Jorge

5 months later....

OMG! YOU!

Hi.
I hope it was an interesting read. "Aerosol" is one of my favorite words, but I can't say I know the exact meaning of the word.
How is Austin? I've been there once.

No worries. And I was born and raised in San Antonio. I left when my ex joined the military. We went to Kentucky =X, Germany (Hessen and Bavaria), Virginia briefly, Tennessee, split and now I'm in Massachussetts... What's a Texas girl doing in Boston dead winter? Freezing of course.

Your taste in books is rather good too, if I may say so. I can't remember if I already said this or not, but I absolutely love Saramago. I'm very afraid to watch the film adaptation of Blindness because I don't want it to ruin my memory of the book (as it inevitably must). Who are some of your favorite authors/books?
The topic of water resources has always fascinated me (well, not always...but long enough I feel justified in saying so!). We had a really bad drought one year while I was growing up and our neighbor's well ran dry. I remember everyone panicking -- no one knew who would be next. Multiply that on an enormously larger scale, and I can't even imagine what will happen when the freshwater reservoirs are totally drained one after the other. I think environmental science may have been the most depressing class I've ever taken, just because it forced me to confront the reality of what's going to happen in just 10 or 15 or 20 years. What first sparked your interest in environmental issues in general?
I totally agree with eliminating the root of the problem rather than just treating symptoms (although that's obviously necessary as other people work on solving the root causes). I guess that approach could actually be applicable to any vast number of fields (economics, mental health, pharmaceutical drugs, etc.). I really just want to be on the ground, in the field, on the scene, whatever...hands on! Whatever degree or schooling lets me get to that point quickest and most efficiently and with the most knowledge is fine by me! Anyways, thanks for your encouragement...you are a superiorly encouraging person, in case you didn't know!
Since you commented on my photo first, I feel it is totally appropriate to let you know that I like your hair a lot.

Of course I don't mind! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I find it very interesting that you've found a negative outlook for epidemiology. My understanding of future growth in the field is mostly based off of one source (BLS), but I've found that there is supposed to be a rather large and growing need for epidemiologists (especially those of the applied variety) in the next 7 or 8 years. Of course those are all projections, and it's hard to say how changes in the economy may affect the field. If you don't mind, do you remember any of the career sites that you found while researching epidemiology? I'd really like to do some more research.
Apparently a lot of applied epidemiology jobs are looking for MPH graduates with an emphasis in epidemiology. I don't know enough about the way master's programs work to understand what exactly an emphasis or concentration means. I've just assumed that getting a master's in your field is better than a master's with a concentration, but I really have no idea what I'm talking about. Anyways, I'm really excited that you're fascinated by public health as well! Usually when I talk to people about it they think of the old ladies at the health department who give you your shots. But that's definitely not the direction I want to take at all. I've always been fascinated by diseases (which in high school translated into becoming a doctor, but soon realized I was NOT cut out for medical school), and I can't think of a better way to combine my love for understanding them with my desire to help other people live better (disease-free) lives. Written out like that it sounds a little cliche, but hey, it's true.
When you say "indoor air pollution", do you mean from environmental hazards like asbestos or lead paint? Or what does that cover exactly? It sounds very interesting!

Very cool...last year I took classes in both environmental science and sustainability. While I've forgotten a lot of the technicalities, I'm very much into living a more sustainable lifestyle, both on a small and large scale. I think it's a neat field of study!
My major is currently psychology, but I'm hoping to transfer to a school that has a community health minor, which would be a lot more relevant. Most of the grad programs I'm looking into offer either an MPH or an MS (for epidemiology). fortunately a bachelor's in a social science works as long as I take stats, because there's no way I would survive majoring in biology or chemistry.
You're completely right about just doing it for the experience, and thanks for the encouragement! I can't think of a better way to spend two years of my life...and hey, you should still do it at some point. It's never too late...the Peace Corps will take you up until your 70s (I think).

Congrats on grad school! what will you be studying?
The areas I'm most interested in are health extension and public health education. A lot of the grad school programs I'm looking at require at least 2 years of experience in the field, so doing the Peace Corps before grad school would be extremely useful. But some schools offer joint Peace Corps/degree programs, so that's another option.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDG8xqz7BIk"]YouTube - First Aid Kit - Hard Believer[/ame]

And here's one for you!

thanks for sharing that! I adore her voice. There's such soul in it. Very nice.

Woot! It's always nice to have an NTP around here. Especially one with impeccable taste in music.
Welcome to the INFJ forums.

Welcome to the forums, Jorge!