Being a soil scientist is a fascinating and certainly diverse career, which can indeed involve working in a laboratory or diagnosing sick orange trees. However it often involves much, much more. In 2015, as part of the United Nations' "International Year of Soils," Soil Science Australia's (SSA) "Soils in Schools" program helped shine a light on the wonderful world of soil by developing teacher guides focused on soil science that fit within the National Curriculum for science and geography. SSA wants to show teachers and their students what it means to be a soil scientist, and some of the amazing things you get to do when you're a soil scientist. This article introduces two soil scientists who, despite studying the same subjects, do very different things in their day-to-day jobs. Luke mostly works in rural areas in Australia, while Gillian often works in cities and overseas.