Mahima Seth

“Geophysics attracted me because I was interested in the environmental impacts of human activity and ways in which the earth’s surface geology tells us stories about its past.

“I didn’t begin my degree with a clear career path. You can’t go on SEEK and look up ‘jobs for physicists’. I had to think very carefully. I hoped my studies would lead to employment somewhere like NIWA or GNS.”

Aiming high

“Ultimately, I would love to work for NASA and apply my geophysics knowledge to learn more about other planets. But I would be equally happy to move into a different sector. I did an internship at Price Waterhouse Coopers in the Digital Forensics team in the summer of 2021/22. I really enjoyed that and used a lot of the coding skills I’d learnt earlier.
“I was recently awarded the Dennis Brown Experimental physics prize for my work in PHYSICS 390 (Experimental Physics). I didn’t really expect to win. Some of my peers had achieved better marks, but my lecturers valued me for more than my grades. That shows the progressive thinking in the Physics Department – and at the core of science itself.”

Complementary subjects

“Geophysics acts as a nice complement to Physics. Physics provided me with a solid foundation for learning about the earth, atmosphere and oceans in geophysics. I also like the broad nature of what I study because I’m not restricted to one industry or career. It certainly made finding work a little harder, but I’ve had a job offer even before graduating!”