Employment in Geology

Geology employment opportunities in Atlanta and elsewhere are excellent. The explosion of jobs in the environmental field has moderated somewhat, now growing at a modest but steady pace. Problems with pollution prevention, assessment, and cleanup will continue for the foreseeable future. Hence, most jobs are in the area of hydrogeology/environmental geology.

Other more traditional areas of hiring in geology such as mining and petroleum exploration are not as visible as they once were. But they continue to exist and, in some cases, are on the increase.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Would you like to have a career where you can protect our valuable natural resources and environment?
Environmental Geologists
 are concerned with protecting our natural landscape, farming lands, and water supplies.
Paleontologists
 study fossils and how life has changed through geological time.
Geochemists
 study the chemistry of rocks, soil, and water.
Hydrogeologists
 study ground water, where it is found, and how it moves about.
Structural Geologists
 study how the Earth's rocks have been deformed into folds and faults over time.
Marine Geologists
 study the rocks formed and the processes at work in the Earth's oceans.
Field Geologists
 work outdoors and collect information about rocks so that accurate geological maps can be made.
Geophysicists
 study the physical properties of the Earth, including its gravity, seismicity, natural radiation, and magnetic field.
Volcanologists
 study volcanic eruptions, lava, and rocks and the dangers to humans caused by eruptions.
Seismologists
study earthquakes and the Earth's interior by using instruments that measure shock waves caused when blocks of rocks break and grind past each other.
Petroleum Geologists
 study the formations of oil and gas, and how deposits of these can be found.
Exploration Geologists
use sophisticated equipment to find mineral deposits, which are often covered by other rock layers.
Sedimentologists
 study sedimentary rocks and the modern environments where they are formed.
Petrologists
 study igneous and metamorphic rocks and the processes that form them.
Mineralogists
 study the physical and chemical properties of minerals and how they form.
Starting Salary
 range with B.S. is approximately $30,000-$35,000 per year.


STUDENT SUCCESS
Virtually all geology graduates get good jobs, with most employed in environmental careers. On average, ten students earn B.S. degrees each year.
One third of these graduates will earn Masters degrees, either directly after their B.S. or after working for a while.
Recent GSU students went on to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, University of
South Carolina, University of South Florida, University of Michigan, Clark-Atlanta University, Georgia Tech, and University of Western Ontario.
Several recent graduates have earned Ph.D. degrees, or are currenty in Ph.D. programs.


Employment trends and opportunities in the geosciences are tracked carefully by the American Geological Institute and the American Institute of Professional Geologists. Please visit their websites to get a good idea of what geoscientists do, where they work, and what they get paid.

Our students are highly successful at finding suitable employment in geology, both locally and nationally. Listed below are just a few of the local agencies and companies where some of our recent graduates have been employed immediately following graduation. This includes both students with the M.S. degree from our department and those with only a B.S. degree from our department.

We encourage all our students to discuss employment opportunities with all the faculty, as we all have different contacts and different insights into the process.