? about being a geologist?

Question

do you have to get your masters or can you just have a bachelors and be fine?

Answer 1

It completely depends.  I have many friends that earned their BS and found good jobs.  But remember that an MS is by far the most employable degree and you will earn a much higher salary.

Ask yourself if you are in it for the money or for the knowledge.  A MS will only take a couple extra years but will give you better opportunities with companies that will likely help you pay back student loans.  

And besides, school is fun, right?  You should be able to get your MS with a school that will pay you to be a teachers assistant or research assistant and will give you a partial tuition waiver.  This should help alleviate the financial burden and decrease the amount of student loans you require.  

Answer 2

Flying rock pretty much hit the nail on the head.  

It depends on the industry in which you plan to work.  If you want to do research as an occupation, you will likely stay in academia and will need a masters and probably a PHD (as a professor).

If you want to do consulting for an environmental or geotechnical firm (the avenue that MOST geology graduates follow), you can get by with just a BS but you will generally have a much easier time finding jobs with an MS, will be paid a higher salary (usually), and will be able to take licensing exams sooner.

State or federal gov't work almost always requires an MS across the board, unless you want to be stuck at the bottom of the pecking order as a field tech making an abysmal hourly wage.  You may at least be able to use such a position to get a foot in the door, however.

Other private industries in geology (petroleum/mineral exploration industries, for example) generally require an MS.

There are exceptions to every scenario, however.  For example, my firm required that I have an MS and a few years of work experience when I was hired, but recently we hired a new guy fresh out of school with just a BS and no work exp, and he got hired at the same level and salary that I had initally gotten hired at (yes, I am miffed about that!).  But to give you an idea he is the only one in my company of 30 or so geologists who does not have an MS.

But aside from all that, why NOT get an MS?  I learned twice as much during grad school as I did during my undergrad, in half the time.  It was the funnest few years of my life!

Answer 3

Most geologists with a B. Sci get hired fairly easily.  The standard answer is to get your Masters first anyway.

I disagree.

Go out, get hired  and work for a year or two and then go back and get your Masters.  Or work on your Masters while employed, if you can (fairly common in other fields, less so in geology).  This makes you worth more as Masters candidate and probably will make you a better student.   The company you work for will probably rehire you at a better pay scale if you reapply or arrange for leave (unpaid, of course).

Big companies also like geologists that have a degree in something towards business, economics, and so on.  You may want to consider that.

Last note.  Most people that get geology degrees have a fantasy of living and working in the field.  It turns out most- by far-  hate the field life and try to get into the office jobs.  So try a year in the  field first before getting the Masters.