Lisa Sieg, Geologist (MSc), Museumspark Rüdersdorf
Where do you work and what is your job?
Museum Park Rüdersdorf, Geologist
- (Further) development, supervision and expansion of the museum's educational offers (e.g. geological tours to the neighboring open pit mine, preparation of vacation programs, workshops)
- Conceptual redesign of museum-relevant exhibitions
- Management, administration and maintenance of the archive and the geological collection
- Expansion of cooperation with associations (mining, geological, local history associations), universities and other institutions
- Interface between the open pit mine operator and the museum park
- Management of the "geology" and "educational offers" section
- Supervision of interns and training of new tour guides
What were your previous professional stations?
Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology in Freiberg
How did you get your current job?
Job advertisement on the Internet
What attracted you to the job?
- The practical application of the collected knowledge and its transfer to other people (also to those who have no previous knowledge about geology)
- To inform people what geology is in the first place
- The passion for geological content
- Versatility of the tasks
What are the most important skills to have for this job?
- Willingness to work with a wide variety of people
- Being able to cope with stressful situations
- To react flexibly to new things
- Improvisational talent
- Enjoyment of the job
- Organizational talent
What does a typical work week look like for you?
- At the beginning of the week review of new requests and structuring of tasks
- Team meeting (also consultation with other areas, e.g. marketing and event)
- Assigning tasks to interns and announcing innovations to the rest of the team
- Realization of tours
- Clarification of urgent orders
- Advice to customers
- Preparation for weekend offers
- Weekly consultation with open pit mine management (route planning, safety aspects, possible changes if necessary)
What do you like about your job and what challenges you the most?
- What I like: Dealing with different people, passing on my knowledge to young people, awakening enthusiasm for geology, contributing creativity (in the form of developing new exhibitions and offers)
- Particularly challenging: Being able to react flexibly to new situations, improvisational talent often required (especially in the Corona situation), not losing one's nerve even in stressful situations
How much of the knowledge you learned in your studies do you need in your job?
Especially practical knowledge is important (recognizing rocks in the field)
Looking back, how do you feel about your geoscience studies at the University of Potsdam?
- Advantage: It was very varied because many lecturers came from different disciplines
- A lot of field trips that provided a lot of practical experience
- Unfortunately often too scientifically designed and not really preparatory for geosciences in the market economy
Do you have any tips for our graduates for a successful career start?
If you don't go into research but want to gain a foothold in the market economy, you have to have a talent for improvisation and be prepared to adapt quickly to new situations. Not every company has the best and newest equipment, and you have to be able to get by with less. New geoscientists are especially sought after in the field of building materials testing and materials research. In some professions, weekend work is also required (see museums, geoparks), as that is where most of the work is. Those who enjoy working with people and have a knack for communicating their knowledge to non-geoscientists might consider a job in geoparks or museums.
The willingness to look for work in other parts of Germany increases the chances of finding a suitable job.
