- Types of geologist
- What do geologists do?
- Geologist career path
- Geologist salaries
- Qualifications and training
- Geologist skills
- Pros and cons of being a geologist
- Work-life balance of a geologist
- Typical employers hiring geologists
- Related jobs to geologist
Do you have a fascination with rocks? Do you love learning about what is below us right now and using that knowledge to understand the earth or find out its uses? If you enjoy using your great research skills, a career as a geologist could be perfect for you.
Does a career as a geologist excite you? Explore the engineering, energy and infrastructure and education and teaching graduate jobs available right now.
Types of geologist
Jobs in geology can be generally separated into the ones researching the earth, and the ones using the knowledge to advise on projects or make things. Here are some of the jobs that you could explore in geology:
Research
- Geologist. As a researching geologist, you research and study the composition of the earth with its many layers of rock.
- Volcanologist. Volcanologists study volcanoes, how they erupt, why they erupt, the impact of an eruption on the environment and ecosystems and how we can more accurately predict when an eruption will happen.
- Paleontologist. Paleontology is a subsection of geology which focuses on the unearthing and study of extinct animals and plants.
Engineering
- Engineering geologist. As an engineering geologist, it’s your responsibility to determine the suitability of a site for construction based on the type of soil and rock.
- Geoscientist. A geoscientist’s job is to find natural resources that can be used by companies. This could be natural gas, oil or water.
- Environmental consultant. Environmental consultants are responsible for determining the impact of work on the ecosystem of the area and the environment.
What does a geologist do?
The tasks that you do in a geologist job depend on the sector you work in, research or engineering.
Research
- You conduct research to find out more information about the topic you’re interested in, whether this is geology, paleontology or volcanology.
- Your research could be in a laboratory or in the field
- You write up your research into papers which you could publish
- You present your findings at conferences
Engineering
- You survey areas of land, whether this is to see how suitable it is for construction, whether there is any energy to be gathered from there or what the environmental impact has been on the land
- You take samples from land which you analyse in a lab
- You prepare reports and present your findings to your colleagues, clients and external stakeholders
Geologist career path
You have many different career paths and options when working as a geologist. This depends on the type of geologist that you want to be.
As a research geologist, you begin your career in postgraduate research. You then progress to a lecturer and work your way up to senior researchers and even a head of department.
As an engineering geologist, you work through from junior to senior roles. You typically work for a consulting firm in this role. By staying in this role, your progression is through working on more complex projects rather than changing job titles. This is similar to working as a geoscientist and environmental consultant where you work as an expert in your field for a consulting company. Both jobs often provide the opportunity to work with a top energy or construction company with an in-house team for all the projects that they do.
Geologist salaries
- In research positions, you earn between £30,000 and £60,000 per year when lecturing and conducting your own research.
- As a geoscientist, your entry-level salary is around £30,000 and you can reach £70,000 per year in senior positions.
- You begin your career as an engineering geologist at around £20,000 and extend this to £40,000 per year in a senior role.
- An environmental consultant could earn between £25,000 and £45,000 per year.
Qualifications and training
Reaching the right level of qualifications and having great experience helps you secure a job in the geologist career path that you want. Here is education and training that you need to succeed:
Education
The education level for geologist jobs varies considerably. Research-based geology jobs like volcanologist require PhD-level education. This requires conducting your own research project and demonstrating your interest in the subject. However, jobs like geoscientist need a degree in a relevant subject like geology. This is the same for engineering geologists and environmental consultants. For all three latter jobs, having a master’s degree could help you distinguish yourself but isn’t a requirement for the work.
Work experience
For engineering and consulting geologist jobs, having some work experience helps you learn the specific skills required for the job you want to do. It helps you stand out to hiring managers and helps you make contacts in the field. There are two great ways for getting an internship. Firstly, you can network with professionals in the field. You can do this through social media platforms like LinkedIn or through convention and conferences. If you want to know more about networking, you can read this article for some Bright advice for networking.
An alternative is exploring the advertised internships. You can see the internships in geology available right now.
Professional qualifications
One way of helping you stand out from other candidates in engineering and consulting based geology jobs is by becoming a chartered environmentalist with the Society for the Environment. This demonstrates your skill level and ability, showing how great you would be for any job.
Geologist skills
Not only do you need the right education, you also need to have the right skills to work well in any geology career. Here are the hard and soft skills that you need to succeed in geologist jobs:
Hard skills
- Geology. This is a staple of any geology job. You need to have a good knowledge of geology, particularly the speciality area that you work in. This could be igneous rock in volcanology and the suitability of rock and soil types in engineering geology.
- Lab work. Most geology work requires some lab work. If you’re required to do some lab analysis in your geology job, you need to understand the best practices of working in a lab including safety procedures, how to analyse the materials you need, how to store samples and how to record your results.
Soft skills
- Communication. Effective communication is important for geology jobs. As an environmental consultant, you need to tell your colleagues about your findings and what you recommend for future work in a pragmatic way. In any lecturing geologist job, your job includes teaching students about the work in the field. Without great communication skills, you risk not conveying the point you’re trying to get across which might lead to problems like students missing out on marks in an exam.
- Research. Many geologist jobs require some degree of research. This is fairly evident in research-based lecturing positions where you have to conduct your own research to further the field. As a geoscientist, you research an area of land that could have a wealth of natural resources which a company could utilise.
- Presentation. Most geologist jobs require some degree of presenting your results, findings or recommendations. Lecturing positions include presenting your individual research to the public or other experts in the field at conferences. Environmental consultants, geoscientists and engineering geologists all present to clients, colleagues and stakeholders about what they have discovered and the changes the company should make to accommodate them.
Pros and cons of being a geologist
Being a geologist could combine your interest with rock types and the earth with your curiosity to know more and eagerness to learn. The particulars of the job could make it an ideal job or might mean another career path is better for you. Here is what you should consider before committing to a career in geology.
Pros
- Some areas of geology offer good salary levels in high level jobs.
- There might be some travel involved in geology. This could be evaluating a site or doing some research in the field. This can be exciting as it progresses your career and opens up new avenues for research.
- You could be at the forefront of the field, making discoveries that change the way we think about geology.
Cons
- There is disparity between the salary levels in different geology jobs and whilst some are highly paid, others are lacking.
- The travel involved in geology careers can make maintaining relationships hard, especially if you have a family to look after.
- In jobs like engineering geologist, environmental consultant and geoscientist, you typically work for a consulting firm which limits your career progression unless you want to go into management positions.
Work-life balance of a geologist
Most geology jobs require standard working hours of 9am to 5pm on Monday to Friday. If you’re in a consulting job, you might be required to work overtime around big deadlines. If you’re working in the field or onsite, you might have travel requirements which make your working day longer.
Most of the work you do as a geologist will be separated between three locations, an office, a lab and onsite. Having a good understanding of how to effectively work in all of these conditions helps you do your job well and means you can be as productive as possible.
Typical employers hiring geologists
The main industries employing geologists fall into large energy companies, consulting firms and higher education facilities. Here are some of the employers that you could work with in geology: