Question: What skills and personality traits do you need to be a volcanologist?

Kate Dobson answered on 20 Nov 2014:

Nothing particularly special. Most of my colleagues like being outdoorsand hiking (It’s hard to visit a volcano from your armchair). As with any area where there are a limited number of jobs positions, you have to work hard, pay attention, think through lots of problems to find the important questions. Geologists often work together to get the most out of the little time we do get on the volcanoes (I have samples posted to me from all over the world), but being able to work as part of a team is what sceince is all about. We’re all standing on someone elses shoulders scientifically speaking.