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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.
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