My son (currently a mechanical engineering major - freshman), wants to add geology to his studies. Either as a minor, or switch to geology as his major with an engineering minor. My question is: what engineering discipline pairs best with geology? His university does not offer Engineering Geology, Geologic Engineering or Civil Engineering. He does not want to change schools. His engineering choices (for a B.S.) are Mechanical Eng., Ceramic Eng., Materials Science & Eng., or Renewable Energies Eng. He wants a career that will include work outdoors.
There are a number of engineering disciplines that interface with geology:
- Geotechnical Engineering (often considered a subdiscipline of Civil)
- Environmental Engineering (often considered a subdiscipline of Civil)
- Civil Engineering (see above)
- Mining Engineering
- Petroleum Engineering
- Geological Engineering (kind of a catch-all)
There is also Engineering Geology, which is typically related to Civil Engineering (particularly the Geotechnical and Environmental subdisciplines as noted above).
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like your son’s school offers any of these.
None of these options are known for interfacing with geology. Renewable Energies Engineering might get you outdoors, but most renewable energy technologies aren’t related to geology. One exception could be geothermal energy, but that is a relatively small and specialized field that may not be a major focus of a Renewable Energies Engineering BS program. Geology has historically been linked to fossil fuels (like coal, oil, and natural gas), which are NON-renewable sources of energy.
There are definitely opportunities to work outdoors at the interface of engineering and geology, but realistically it doesn’t sound like your son is at the right school for this.
Thank you for your answer Corbett.
I’d agree, renewables looks like the best option given his limitations (what school doesn’t have civil? 
).
I’m also having a hard time wrapping my head around a minor in engineering. It’s difficult to fit everything you need into an engineering major, let alone a minor. Other, wiser posters might see it differently, but if he did switch to geology, he’d have to give up a significant amount of geology depth and breadth to take engineering classes. There wouldn’t be enough of them though to be useful as an engineer per se. So, it begs the question, just like WAR, HUH, what is it good for?
For an outdoorsy STEM career at this particular school, it sounds like the best options might be:
- Major in Renewable Energies Engineering, which could lead to a career working with solar, wind, or hydro plants, all of which are found outdoors. But in this case, there is no obvious advantage to adding a Geology minor. He would be better off with more engineering coursework.
- Major in Geology, which could lead to a career working with soil, rocks, or groundwater, all of which are found outdoors. But in this case, there is no obvious advantage to adding a minor in a field like Mechanical, Ceramics, Materials, or Renewables Engineering. He would be better off with more geology coursework.
There are certainly universities where you could integrate the studies of engineering and geology; in fact there are places (like Colorado School of Mines) where this is a specialty. It just doesn’t sound like your son’s school is one of them.
He’s gotta change schools to a real geotech program. Love to hire him after that.
Renewable energy is not competitive with fossil energy. Tried it in 2008 . Ouch. A lot of us got canned. My kids refuse to go near engineering as result.
This is not pleasant to hear but I’ve been at it for 40 years. Started out building nuclear power plant.
Forgot to add that success in geotechnical requires an MS.
Does he want to drop out of engineering? Is that the point? Do you know how he is doing in his current classes? Is he doing the usual eng classes, like calc, physics, chem, this semester? As per eymgh, eng is unfriendly to extra classes. Is his eng program a direct admit, as he is a freshman first semester, do you know how his GPA will look this term?
Sybylla, no, he does not want to drop out of engineering. I have not seen his final grades yet (finals begin 12/11), only his mid-term exam grades where he earned A’s and B’s. He’s taking calc I, chem + lab, CAD, intro to Engineering, an Engineering seminar, and a LAC course this semester. He has Calc II, Physics, two engineering lab electives, and Comp Aided Eng next semester. He’s not interested in the mining industry or petroleum industry. I don’t think he would object to taking some additional courses during the winter and summer. He loves skiing/snowboarding, camping, hiking, kayaking and fishing. He’d rather do field work than desk work - thus the interest in geology.
I would think that companies involved in renewable energies like geothermal, hydro, wind, tidal, solar…would need engineers with geology knowledge.
His first semester load is light for engineering, so imagining adding a minor at this point isn’t based on a realistic idea of how uni will progress. He really has no idea of what mech eng looks like at this point. Just be sure you are hearing what he is saying. Engineering is tough.
