For the farmer, soil is the place where crops grow. For the engineer, soil is a foundation on which to build. For the ecologist, soil supports communities of living things. For the archaeologist, soil holds clues to past cultures. For city dwellers, soil nourishes grass and gardens. For the scientist, soil is all of these things. Soil has been called “the skin of the earth” because it is the thin outermost layer of the earth's crust. Like our skin, we cannot live without soil (“Soil History”). No matter where we go or what we do, soil is important to all of us. We walk on it, take it for granted, and treat it like dirt, but SOIL is what our lives depend on. Every single thing we do is rooted in the soil in at least one way, if not more. If we dig deep enough, we might even find our future careers and life passions. There are countless career opportunities that depend on the soil in one way or another. What the ground means for each career path varies greatly, just like the diversity within the career options themselves. No matter how different our lives and careers may be, one thing is certain: we absolutely cannot survive without land. For the farmer, soil is vital to his very existence. The soil is home to over 400 million acres of crops that the farmer grows and grows to feed his and your family. According to the 2007 USDA census, there are nearly 1 billion acres of agricultural land used for crops and livestock (“American farms”). Without the soil, these farmers would not be able to produce the products we rely on for basic survival. U.S. agriculture must produce enough food to help feed the world's growing population. With a population of 7 billion people and growing, our soil must remain more productive than ever (“World Population Clock…center of paper…bring back wetland habitats and create better management practices of the soil. Even if those" Career is not directly related to the soil, we all rely on it every day. To city dwellers and residents of rural roads, the soil provides everything necessary for their survival supports and serves as a containment structure for solid waste and wastewater. Soil also provides the foundation for our homes, our businesses, our schools and our jobs existence and perhaps even our careers depend on soil. We can see, a variety of different jobs include working with and understanding soil: soil is vital to the farmer, to the archaeologist, to the scientist, to the ecologist, for the architect, for the engineer, for you and for me. Like our skin, we cannot live without soil.