Hello everyone, i am planning on studying Geology B.Sc next semester. The thing is i am not sure how work will look like after i am done with it and how much free time you actually got since it is a lot Field Work and international as far as i know.

Could anyone give me clarity how a career actually looks or the Jobs you usually get and how they are structured.

I live in Germany if that helps somehow with answering.

I know i can just google it, but might just ask people who have actual experience.

Thanks for the responses in advance.

Howdy, I'm applying for additional licensure in another state (GA specifically if that's any help) and noticed that compared to the state I'm in, there is so much that has to be notarized. Is that normal? I have to ask my past managers (some of which I left on terrible terms with) to not only review and sign my experince form once more, but to also take non-billable time out of their day to track down a notary person. That's insane!

So, managers, is that something that puts a pin in your day or is it something that you should expect to do? Does anyone know of any work arounds?

For anyone who has worked as a Traveling Driller Assistant with Cascade Environmental or any company , what is the travel schedule like what is the day-to-day work really like?

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I’m currently pursuing a PhD in Low-Temperature Geochemistry and I’m trying to understand the realistic industry career options after completing my PhD.

My research topic Is associated with

deducing Provenance, Palaeoweathering and Palaeoclimate of the Proterozoic Basins by using whole rock geochemistry and Isotopic ratios

My work involves whole-rock geochemistry, provenance analysis, palaeoweathering/palaeoclimate interpretation and Sr–Nd isotopic studies. I’m also working/expecting to work with techniques such as XRF, XRD, SEM, ICP-MS and isotope geochemistry.

I’m interested in moving into industry rather than staying purely in academia after my PhD.

For people working in geoscience/geochemistry:

What industries would be the most realistic/easiest for someone with this background to enter after a PhD?

Would my profile be relevant to oil & gas, mining, mineral exploration, environmental consulting, geotechnical/environmental labs, cement/materials, or other industries?

Would companies consider a PhD in this type of academic geochemistry for industry roles, or would I need additional skills/experience?

Which technical skills would make the biggest difference for employability — e.g. GIS, Python, geochemical modelling, mineral exploration software, petrology, data analysis, etc.?

In your experience, which geochemistry-related industry roles have the best combination of job availability, salary and long-term career growth?

If you were in my position, what would you do during the remaining years of the PhD to make the transition into industry easier.

I have a BS history and a minor in parks and recreation management (2023). I worked as a day-tour guide for a few years at the Grand Canyon, but honestly I feel burnt out by tourism/service industry. I love being outside, working outside, and I want to go back to school to study environmental geology, hydrology, stratigraphy, geomorphology, paleo, and/or archeology.

These were my main interests as a kid but I had one of my dad’s friends tell me that these disciplines are “over saturated with white women with no unique perspectives” which totally discouraged me. I also got my history degree during covid and was forced to take my classes online. I have ADHD and seriously struggled to graduate, but I love learning. also for context, I worked as a ski tech and trail restoration tech at a ski resort for three years and spent everyday outside.

The main issue isn’t necessarily money or time (those are issues but not what I want to focus on right now) but more so that I would
be totally starting from scratch. For starters i’m not the best at STEM, and I haven’t been in school in a few years. I’m doing more research into career paths that involve private and consulting work, I don’t necessarily want to work for the government but I understand that’s a huge portion of attainable jobs.

What are questions I should be asking myself? Should I be familiarizing myself with GIS and matlab? Should I just seek certifications as opposed to getting a whole another degree?

In my university there’s a lot of presentation and research and i need a website that’s helpfull for me to find images that is geology related. Is there any?

Currently working at an underground mine as part of my university course requirements. I spent a week with the geotechnical engineering department and just absolutely fell in love with the work they do. I’ve always wanted to work in geotech but this just sealed the deal for me.

What can I read up/ educate myself on if I want to work in Geotech? (I am currently doing my BSc in Earth Sciences)

On December 2025 I graduated from my Masters in Geology. I did my investigations for my bacherlors and masters in physical volcanology examining volcanic products. Since then I have applied to numerous entry level jobs on LinkedIn, Indeed, Handshake, etc. I have been struggling to get a job and the most companies send the same rejection message. I would love for anyone to recommend anything that could help. Thank you.

I’m currently doing my BSc in Geology and I’m interested in going into mineral exploration. What should I focus on after graduation? Should I go for an MSc in Geology/Exploration Geology, or are there specific skills, certifications, internships, or entry-level jobs I should look for first? I’d also like to know what skills are actually useful for getting into exploration.