I wouldn’t necessarily assume that.
Geology focuses specifically on the stuff that is underfoot, like rocks, soil, and groundwater. OK, this could be relevant for geothermal energy (as noted above) – but geothermal is a very minor player in the US. There just aren’t many places in the US where geothermal energy production is practical (the ones that do exist are mostly in California or Nevada).
Hydro and tidal depend on surface water, so that’s hydrology or oceanography. Wind and solar depend on weather and climate, so that’s meteorology or atmospheric science. These are all “earth sciences”, as is geology. But there will probably be little or no coverage of these other earth sciences in a traditional “geology” curriculum. Maybe the school offers other earth sciences besides geology, but not all schools do that.
If he wants to be outdoors, likes geology, and has an interest in mechanical engineering, then geotechnical engineering could be a fit. This is where you evaluate the mechanical properties of the rocks or soil at a given site, and then develop engineering designs for things that will interact with that rock/soil, such as foundations, slopes, and tunnels. It turns out that rocks and soil have highly variable properties, so they have to be evaluated carefully, and knowledge of geology is valuable . Rocks and soil are typically found outside, so field work is expected. Gets particularly complicated in places like California, where the rocks and soil may be affected by active faults and may be subject to movement during earthquakes.
Civil engineering departments normally include at least some coverage of geotechnical. But if your son’s school doesn’t have civil, then geotechnical probably won’t be available. He could maybe major in Mechanical, and then apply to a Civil department after graduation to get an MS degree focused on geotechnical. However, he would be missing some expected undergraduate-level coursework, and would likely have to spend extra time in grad school to make it up.
This is all very helpful information. Thank you!
My son is an ME who doesn’t have any memory of life prior to skiing. He’s skied and raced all his life. He loves to hike and generally enjoys the outdoors. He’s learned to surf at the school he goes to, and still manages a reasonable amount of snow days during breaks. That said, the engineering that intrigues him is very mathy desk and lab stuff. He separates those to interests and still manages to enjoy both. Plenty of MEs are very outdoorsy people. If he hates ME, that’s one thing. If he doesn’t, he’s risking significantly compromising how stimulating and enjoyable his career might be just to work outside. I’d encourage him to do a little introspection about what his future looks like. No matter how you slice it or dice it, NO engineering job, indoors or out will be skiing in fresh powder, or fishing in a remote mountain brook. It’ll be work, plain and simple.
I ask this seriously: What good is a minor in engineering? Can you still become a PE or otherwise get certified to use that degree? I get the ‘it’s interesting and I just want to learn’ but is a minor in engineering going to allow you to ‘practice’ engineering, get a job at an engineering firm?
My daughter is about to graduate in civil engineering. She took exactly what she was told to take. An elective for her means picking between concrete and steel, not between concrete and psychology, or art or geology. This semester she is taking 19 credits in order to graduate on time because years ago she dropped a 3 credit history (or something). I think that semester she had 14 credits, but every other semester she’s had 15-17, taking what’s required for civil engineering. No minor. No way would she have had time for a 16-20 credit minor in anything.
She started college with no credits from AP or DE, and starting math at calc 1. Another student who came in at calc 3 or not needing to take every chem and physics class might have been able to take a few more electives, but I doubt many have time for a full minor without either taking summer classes or extra semesters. Some do get minors in related fields or in some kind of computer science, but that’s about it.
A student at Colorado School of Mines, or even CU or Colo State U could easily minor in geology with a major in civil engineering, or just take a lot of geology classes for personal interest. If you want to major or minor in geology, as Horace Greeley said, “Go west young man.” That’s where we keep the rocks.
twoinanddone ~ That is a good and fair question… I also wonder what good is a minor in engineering :o) and looking at my sons curriculum by semester outline, it is very well defined. Reading everyone’s advice here, I’m hoping that the winter and summer terms offer geology courses.
I changed my mind. I recall that particular school was on our list a few years ago. The renewable energy requirements at that school are classic engineering school classes. Looks good! But I always recommend the classic degree names. Stick with mechanical. Forgot to mention that my brother is a mechanical eng and spent way too much time outdoors as a construction manager.
I loved my bicycle. Never rode it after I graduated. Bought my next bike at age 50. Now I own three.