What can you be (as a job) with a background in geology?

Question

What can you be (as a job) with a background in geology?

Answer 1

With a bachelor's in geology (at least in USA), you can expect to get a job as an environmental geologist. This generally means you'll be looking at underground storage tanks and finding contamination. It can also mean that you'll be looking at landfills, asbestos, or other contaminants. In the beginning this is field work, later in your career you'll be in an office.

You can also work in the oil industry. There is big money there if you are willing to travel and work unusual hours. In general, with only a bachelor's you will be in the field supporting drilling operations, although there are many support jobs, including drilling mud engineer and various logging engineers.

With a master's in geology you will be more office-based. Shell and Exxon Mobil, for instance, require a master's degree for their petroleum geologists.

With a PhD you're getting into academia, although there is always a use for PhD's in private industry. People who sign their name with a PhD after it seem to have more clout then others, and it may help you to convince people that your analysis (an environmental survey, an economical analysis of gold in a sample, or whatever) is correct.

Geology is a really broad educational background. Professionally we extract stuff out of the earth, including oil, iron, coal, gold, and contamination. You can even be a soil scientist and help plants to grow. Academically we research all kinds of cool things, including life on Mars and volcanoes.

Answer 2

Industry:

Instructor

Mine geologist

Quarry geologist

Petroleum geologist

Environmental geologist

Consultant for construction, urban development, etc

A lot more really

Academia:

Professor

Petrologist

Sedimentologist

Paleontologist

Mineralogist

Stratigrapher

Structural geologist

And of course any of these specializations can carry over into industry.

Answer 3

I know somebody who's a rancher.  He knew bits of the h**l Creek Formation outcrop in esatern Wyoming, and wanted to prospect for fossils.  As he also had an interest in things wildy westy, he combined both directions by keeping cattle, herding tourists and finding them fossil sites in those there hills.  That all dictated the area he wanted to buy into.  At least it demonstrates a geological background doesn't have to stop you doing other things, should you like.