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In California, I have friends who are geologists. Check the state human resources website if you want to see the payscales. Very good. One of my friends, whom I met when we both worked for an environmental engineering firm, is still work in the private sector. I would imagine he's close to $100k now. I have friends that work for the state and feds that are program or project managers that make $100k. I'd say when we were in our fifth year of work, we were making $35/hour.
Remember, when you are first out of school, you won't be making a lot; that comes with experience.
There's always work in the gas/oil industries; hydrogeoglogy is of course important in the west; and my friend went on to take his state license in hydrogeology. With the new groundwater regulations in California, I think that there will be a lot of work.
I'm a geology major. I picked it because I was interested in the subject and was unsure what I really wanted to do. Now I am nearing graduation and wondering what potential opportunities are available for me. I'm an undergraduate, and honestly I am a mediocre student at a mediocre geology school. I'm assuming at my level it would be difficult to enter the more glamorous fields like oil & gas or mining resources. Are there other job prospects that would be more suited to my qualifications?
My daughter is just completing her second year for a degree in Geology at McGill university in Montreal, When i ask her what the prospects are for actual geologists she says its slim pickings in the job market
She has since developed an interest in Geographic Information systems= Geographic information system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
After she graduates next year with her Geology degree she plans on going to a university in Vancouver to do a one year study in the GIS field.
She's done her homework as there seems to be many job opportunities for this type of job here in Canada. https://www.google.ca/#safe=active&q=careers+gis+canada
My daughter is just completing her second year for a degree in Geology at McGill university in Montreal, When i ask her what the prospects are for actual geologists she says its slim pickings in the job market
She has since developed an interest in Geographic Information systems= Geographic information system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
After she graduates next year with her Geology degree she plans on going to a university in Vancouver to do a one year study in the GIS field.
She's done her homework as there seems to be many job opportunities for this type of job here in Canada. https://www.google.ca/#safe=active&q=careers+gis+canada
I'm not sure where your daughter got her information, but there is a very substantial demand for geologists in basically all subfields. Oil and gas are still very active markets and there is always the very stable environmental side as well. GIS work should be supplemental to the geology degree.
omg im geological engineering student in turkey,that science is really incredible bad,nothing interest to me,omg sorry but one ****ing stone,if i finish this uni,what will i able to give for the humanity,nothing,just search the silly stones,and create comments about it,and it is million times harder than other sciences and engineerings,and people,they never respect to that jobs,if i say someone 'im geology student' he or she saying me 'hmm ok well' but when my friend says 'im civil engineer' they are acting like my friend is god,wuaaaaw ohhhh incredible bla bla bla,money is such bad in this job,if you wanna get so much money you have to be best of best about it,also everybody will go to their job with good clothes bla bla bla,and geologist will go to jobs with bad dirty structure clothes because your life will finish inside of silly stones and sand stones,come onnn people however we will go under of sand stones after of DEAD,WHY WE ARE LOOSING OUR TIME INSIDE OF THIS SILLY THING 'GEOLOGY',also what is geologist doing` nothing,do something come on,tell me onetime earthquake time for future,is it possible?,nooo soo why goverments give money for that job,i couldn't understand during 3 years,can you imagine?,now im third class geology student inside of one silly somewhere,and my exams points average zeroooo,why? Because i dont love this job,just my family wants it,if i stopping this silly education,what can i do? Nothing, Both is nothing,my family will understand that in nearly time...
I majored in Geology 30 yrs. ago at a good New England school (not an ivy but still considered top notch), There was an oil boom at that time just like there is now. Unfortunately, by the time I graduated, the bottom dropped out of the oil market, and most recent hires were laid off ("what do you say to a geologist in Houston - waiter, the check please !"). So, yes, the "Petro-dollars" are great, but it is a highly speculative commodity market that could bottom out at any time.
Eventually I got into Hydrogeology and have had a stable, if unexciting career ever since. Money is better than average, but nothing to rave about. One other important factor - Hydro is very region-specific. Groundwater issues in the northeast are nothing like they are in the midwest or far west, so that fact tends to narrow your career flexibility. And, of course, the coursework is really hard, if not brutal. That may have changed recently, as the field as become more "green". In hindsight, I would probably have majored in something else that is not so difficult academically and not so specific.
I agree with geo123. I have about 4 years or experience, should be a fully licensed PG this year. I have a MS in hydrogeology from a school that is well known for hydrogeology. I would consider the jobs I have held to be better than most others held by my colleagues and I would still say the work is rough, thankless and with mediocre pay. It is better than the salary of someone in a liberal arts related job maybe, but I still make less than 60k and I know I am better off than many of my ex classmates.
Expect to work many weekends, long hours and in less than ideal locations. It is not as glamorous as I would have thought. Imagine working alone at a remote location until 9 pm while trapped on a mountain in the snow. I would encourage anyone considering earth science to not listen to the fantasy mongers and actually read real statistics, such as those published by the BLS. The only people who truly make over 60k early in their careers are geologists in the petroleum industry, and at the current time most of them are unemployed. Such geologists make great salary while they can find work, but most I have known find the work to be incredibly dull, unstable, and worst of all the experience does not transfer well outside that industry.
An experienced individual with a graduate education in a technical degree like engineering makes far better income than a geologist and garners much more respect. If I did it over again, I would have pursued something relating to software, medicine, engineering, or business.
That is your experience but it is not typical. Most scientists I know make in the $100,000 range, give or take depending one experience.
Geology is a great field and if you are good you can pretty much write your own ticket. A neighbor of my sister's son went into Geology and is now in year 2 or 3 working for a company where he works for 3 weeks and is off for 3 weeks. During his off weeks they pay for a plane ticket to and from anywhere he wants to go. He has been all over the world. He started at close to $100,000/year. Not a bad deal for a 24 year old kid right out of college.
I really doubt how typical this experience is. From my parents - both PhDs in chemistry - and others I've seen in the sciences field... $100K is not the norm. Maybe if you're on the business side and work as a researcher for a pharma company or something like that. In true scientific research and academic endeavors...good luck.
I'm a geography major and there are some jobs out there for earth science majors. For school recommendations, here in CO (and nationally) CU Boulder has a good geography and geology program. Colorado School of Mines has a good geophysical engineering program. Colo State. has a good atmospheric science program. From what I have learned and gathered is from these earth science majors, having a technical skill (can be learned in college through classes) helps immensely. GIS and Remote Sensing are desired, if not required, for 90% of jobs for geography. A recent grad from my school, CU Denver, uses her geography degree and GIS certificate working for a oil company (not on a rig) but to organize, gather, and maintain data and basically help run the GIS department for the company.
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