How to Become a Geologist

A geologist studies the rock history of the Earth as well as the related physical activities above and below the Earth's crust. This knowledge is vital to areas such as earthquake studies, oil drilling, gas exploration, mining, environmental and water issues and mapping.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• College Catalogs
• Individual School Requirements And Application
• Career Counseling
• Computers
• Geology-related Software
• Online Career Search
• Cellular Phone Batteries
• Cellular Phone Services
• Cellular Phones

1. Ask your high school guidance counselor for a list of colleges that offer a bachelor's degree in geology or geophysics. Check out the American Geological Institute (agiweb.org) and the American Geophysical Union (agu.org) for information on the differences between those two closely related fields.

2. Maintain good grades in high school, especially in math and science. Take advanced courses if possible.

3. Send for college catalogs and applications and compare course offerings. Apply to several colleges well before their deadline dates.

4. Commit yourself to the years of study necessary for success in the field.

5. Recognize that your bachelor's degree will admit you only to entry-level jobs. A master's degree is necessary for any advancement, and a Ph.D. is necessary for research, university teaching positions and many federal and state positions.

6. Expect to go on field trips as part of your degree work. It's also to your benefit to do internships, and they'll probably be required. Realize that outdoor work will be necessary and that some of it may require stamina.

7. Decide early on which geological subfield most interests you and take courses accordingly. Areas of study might include mineralogy, hydrology, hazardous waste management, environmental legislation, chemistry, oceanography, physics and cartography.

8. Use connections you've made during your studies and internships when applying for your first job.

Tips & Warnings

• Gain experience with digital mapping, geographic information systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). It will help you enter the job market.
• Understand that office work, lab work and outdoor fieldwork are part of a geologist's life, especially during the early years of a career.
• Be prepared for possible work in remote locations during your early years as a geologist. You may often have to stay in touch with your family via a cell phone.
• Understand that as a geologist you'll need to work successfully as part of a team. If you tend to be a loner, this is not the career for you.
• Be aware that hiring on a contractual basis is fairly common in geological work related to the oil and gas industries. Permanent jobs are not the norm.

[scmrak]

on 3/2/2009 Clearly you just filled in blanks on a template. Do you even *know* any geologists? As is often the case on eHow, another fluff article published only to add to someone's statistics.

[williemcdonald]

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[PetroGeo]

on 10/3/2008 It is not true that you need an MSc for any sort of advancement. There are tons of petroleum related jobs where a BSc is sufficient. Having an MSc only shows you can research, it does not make you a better explorationist. Also... there are plenty of full time, permanent positions in the oil and gas industry when starting out. You may have to take a short term contract initially... but anyone who is competent and does well at their job should not have trouble moving into full time permanent very soon. I think this original posting is out of date... things have changed in both mining and oil and gas.