About
Career Planning
Degree Options
SCCC Podcasts
SCCC Newsletter
University Lists
Pre-college Ideas
Typical Workday
Meet Professionals
Industry Options
The Job Hunt
Diversity
Women
Downloads & Links
Site Search / A -Z

Geosciences Overview - Preparation - Industries - Day in the Life -
Earnings - Employment - Career Path Forecast -
Professional Organizations -
Profiles of Geoscientists - Overview PDF - Overview PowerPoint - Podcast


Career Path Forecast
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment growth of 22 percent for geoscientists is expected between 2006 and 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations. The need for energy, environmental protection, and responsible land and water management will spur employment demand. Employment in management, scientific, and technical consulting services should continue to grow as more geoscientists work as consultants. These services have increased their hiring of geoscientists in recent years because of increased government contracting, and private corporations' need for technical assistance and environmental management plans. Moreover, many geoscientists monitor the quality of the environment, including aquatic ecosystems, deteriorating coastal environments, and rising sea levels -- all of which will create employment growth for them. An expected increase in highway building and other infrastructure projects will also be a source of jobs for engineering geologists.

Employment is also expected to increase in the oil and gas extraction industry. Many geoscientists work in the exploration and production of oil and gas. Historically, employment of petroleum geologists, geophysicists, and some other geoscientists has been cyclical and affected considerably by the price of oil and gas. When prices are low, oil and gas producers curtail exploration activities and lay off geologists. When prices were higher, companies had the funds and incentive to renew exploration efforts and to hire geoscientists in larger numbers. In recent years, however, a growing worldwide demand for oil and gas and for new exploration and recovery techniques -- particularly in deep water and previously inaccessible sites in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico -- has created some stability to the petroleum industry. Geoscientists who speak a foreign language and who are willing to work abroad should enjoy the best opportunities, as the need for energy, construction materials, and a broad range of geoscience expertise grows in developing nations.

Graduates with a master's degree should have excellent opportunities, especially in the management, scientific and technical consulting industry and in the engineering services industries. In addition to demand resulting from job growth, replacing those who leave the occupation for retirement, managerial positions, or other careers will generate a number of jobs. With relatively few students earning master's degrees in the geosciences, job openings may exceed the number of qualified job seekers over the 2006-16 projection decade. However, geoscientists with doctoral degrees, who primarily work as college and university faculty or do basic research, may face competition. There are few openings for new graduates with only a bachelor's degree in geoscience, but these graduates may have favorable opportunities in related occupations, such as high school science teacher or science technician.

There will be fewer opportunities for geoscientists in Federal and State government, mostly because of budget constraints at key agencies, such as the USGS, and the trend among governments toward contracting out to consulting firms instead of hiring new government employees. However, departures of geoscientists who retire or leave the government for other reasons will result in some job openings over the next decade.

Geoscientists may face layoffs during periods of economic recession. Especially vulnerable are those in consulting and, to a lesser extent, workers in Government. Employment for those working in the production of oil and gas, however, will largely be dictated by the cyclical nature of the energy sector and changes in government policy, although less so than in the past.

What is the Future of the Geosciences?

As one considers their career, or even reconsiders their current career path, the key question is "What will the future be?" No one can predict the future, but much can be learned by understanding the history of the discipline, including employment trends and the impacts of technology and new ideas. You also must consider what issues on the horizon may be catalysts of change, based both on the historical perspective and an understanding of the current state of the geosciences. These issues take research, and as you manage your career, you must continue this research to effectively direct your career path to meet your personal goals.

The need for geoscientists is linked to the needs of society, now and into the future. This includes the need for energy, clean water, productive soils, healthy and productive oceans, weather prediction, understanding global climate change, hazard-free development of human structures, and the beneficial interaction of humankind and the environment.

The needs for expertise in the geosciences are increasingly global, especially in developing nations. As nations industrialize, their needs for energy, construction materials and a broad range of geoscience expertise will grow.

The future always includes the need to explore new horizons. Geoscientists are on all the teams exploring space -- from the surface of Mars to the atmosphere of Jupiter. Improved technology in remote sensing will allow geoscientists to explore and understand planets throughout the solar system long before manned missions are even contemplated. Missions like the Mars Pathfinder will provide geological data from planetary bodies far in advance of any manned missions.

The future of the geosciences is limited only by the imagination, drive, and the need to solve problems of humankind's effort to live in harmony with nature.

Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the American Geological Institute and the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 


Science
  -- Atmospheric Science
  -- Biology
  -- Chemistry
  -- Geosciences
  -- PhysicsTechnology
Engineering
Mathematics
Computing
Computing


Students
Counselors
Teachers
Parents
Graduates

 

     ContactsCopyrightMedia SupportSubscriptions