In line with the NABG Conference “Reimagining the Geosciences”, each individual has to reimagine themselves and how their own skillsets fit into an ever-changing profession. Despite the downturn in the carbon-based energy resources sector, the long-term outlook for the geoscientists is positive. The role of the geoscientists of the future is evolving and will require additional complementary disciplinary training in order for young scientists to be successful. Traditional geoscience skills will still be in demand for some time to come, however in order for mid-career and young scientists to remain relevant they must insure themselves with supplementary training that involves other disciplines that impact the public directly. What are the strategies and perspectives that affect how society will handle global energy opportunities?

Broad sweeping concepts involving sustainability, the energy transition, net-zero carbon, carbon capture, and renewables are bantered about with incomplete roadmaps of how these things will be attained and without complete project origin to cessation details of how these things will be achieved, how they are dependent upon one another, and on how they will affect society in the near future. There are a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of undefined opportunity. Geoscientists of the future must pose those questions and begin to design programs that combine the complementary needs of societal niches that can utilize solar, geothermal, carbon based, and renewable energy sources. In doing so scientists can begin to design their own skillsets realizing that a broad series of complementary disciplines will be required to complement strong geoscience backgrounds. The ability to utilize core scientific experience and to be proactive in the design of personal skillsets will be the key to survival in an evolving profession.

Transitioning to a lower-carbon future existence will remain a challenge that will entail trial and error. For geoscientists it will require proactive  organizational career focus and a predictive understanding of how to continue to train and remain relevant. Reservoir characterization skills will
need to be coupled with an acumen for handling big data for successful greenhouse gas storage projects. Environmental justice policies will require geohazard insight as society weighs the pros and cons of solar farm and nuclear facility locals as well as other project locals that will create a footprint. Further analysis of recoverable mineral benefits associated with geothermal and deep-sea projects will need economic viability studies. In order to develop lower-carbon best practices for the future new approaches and advancements in technology and data management workflows will be required. Geoscientists are best equipped to visualize these workflows and design forward thinking projects that will create societal value. Thinking through projects and developing a  comprehensive understanding of what they require, how they are developing, and of where they need to be positioned in order to be successful will give geoscientists of the future insight into the types of complementary training that is needed in order to remain individually marketable. So, is it a pipe dream? This still remains a question to be answered, however geoscientists must have applicable qualifications and innovative ideas that readily fit into developing best practices related to the global transition to reduce carbon while maintaining sustainable energy production.