So as you have been very practical, let me advocate the benefit of closing, closing a few gaps, because it will help the openness that you've advocated.
Plus, when you take just a little bit of time to branch out from your major path, you might stumble onto something that actually proves to be a huge boon to your future career prospects.
In order to be a valid area of study, it has been said that the scientific study of sea or oceanography, as we call it, must point to the practical benefits that can be gained for humankind.