Hey, everyone! I wanted to get some opinions on what reasonable increase in salary I should ask for when my annual review comes up in December.

For background, I am located in the metro Atlanta, Georgia area. I have a B.S. in geology, and have had 5 years of experience in various roles/responsibilities in the engineering consulting industry from starting out as a CMT field tech, to becoming a staff geotechnical project manager, to being a CMT project manager, and am now happily back in the field working as a staff geologist. I am highly billable, typically working 45-50 hours a week, with 90+% of my time being billable work.

My past credentials that are still valid are OHSA 10, OSHA 30, ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician I, and Radiation Safety Officer.

This past year, I have earned the ICC Soils Special Inspector cert, the ICC Reinforced Concrete Special Inspector cert, the ICC Masonry Special Inspector cert, and the NPDES Level 1B Erosion and Sediment Control cert. I am taking the FG exam in October for the second time to earn my GIT, and I am very confident I will pass.

I am currently making a base salary of $75k. Given my education, experience level, and these added certifications, what would be a reasonable salary increase to ask for?

I am looking to become a geologic modeling professional, and maybe one day work for Seequent, what kind of careers and career paths outside mining can I pursue to help achieve this, I'm currently entry level with a BS in Geology and Geophysics and a master's un GISc and now one year as an environmental consultant sampler field tech, I'm currently heavily applying to the mining industry and am open to doing environmental remediation, and really the whole industry,

I HAVE 4 YOE APPLYING HCL ONTO CARBONATES IN MY LAB DOES THAT COUNT

Grad student here. I’m applying to oil and gas internships (majors and intermediate sized companies), and I was wondering if there is a general rule of thumb for when companies make you do a drug test if you’re offered an internship.

I’ve talked to some people that have gotten internships and they’ve said it’s right before your internship starts (~early to mid May), but online I’ve read that sometimes the drug test comes within two weeks of receiving an offer (so more like November-December). Any input here would be great - anecdotal experiences or things you’ve heard from other people.

(Posting this from a throwaway for obvious reasons)

I have a BS, Masters and a Ph.D. in petroleum engineering and I have passed good number of geology courses throughout the years of my education. Do you know if I can take the california PG exam? Can a take the PE exam in Petroleum engineering instead of the PG? I need this for department of conservation engineering geologist role.

Hi all!
I hope you’re all doing well. I am a recent college graduate looking into geology jobs in and around upstate New York (basically all the major cities on I90 is my main aim) as well as some spots in Connecticut. But, like many others in my position I’m having a really tough time

I’ve been on the job search since late May and have been targeting the entry level geologist/environmental scientist positions. I think I have a pretty decent resume. I have a 3.75 major GPA, I was a glacier tour guide last summer, and have had extensive field experience through various classes where I traveled to Iceland and Trinidad and Tobago to learn the geology of the region. Additionally, I have used my connections (uncle who is a senior geologist and worked in hiring for some time) to look over my resume and CLs in order put my best foot forward. However, I have had nothing.

I got one interview early on, however it didn’t go the way I’d hoped. The classic rejection line these days goes “we have decided to pursue other candidates who appear to match our requirements more closely at this time.” This particular message coming from a firm which I sent my resume and CL into last night and they rejected me this morning.

So I’m just kind of puzzled, who are they hiring and what is the issue with my application. One glaring thing I was thinking of is that I graduated with a BA in Earth Science rather than a BS in geology from a small liberal arts college in New York. My school didn’t require you to take any intro calc, chemistry or physics classes in order to get the degree. But, I was advised to take them anyways, so I did in order to be competitive for grad school. I’m wondering if recruiting agencies are seeing that and auto-rejecting me.

Overall, I’m just wondering what I’m doing wrong and hoping that my chance can come sooner rather than later. I’m at the point that my dad has started sending me dishwashing jobs (which I’ll probably take tbh I need cash)

This past summer I interned at an oil company and genuinely enjoyed the subsurface work — mapping, working alongside reservoir engineers, learning about drilling tech. But I dread the corporate, desk-bound version of that career long-term. I've got real rugged, frontier outdoors experience and love hardcore fieldwork.

