Do geologists have good jobs as far as pay, stress, discovering new things, and overall satisfaction?

Answer 1

In general, the following is true:

1) Pay - salaries for geologists working in petroleum, mining and environmental sciences are good to great (starting at 50-80K/yr). You will almost certainly have to have a master's degree to get one . Academic jobs are scarce and don't pay shite....

2) Stress - you will have lots of it because of the workload you will be expected to handle.

3) Discovering new things?..Hmmm well in the oil and mining sectors you will always be looking for new ol or gas fields and ore bodies.

4) Overall staisfaction - That depends largely on the individual and how well they like the particular job they do. I make what I consider almost an obscene amount of money, but really am not too satisfied. I would much rather teach, but i am a money whore since I have kids in college and am trying to save for retirement in 5-10 years..

One thing to bear in mind is that jobs in the geological fields are cyclical, - subject to wide fluctuations. Good Luck

Answer 2

No. Too many times the warnings of geologists are ignored by engineers, politicians, lawyers, etc. If you can work in some of the world's most beautiful places where most people see only through a camera lens, then overall satisfaction means geologists have good jobs.

Answer 3

It depends. It is a broad field and if you focus on oil & gas exploration you have to be able to handle the inevitable boom and bust cycles. When I was studying geology, the oil & gas market cratered and the jobs went away. Many of my friends that had recently graduated would up waiting tables or changing fields entirely.

The environmental side of geology is a little more stable but not nearly as exciting (I tried it).

My recommendation is to go for it if it interests you. However, be flexible if the economy changes and you need to shift gears mid-career.

Answer 4

Great pay. Lots of travel. Huge workloads. Not a whole lot of discoveries outside of new places to retrieve oil. My dad was a geologist and paleontologist- it's an awesome career.