courses recommended in our Report 2000. Other organizations are beginning to inject mid-career training into their education programs. What exactly is "mid-career management"?
I am not sure if a universal definition exists. The HGS Continuing Education Committee recently ran two courses that may qualify as mid-career training. One covered tax and accounting issues pertaining to the oil and gas business, the other covered buying and selling production. Why might these be considered mid-career training? Presumably, to be of immediate practical value, one would need a degree of sophistication in the energy business. An experience level more likely found in a mid-career geologist rather than in the newly hired or someone purely technical in their focus.
A second view might be that mid-career management is the acquisition of special nontechnical skills and abilities that may compliment a geologist''s work. These are subjects that enable a geologist to more effectively project their technical talents and that add value to the geologist in the workplace. Some of the possibilities mentioned in Report 2000 and elsewhere include sharpening presentation skills, project management, administering a budget, time management, and negotiating. Being knowledgeable in these subjects and competently using them in daily work should add value to a geologist. Of course, in this business there are no absolute assurances that these skills will protect your job during ''a layoff or guarantee a position in a hiring cycle. The question is, "Do you stand a better chance with these skills than without them?"
I am reminded of a football analogy. When your team is down and about to lose, would you like to throw a Hail Mary for the winning touchdown and get carried off the field as a hero? Of course you would, but how many games are won with a Hail Mary? Most are won in a grinding struggle for the last few inches on the field. I think mid-career management is about "inches."
Are you up to grind? Here is a quiz. Where do you drop out?
Your boss says to you that the company wants you to attend some non-technical training, and will fully pay for it. Go / No go? You tell your boss you''d like to take this training, and the boss tells you that it is not in the budget, but if you pay for it the company will give you time off with pay. Go / No go? You know the negative environment and decide that the only way to get this training is to quietly pay for it out of your pocket and do it on weekends or vacation time, borrowing the money if necessary. You also realize that there may not be an immediate reward for your efforts and financial risk, and that to get well rounded will take a few years. Your spouse thinks you''re nuts for spending money under such uncertainty and thereby threatening the annual family outing to your in-laws. The scrutiny is intense. Go / No go?
There is no correct answer. These decisions are always a complex mix of pressures involving time, money, and hard personal choices. I bring this up because as I scan the landscape, I have made some unsettling observations.
Mid-career management and training have been available for many years. It is not new. I''ve noticed that good training programs are packed to capacity with people looking for the edge—but few geologists are among them. People laid off from energy companies after many years are now signing up for technical and computer courses. Shouldn''t we know these subjects already? We''ve had years to learn them. It appears that our mindset is that if one acquires training with the right buzzword attached to it, better times will follow. That is wishful thinking rooted in the pleasures of technical work. It is not mid-career management, it''s a Hail Mary.
Where does all this leave us? I''m still looking for a solid trend. Please e-mail me with your thoughts at david.fontaine@engelhard.com . Observations to date tend to indicate that mid-career management is not a front burner issue to geologists. Whether efforts by the AAPG and local societies can shift thinking about this issue is yet to be seen. Personally, I think there is value in mid-career management. Borrowing again from football, specifically Buddy Ryan, "If you ain''t the lead dog, the scenery never changes."