What career could I obtain with a geology major?
I’m currently a biology major at the University of Minnesota Duluth, but I’m thinking about switching to a Geology major. A Biology major is a broad major and I could do a lot with it, but how broad is a geology major? What could I do with that career-wise?
I am a Geo major now…there are lots of aspects of Geology. Geochemistry, Paleantology, Earthquake, Volcanism, Mineralogy….it all depends which one suits you best then you can see what feild you would like to go into. You can always work with Oil companies as well
I suggest you should be a geologist its your choice
besides pick the one you rock toward like if you good with fossils in geology become a paleontologist
well actually my dad is an teacher in biology at a university
stay with biology, its fun
The above answers are correct, but those are all academic specialties. Most of those experts would be employed by the USGS/GSC or at universities in research or teaching capacities.
Most of the geologists in the rest of the world work for oil companies, mining-mineral exploration companies, or environmental service companies.
The science of geology is as equally broad as biology, or most other sciences. If you are keen on biology, then including that with geoscience would give you a great background for a career in palaeontology (the study of fossils) and environmental geology (a growing science, which places emphasis on chemistry and biology as well, and deals with the rehabilitation of mine sites and planning mining operations to mitigate against environmental problems). And there’s also research opportunities in government and academic institutions in many specialised fields, particularly dealing with environmental issues.
There are many other very interesting and rewarding fields in geoscience, including mineralogy, geochemistry, geophysics, exploration geology and stratigraphy. Careers for geoscientists at present are in high demand due to the resources boom, and first year graduates are the best paid professionals! Check some of the professional recruitment bureaus online for a guide as to what is in demand at present, and where. Here in Australia there is an enormous demand for geologists due to the resources boom, with many hundreds of vacant positions on offer, with huge starting salaries.
Geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, palaeontologists etc are employed by the exploration industry, academia and government. The choice at present is yours!
A note of warning: geoscience jobs are largely driven by the demand for mineral resources. A recession may result in the downturn of the demand for resources, and will therefore result in a reduction in exploration. So a career in exploration geoscience, although well paid, may have some degree of instability.
It probably depends on where you live or where you want to work, but where I live there are a ton of jobs in mining/resources (especially oil, gas, coal, uranium, and diamonds). You can also go into more research-related things, much like you would with a biology degree.