Can a solenoid be used to find the direction of earth's magnetic field ( magnetic North and magnetic south)?

A solenoid is a cylindrical/helical coil whose length is more than its diameter. When we pass current through the solenoid , a magnetic field is set up in the space around the solenoid similar to that of a bar magnet.
There is ,in fact, a strong and uniform field in the core of the solenoid.At the two ends of the solenoid, poles are developed as in a bar magnet.
So the current carrying solenoid if freely can show the direction of the magnetic field of a magnet.The north end of the magnet shows the geographic north and South end shows south .

Why is electromagnet made of soft iron?

Electromagnet is a temporary magnet made of soft iron. Soft iron is magnetised by the magnetic field of a coil or solenoid.
Soft iron has high magnetic permeability due to which it gets magnetised quickly and it loses magnetic properties easily due to the fact that it has low magnetic retentivity .