Ask HN: What are software problems in Oceanography?

9 points by Novashi 7 years ago | 4 comments

I'm thinking about going to school for this major and I've been wanting to do something on the side with my development skills related to it.

There's pet projects with data crunching like with this stuff (https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/ and https://stackoverflow.com/search?q=oceanography) but I'm wondering more about problems and needs from scientists and people doing fieldwork.

matt_the_bass 7 years ago |

Are you interested in oceanography, ocean engineering, or hydrography (or any/all of those)? Are you looking at the masters or undergrad level?

There are so many places software skills could be used. Tell us more about your interests.

Novashi 7 years ago | |

Undergrad/transfer and unsure. I know that's broad but I'm at the early stages of considering, but if all of the sub fields have a pretty high demand, I think that's a good sign. I've also considered the maritime industry if that gives you any idea.

Most of my experience is desktop and web apps, but I'm looking to learn new tech. Some of the job posts I've seen have been scientific computing (python/C++/linux) so not really my area of experience but I have a pretty long runway.

Ultimately I'm looking for a field to learn and combine with my skills instead of just being a developer but I want deeper knowledge than what you'd get just by being thrown on a project that happens to involve oceanography.

matt_the_bass 7 years ago | | |

Well there are lots of opportunities for someone with strong software skills in ocean related sciences. Some questions for you to consider are:

- do you want to develop tools or do research?

- do you want a career path with lots of field work and travel or desk jobs?

- do you want to work for a small business or large company?

If you can provide some insight to those questions, I can offer some suggestions to consider.

I work for a small company that has a unique technology with software and hardware components. We work with some huge organizations and have some really interesting projects and customers. I think I’ve seen a lot of aspects of the marine market and I work with commercial, governmental, and scientific sides of the marine market.

A few things I can say in general about the marine industry as it relates to software is I don’t think it is the highest paid career path but I think it has a very high satisfaction rating. Maybe because there is something about the ocean that draws in certain types of people.