What we look for in a new group member:
Undergraduates: We are always looking for undergraduates to help out or do independent research, such as for a senior honor's thesis. The ideal undergraduate student should have taken at least two of the 300 level ESCI courses. In order to do research, you must set aside at least one day for your work. You can set aside an entire day or two half days. This is the minimum level of time needed to commit to research. Anything less just is not possible.
Graduate students: We only take PhD students in our laboratory. You do not need to have had a MSc., but most of our projects take at least two to three years for significant headway, which is why we prefer PhD students. The ideal student is one who has a passion for the earth sciences, has good quantitative (math, physics, chemistry) and writing skills, is observant in the field and in the lab, and is patient and diligent. Graduate students are expected to be independent and develop their own ideas with the help of a mentor. We are always seeking good students to join our group, and, in general, we admit one new student per year into the group (and graduate one per year).
Post-doctoral Fellows: We have positions for post-doctoral fellows when we have funding. Funding situations change all the time, so the best thing to do is to just inquire rather than assume that lack of an advertisement means we are not searching.
What to expect after you get here
This is more for graduate students. We do not have canned projects waiting for graduate students to sign on to and complete, even though we are funded to pursue specific projects. Our philosophy is that the student should develop their own project without being forced to do something. Thus, a student may fit broadly into a topic for which we are funded, but in detail they will be free to explore and define their interests. This is considered ideal because this allows you the opportunity to own your work. Your relationship with your adviser will be a collaborative one rather than one in which you just do as told. Ideally, you and your adviser learn together. When you get here, we will dance around each other until you begin to find out what you like and don't like, and in the process, help you develop your own unique project centered around your interests and strengths. No two students in our group work on the same project. The fact that students work on such different projects sometimes makes group meetings difficult because finding common ground among all of us is not always possible. However, the bright side is that you will learn a lot about your own work as well as in other fields while you are here.
see How to write a scientific paper and proposals
see How to have a successful PhD
What to expect after you get a PhD
Getting a PhD is very different from an undergraduate education. Consider a PhD thesis as a ~4-5 year interval in which you define an important problem in an interesting field and, after you graduate, you have become one of the world's experts in the field. But more importantly, you have shown that you can start from knowing nothing and, in five years, becoming the world expert. You should now have the confidence to pursue anything. So now that you have your PhD, what is in store for you afterwards?
For some of you, going on into academia may be your ultimate goal. If so, you would continue on with a post-doctoral fellowship at some other institution and then hopefully get an academic position.
But there are many alternatives. You could go work in industry. Industry needs people who can develop and lead projects. If you can become an expert in your research field in five years, you should be able to do the same in industry. Industry jobs, particularly for geologists, often center around energy but their are opportunities in mineral resources, environmental engineering/consulting, nuclear waste management, carbon sequestration, geothermal, medical imaging, remote-sensing, or instrument development/applications.
You could also find yourself in government or non-profit organizations working on urban planning, conservation, public policy, homeland security (forensics). And you could also become an educator, e.g. a teacher. Or you could start your own business. All interest me.