What does a Geophysicist do?

Is it necessary to learn computer code in order to succeed in a career in Geophysics ?

@anon290866: As for branches such as hydrology, in the geophysics, I assume that you will not need much field experience. However, for other branches, such as engineering geology, experience in the field is certainly a very big plus, if not a required prerequisite. When I was talking about this field experience earlier, I was actually talking with engineering geology in my head, because I had searched for that earlier I mixed it up. I have half a year of experience in studying geology.

In general geology, field experience and actually learning through applying your knowledge together with experts to help you is very important. In a field like mathematics, this might be different, but with geology, it is like a little less serious than letting a doctor operate without getting any experience first, if you don't have any experience in the field.

However, geology has a lot of branches (like geochemistry, geophysics) and these have sub-branches again. For some of those branches in the geophysics, you will not need that much field experience, rather you will need a good understanding of physics, but you must also be able to understand and work with geological methods and have a thorough knowledge of the branch of geology you are interested in.

I would, however, say that field experience will give you a considerable advantage in any field of geology, yes, also with interpreting computer data. It still is an earth system, and in the field things just become a lot clearer. It is like getting to see a heart for the first time after only having seen (biological) drawings of a heart. A real heart is a considerably different image, but furthermore, you might detect different things in that heart that you haven't detected earlier. For example, you will be able to feel the hardness of the heart's muscle tissue, or discover more of its interior structure. You could argue that this could also be seen in photographs. This is true, however this time, you will have close ups of all the (new) components we want to see in the blink of an eye. In that same blink of an eye, we can also see how the heart's veins/arteries connect to other organs (bigger systems) and also how it is connected to itself (sub-systems/smaller systems).

The fact is, geology is composed of just so many more components than something like the organs of a body. So, you cannot see or memorize many of the connections if you do not get any field experience. That's just how complicated the system is, even if it may not seem like it, it is.

It's not about memorizing stuff; it is about understanding the system, because memorizing everything like this would be insane. Every sub-system is different and can be explained a lot better if you already have some experience in explaining other systems, but you need some experience in this to better understand the other systems I would argue. That is where the problem lies, still however, I think you could have a fair chance in some (geophysical) branches. Just try.

@anon290968: You will most certainly need to have some experience in the field. Take it from me. I tried geology for half a year, wanted to (maybe) do geophysics after that (you have to take some physics-related courses for it). Thing is, yes, there is a lot you can learn from the books, and surely a mathematician like you would be able to do that stuff. But -- and this is the problem -- you must be able to recognize a great variety of geological data and geological systems in the field. And here comes the problem, because, really, the only way you are going to learn this is in the field itself with professionals guiding you and explaining things and letting you figure out a lot/letting you do a lot by yourself too. You must have at least some experience in this, or when you're in the field, you will probably be pretty useless.

These are things you seriously can't learn well from a book. You need this practical experience; it really is very important. I've been in the field just four days, but what I learned there, applying my knowledge, was such an incredible amount and just can't be provided by books. I think that it would be possible for you, but you must get some experience in the field first, with some experts to guide you (maybe it's possible some way or another).

I wonder if a degree in Geophysics, Geology or the like is in fact needed to become a Geophysicist, or if a general mathematician like me, given some time and study, can be hired directly as Geophysicist.

What are the subjects that you study in university for this?

Seems like this would be a great job for someone who is adventurous and doesn't like being stuck indoors--but how can kids like this get experience in this field? Must they wait until graduate school to focus on this topic?