I am currently in community college and know my passion lies with the earth sciences field. Geology in particular. Environmental science will also do as well. I’m just looking for some input from you guys on which, in your opinion, from the information provided you think would be most lucrative and stable for jobs in that industry.
I live in california and am willing to move to anywhere on the western side of the U.S. for a career after college. My current plant is a B.S. Geology with an emphasis in geochemistry and then an M.S. in Structural geology and tectonics.
My second option could be to pursue a B.S. in Environmental Science and management and an M.S. in possibly Ecology or microbiology.
I do plan on obtaining a masters degree in the least, so keep this in mind. I am also a veteran so government jobs are my plan right after college in these fields to gain experience. Same goes for internships for veterans preference.
Opinions? I have done all the research as far as BLS and job growth and both are growing and green fields.
Searching environmental scientist on Indeed.com today gets 4,187 results and geologist gets 1,093 results. However, looking at the first few jobs displayed in each case, I find that environmental scientist jobs are quite accepting of geology degrees, but the geology jobs mostly require a geology degree. So it seems a geology degree opens extra doors.
A BS Geology program is generally more rigorous than a BS Environmental Science one (at least the programs I’ve seen indicate it), but the pay for a “Geologist” tends to be higher (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000).
There is useful information on skills and career paths, as well as salary, for the “geologist” and “environmental scientist” job titles at http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Geologist/Salary and http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Environmental_Scientist/Salary.
(As it happens, in 2014 22% of “geoscientists” were employed in the petroleum industry (http://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/geoscientists.htm#tab-3), which is not generally regarded as either green or stable.)
That’s what I was noticing as well. On mostly every job that is titled “environmental scientist” or has anything to do with the earth sciences field including hydrology and resource management has a vague description for the qualifications that says, “A relevant bachelor’s degree or education involving or related to the earth sciences.”
Geology is surely interspersed with heavy chemistry and physics as well as math which makes sense why it would open up a lot of doors. A B.S. in Environmental Geology with a masters in pure geology would probably be my best bet for opening up a lot of opportunity eh?
. "My current plant is a B.S. Geology with an emphasis in geochemistry and then an M.S. in Structural geology and tectonics . "
If you have a genuine interest in tectonics you would be better off getting a minor in physics with your geology major,rather than in chemistry.
A BS in engineering with a minor in geology will also Prepare you well for a Masters in that field.
My son followed the first path , based on the recommendations of his professors at USC,and is currently getting his PhD in geophysics/Tectonics at Caltech. He received his undergraduate degree in geology with a minor in physics at USC.
There is an options for physics emphasis in the B.S.
There’s general geology, geochemistry, and quantitive/physics geology. I haven’t looked into the quantitive yet, I guess I will look into it more now that you mention that. I do have a genuine interest in tectonics and deep geology. More than anything else.
If you have the chance to transfer OOS- Colorado School of Mines is renown for its Geology program. If instate, and you can get FA, [ which USC is generous with] USC has a very reputable Geology program, and is the center for the Southern California Earthquake Center. 2 of its SR Geology profs studied at Caltech.
The best college to study Geology/ seismology/ tectonics in the US is at Caltech, which has the world famous Seismological Laboratory, but Caltech does not offer Masters degrees. It is very math/ physics intensive, both UG and grad school/ but getting a degree from there will open up doors across the world.
One of my DS’s fellow Seismo lab PhD students was also in the military.
Geology is very specific while Environmental Science is often very interdisciplinary. At my school environmental science majors take a variety of different science and policy courses, but I don’t think they have the depth as you might find with a pure geology or a biology major. If that is where your primary interest lies, I would go with geology. Environmental Science can mean many different things but I think you will gain more depth and skills experience as a pure geology major rather than an environmental science major that doesn’t concentrate on anything,
Very good information! I know caltech is the very best for earth sciences like geology! It’s a far off dream but perhaps after my B.S. I can transfer there for graduate studies. We’ll see how that works out! I just have to get through my 2 years at CC and go from there.
Right now I’m planning on attending UC Davis in california as its the closest UC that offers geology, and it’s not a bad program. I’m sort of limited to location right now otherwise I would try to transfer into USC for my bachelors. I think im set on geology as it’s heavy in chem which enviro science also is while also opening doors up in the geology/physics department aswell.
UC Davis Geology is a very good program.