Industries
The following is
an overview of the five main career areas in Geology:
 Education
One career pathway for
geoscientists is education. Geoscience education is a professional pursuit
for some, such as teachers in middle-schools or as a professor at a
university. However, education is not limited to formal classroom
settings, nor in the training of new geoscientists. All people need to
understand the basic processes and properties of the world they live in.
Through this understanding, they can make better informed decisions which
lead to a better quality of life of themselves and all of society. General
awareness not only comes through formal geoscience classes, but also
through the public outreach efforts of practicing geoscientists to their
community, whether through Earth Science Week activities or advising civic
groups on an earth science issue. Many geoscientists, particularly those
in local and state governments, pursue public outreach as part of their
job. So even though we many not consider them having followed a
traditional geoscience education career path, education is a major part of
their professional effort.
Petroleum
The
petroleum industry is focused on the exploration and production of oil and
gas. The petroleum industry employs the largest number of geoscientists,
with nearly 40% of geoscientists working in the field. The petroleum
industry historically experiences cyclical boom and busts. Employment
levels fluctuate with this boom and bust cycle, normally driven by the
price of oil. However, technology has helped to temper the severity of
this boom and bust cycle by dramatically lowering the costs to produce
oil. However, as with any commodity, lowered production costs are often
coupled with lower market prices. Additionally, the petroleum
industry often leads in the development and deployment of new
technological applications to the geosciences. Also, as the economy has
become more global, the petroleum industry has as well, with substantial
efforts in South America, the North Sea, Africa, and Southeast Asia, along
with the traditional focus on the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and the Middle
East.
Mining
The mining industry has
been a traditional employer of geoscientists. Though mining efforts have
expanded greatly in parts of the world, especially South America,
employment of geoscientists in the mining industry has remained stable.
Geoscientists work in all aspects of the mining industry, from
exploration, to mine design, to evaluating ore quality. More recently,
many geoscientists working in the mining industry are also focusing on the
environment, particularly in reclamation and groundwater management issues
in an effort to minimize the impact of mining on the local environment.
Environment
Since the 1970's the environmental industry has seen a strong growth in
the number of geoscientists employed. As public awareness grew and the
associated increase in environmental regulation, the need for
environmental geoscientists has increased. Many geoscientists working in
the environmental fields deal with issues of water, both surface waters
and groundwater. These efforts with water deal both with management issues
as well as water quality issues - giving the geoscientist a unique role as
steward of our water resources. Other geoscientists work with soils,
managing this critical resource for the sustainability of agriculture.
Natural hazards, such as landslides, is another major area of concern for
environmental geoscientists. Though many environmental geoscientists work
in private industry, particularly in environmental consulting firms, many
work in all levels of government.
Government
Geoscientists
work at all levels of government. Opportunities in government are quite
varied and cover all fields of the geosciences. Geoscientists work in
nearly all capacities of government, from the military to basic research
to policy development to regulatory capacities. Opportunities exist for
oceanographers, solid Earth scientists, and atmospheric scientists. Many
oceanographers pursue research in the military and with scientific
agencies such as NOAA. Atmospheric scientists are also found in a wide
variety of government agencies. From forecasting offices for the military
and NOAA to developing global climate models at government research
laboratories, most atmospheric scientists work to protect people and
resources through early warning and detection of atmospheric conditions
which may affect our society. Solid Earth scientists work in all fields,
from petroleum to minerals to the environment, working on pure research,
policy formulation, regulatory enforcement, and public safety. The
expertise of geoscientists are strategically placed throughout the
government to provide critical input about our understanding of the Earth
and how it will affect our society.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by
the
American Geological Institute and the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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