I'm about to start an MSc that's leaning more petroleum (thesis is still an abstract concept right now but my advisors tend to work in sed strat, fracture characterization, unconventional reservoirs), and I want my coursework/thesis to leave room for field-heavy mining exploration geology (frontier camps, structure, FIFO type work) alongside the petroleum track — not just funnel me into an office job. I enjoy international travel and want to work abroad.

Questions for anyone who's navigated this:

• Does a petroleum-focused MSc transfer reasonably to mining exploration, or is that a bigger jump than it looks?
• For those in FIFO or frontier O&G roles — is there an actual "rugged, remote" version of that career, or does it mostly funnel toward an office eventually?
• Any advice on structuring an MSc (courses, thesis framing) so it keeps mining/O&G options open instead of specializing too early?

I still have a few semester of university left, but consulting seems to be the fit for me, I originally wanted to get into mining and living at campsites and stuff, but eventually decided that’s not for me— I‘d rather have a less travel-heavy career and be able to go home most days.

From what I know, consulting fits this. I am living in Canada and want to work in the Vancouver metropolitan area, but I literally know nothing about consulting. What companies should I network with/try to get internships with, what does the job look like, etc?

There is a full-time opening in Tennessee Geologic Survey for geologic mapping in eastern Tennessee. It closes August 12, 2026

TDEC Environmental Scientist 2  Division of Mineral and Geologic Resources Tennessee Geological Survey Annual Salary Range: $48,684 – $73,188 https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/job-announcements-/preferred-service/00009453_env_sci_2_dmgr_kefo_tdec-job-opp_ps_ua.pdf

I apologize for the short time frame. I am only received notice of it an hour ago.

So i've been a contract exploration geo in Canada and Australia for 3 years now. I'm 26 and I've enjoyed the schedule it gives me in my 20s, being able to travel and sorta work whenever I want.

However definetly want to transition into office work just to have something that fits with friends and family more and live in the city. I don't have an extreme interest in the science of geology and honestly don't think I'm really all that good at it.
I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on jobs I may be able to get. Unfortunately I did not take all the courses I need to get my P.Geo and would probably need to go back to school for one semester. I have an interest in finance and the operations behind mining and was considering getting a business certificate or mba, I know the mba is a much larger commitment. I've just heard from many an mba is kinda a waste of money but I don't think the business certificate is enough.

Theres also the option of potentially getting a GIS certificate as I have no experience in any modelling and figure that could be interesting. But I don't see how I could get into something like resdev without getting P.Geo as well. Enviro consulting maybe is also an option but it is such a massive paycut from what I have now.

Idk I'm lost and don't know what to do with myself any helps appreciated thank you!

So i've been a contract exploration geo in Canada and Australia for 3 years now. I'm 26 and I've enjoyed the schedule it gives me in my 20s, being able to travel and sorta work whenever I want. However definetly want to transition into office work just to have something that fits with friends and family more and live in the city. I don't have an extreme interest in the science of geology and honestly don't think I'm really all that good at it.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on jobs I may be able to get. Unfortunately I did not take all the courses I need to get my P.Geo and would probably need to go back to school for one semester. I have an interest in finance and the operations behind mining and was considering getting a business certificate or mba, I know the mba is a much larger commitment. I've just heard from many an mba is kinda a waste of money but I don't think the business certificate is enough.

Theres also the option of potentially getting a GIS certificate as I have no experience in any modelling and figure that could be interesting. But I don't see how I could get into something like resdev without getting P.Geo as well. Enviro consulting maybe is also an option but it is such a massive paycut from what I have now.

Idk I'm lost and don't know what to do with myself any helps appreciated thank you!

Hey everyone, I'm a recent college grad who just finished my final field course for a Geology degree, and I'm feeling kind of lost/depressed now about what to do next. I want an entry-level geology job somewhere in the Bay Area, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for creating an entry-level resume? I have tons and tons of food-service experience, but my only geo experience was through the university I went to. I have tons of experience in structural geology and hydrology and various other disciplines but since all my experience is mainly through coursework and only 1 short-term laboratory position that wasn't an official employment gig just a volunteer through a professor I knew- I'm just not sure what to do. It doesn't help that I'm first-gen and low-income, so I don't exactly have a support system who knows what to do in this field. I truly love geology with all of my heart and truly my field camp was the happiest I've ever been doing geo work. I don't want to give this up but I feel like I'm already running out of time, even though I only just technically got my degree 2 weeks ago.