Geology a good decision in this economy?? (bachelors, school, masters)
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I'm afriad Lou speaks the truth about science. The same thing happened to me and many of the people I know. A science degree works out fairly well for some. However, it seems for a large portion like me, you need a career change for any reasonable standard of living. I'm currently working on a functional resume to attempt to argue transferable skills to try and get a nonscience job.
Your experience is with chemistry. Geology is a whole different ball of wax, mainly because of the oil companies, which have practically unlimited budgets for things like this.
My son majored in Geology, with minor in Geography. He is doing pretty well, he makes $65,000 a year. I don't think that is a bad starting salary out of college. He likes his job, he travels a lot. He has been doing a lot of work in Colorado lately, something about avalanches and ski area trails.
He skiis about 100 days a year, for free. Right now, he checks out ski areas for the USGS and Forest Service, something about water rights and logging, and ski area land...
Really, paid travel, free skiing, he is single, and pretty much loving life.
Here it is folks!!! Turk, I'm sorry about your mentality on geoscience. The truth is this, if you feel passionate about your job...you will enjoy it. A simple solution! I personally chose Geology as a field of study b/c I can't for the life of me think of another profession that will pay for global travel, ski outings, exotic locations for work, and decent enough pay able to support my two boys and wife. Camping is much more than sleeping outdoors, drives along winding country road often include frequent sight seeing stops, and daily fascination with the world around us are simple perks no doubt. By now you're prob wondering, "what's with this rock ner" right? Well, here it is. I served in the Marine Corps (Iraq 2003) and hated deployment-wanted excitement. I got out, found a local mill job ($67,000/yr)-hated it...mill shut down in '08. Got heavy eqpmt job w/ CASE LLC-hated it. You see? Problem/pattern? It's not what you do or how much $ you make. You will never win if pessimism devours your career. What you put into geology is in direct correlation w/ what you get out of it!!!! That goes for ANY career!! Turk, take this into consideration...those "silly rocks" often sit atop Mt. Everest, in the caverns of Hawaii, and in central Italy. Though your family may want it more than you do (right now) what if their excitement for you to truly experiencing life is being overshadowed by your inability to enjoy the long lab hours and difficult classes?? The very last thing I ever thought I would be is a scientist of any field. I started school as a business major, switched to health performance, took a requirement class (geo 101) and changed major to geomorphology. Its your life, you do what you want with it, and if they will remain stupid silly Lil rocks then stay away from the major. But of all sciences, polls show that earth scientists are the happiest- stated b/c much of the field works on theoretical concepts opposing other sciences composed of more scientific law. Geologist HAVE to be creative thinkers, decent sketchers (not great by any means), and they must be puzzle solvers. I'm rambling on at this point, but if all you get from this let it be "you get out what you put in-aPplies to anything. So before you go hating geology ask yourself a couple questions. Where in the world would I ReALLY like to go? Could I work in groups of 5-50 that have to think up or research theories? Do I enjoy being outdoors? Is having the ability to work in gov't or private sector a comfortable option for me? And last but not least, do I often find myself questioning other people's ideas, and do I often wonder how things work?
My advice is to stay the heck away from science degrees. You can expect 4 to 6 years, if you get an MS, of some of the most difficult academic training and long hours in the lab and when you graduate companies will pay you $15 to $20 with no benefits. I doubt geology is that much better than biology or chemistry. I'd say a science degree is worthless, but given the tuition money and lost income while you are a student, It would be more accurate to say it is far less than worthless.
Geology is not at all like biology and chemistry in those respects. The geology majors in our geosciences department were in and out in 2-3 years, fully funded. Course load is a little tough, but also one of the most fun fields of study with lots of field work. Companies were lining up to hire grads; seemed like most were starting around the $70k range.
Geology is an interesting major and science. I was an evolution/ecology with a geography minor undergrad so I've taken a number of geology courses. Geology majors are mostly hired in environmental engineering and petroleum engineering firms, but many government agencies hire them as well. GIS knowledge is now essential for geology majors, and is a great skill to have.
hello, I am an undergrad from India. If money was no matter, I would have applied to some good university, but what I want to know is, what if I pursue my masters in geology from any ivy league college & bsc from india? will it affect mine getting a job in USA? also, I would be grateful if anybody could tell me the top 5/10 geology colleges all over the world.
thanks
I would look into petroleum engineering firms. I was speaking to a guy out in Bakersfield, CA (oil extraction paradise) who is an exec for a petrol company and he said their companies were in strong demand for petrol engineers and geologists.
hello, I am an undergrad from India. If money was no matter, I would have applied to some good university, but what I want to know is, what if I pursue my masters in geology from any ivy league college & bsc from india? will it affect mine getting a job in USA? also, I would be grateful if anybody could tell me the top 5/10 geology colleges all over the world.
thanks
What type of geology are you interested in? If you are looking at Petroleum geology there are only certain schools that really specialize in that. This is what my husband goes for a living, and this includes hiring new people, fresh out of school. A masters from an Ivy League wouldn't mean anything to them really. They want people from the big programs in oil producing areas like TX, OK, Louisiana, etc.
hey! specifically what field of geology are you in? I've had a lot of people discouraging me from changing my career towards geology. thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Strick01
Here it is folks!!! Turk, I'm sorry about your mentality on geoscience. The truth is this, if you feel passionate about your job...you will enjoy it. A simple solution! I personally chose Geology as a field of study b/c I can't for the life of me think of another profession that will pay for global travel, ski outings, exotic locations for work, and decent enough pay able to support my two boys and wife. Camping is much more than sleeping outdoors, drives along winding country road often include frequent sight seeing stops, and daily fascination with the world around us are simple perks no doubt. By now you're prob wondering, "what's with this rock ner" right? Well, here it is. I served in the Marine Corps (Iraq 2003) and hated deployment-wanted excitement. I got out, found a local mill job ($67,000/yr)-hated it...mill shut down in '08. Got heavy eqpmt job w/ CASE LLC-hated it. You see? Problem/pattern? It's not what you do or how much $ you make. You will never win if pessimism devours your career. What you put into geology is in direct correlation w/ what you get out of it!!!! That goes for ANY career!! Turk, take this into consideration...those "silly rocks" often sit atop Mt. Everest, in the caverns of Hawaii, and in central Italy. Though your family may want it more than you do (right now) what if their excitement for you to truly experiencing life is being overshadowed by your inability to enjoy the long lab hours and difficult classes?? The very last thing I ever thought I would be is a scientist of any field. I started school as a business major, switched to health performance, took a requirement class (geo 101) and changed major to geomorphology. Its your life, you do what you want with it, and if they will remain stupid silly Lil rocks then stay away from the major. But of all sciences, polls show that earth scientists are the happiest- stated b/c much of the field works on theoretical concepts opposing other sciences composed of more scientific law. Geologist HAVE to be creative thinkers, decent sketchers (not great by any means), and they must be puzzle solvers. I'm rambling on at this point, but if all you get from this let it be "you get out what you put in-aPplies to anything. So before you go hating geology ask yourself a couple questions. Where in the world would I ReALLY like to go? Could I work in groups of 5-50 that have to think up or research theories? Do I enjoy being outdoors? Is having the ability to work in gov't or private sector a comfortable option for me? And last but not least, do I often find myself questioning other people's ideas, and do I often wonder how things work?
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Question if you dont mind!
