<p>I'm highly passionate about the natural sciences and wanted to know what I could expect if I major in a Geo-science (such as oceanography) or Atmospheric science (such as meteorology) . I'm working through a guaranteed admissions agreement with the College of William and Mary, and I've heard that their program is good from my college advisers, but does that even matter when in the job market? How is it compared to if I majored in Biology and Chemistry?</p>
<p>First of all, Biology and Chemistry are two of the worst things you can major in unless you can do well enough to get into medical school which is a real long shot for anyone. I do not know much about Meteorology but what I have heard is that employment opportunities are very limited. Many of the Geosciences can have excellent job prospects but Oceanography is not one of them. There is very strong demand and high salaries for Geology graduates who are strong in Geophysics and Petroleum Geology.</p>
<p>What careers besides Petroleum Geology can a Geophysicist get? Maybe Hydrology or something? Also, are there ANY Petroleum Geology jobs outside of Houston? I can’t seem to find any…</p>
<p>FYI. This SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) data is 2 years old, but you can get an idea of what the job market is like. The survey also shows salary info for jobs outside the U.S., not just Houston
<a href=“http://www.seg.org/documents/10161/5407316/may2012_compensationSurvey.pdf[/url]”>http://www.seg.org/documents/10161/5407316/may2012_compensationSurvey.pdf</a></p>
<p>Penn State has very strong programs in both Geoscience & Meteorology. Whenever there is a major hurricane about to hit the U.S., there is always a news reporter visiting Penn State to get expert comments</p>
<p>thank you for the answers. I dont really mind about relocating to find a job (as long as its not in an extremly urban area), as Im more concerned about providing for my family, but is the oil industry about all I could expect?</p>
<p>for undergraduate work, would anyone know which classes would be best for me to take (besides a year of calc, year of physics, and year of chem)? </p>
<p>here is the program they offer that I am interested in:
major:
<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/as/geology/documents/MajorsForm.pdf[/url]”>http://www.wm.edu/as/geology/documents/MajorsForm.pdf</a>
and minor:
[William</a> & Mary - Marine Science Minor](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/as/marinescience/index.php]William”>Marine Science Minor | William & Mary)</p>
<p>Which math class would be best to take after year of calculus which relates to geo-science: multivariable calculus, ordinary differential equations, or linear algebra?</p>
<p>Take all three of them. The stronger your quantitative background is the more desireable you will be to prospective employers.</p>
<p>Be aware that a professional career in the natural sciences will require a Masters or PhD</p>
<p>Have you considered majoring in applied math?</p>
<p>“Take all three of them. The stronger your quantitative background is the more desireable you will be to prospective employers.”</p>
<p>Thank you, anything else you recommend? would a undergrad in geophysics be better than just geology?</p>
<p>“Be aware that a professional career in the natural sciences will require a Masters or PhD”</p>
<p>Are there no jobs for a 4 year degree? something to help pay the bills before starting grad work?</p>
<p>"Have you considered majoring in applied math? "</p>
<p>I havn’t, is it relatively easy to find a job in this?</p>
<p>I’ve not heard of any professional geoscience career today (either gov’t, education, or private sector) that hires with only an undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>Graduate students in the natural sciences very frequently get full scholarships and teaching assistanceships or research assistanceships (i.e. “a job”) as they pursue their degree. </p>
<p>Since there is a lot of course overlap for different physical science majors, you probably don’t need to commit to a major right away. I would look at the course requirements for the different majors and schedule the courses strategically to preserve your options.</p>
<p>To answer a couple questions posed in this thread: First, there are petroleum geology jobs outside of Houston. Denver, Oklahoma City, L.A., to name just a few. Entry-level jobs tend to be in these larger hubs, but many other opportunities exist in other states/towns/countries as you gain experience. Also, it is possible to find work without a Master’s degree, but the jobs tend to be technician-grade, like mudlogging. </p>
<p>Yoonashley, if you are passionate about the geosciences, go for it! Your prospects will likely be much better than if you major in chemistry or biology. As you progress in the program, you’ll figure out what appeals to you most and can tailor your graduate work accordingly.</p>
<p>"Graduate students in the natural sciences very frequently get full scholarships and teaching assistanceships or research assistanceships (i.e. “a job”) as they pursue their degree.</p>
<p>Since there is a lot of course overlap for different physical science majors, you probably don’t need to commit to a major right away. I would look at the course requirements for the different majors and schedule the courses strategically to preserve your options. "</p>
<p>thank you for the advice, and this imformation about assistanceships makes me feel much better as I have a family to provide for. That being said, Pootie, I’ll take GMTplus7 and your advice to heart; I dont want to ge into one thing and wish I did the other, so I would rather do a more board feild in earth science as an undergrad, and preserve my options for grad work (if I can make it this far).</p>
<p>Does the school which I obtain an undergrad degree from matter in this feild? (I hear it does for physics, for medical school applicants, and for a few other majors)</p>
<p>Yes. The school will make a big difference. Some schools will basically mean you are guaranteed employment at graduation, where others will mean you have to convince employers that you are knowledgeble about the subject matter.</p>
<p>I am a geophysicist, and most of the comments here are spot on. You can’t get a reasonable job without a graduate degree these days. Jobs for people with undergrad only are mostly data processing (aka the most miserable job imaginable). Most of the jobs are in Houston, but some are available in Denver, OKC, Calgary and a few other places in the petroleum industry (mostly these positions are for experienced individuals). There are jobs outside of petroleum: hydrology, mining, environmental, engineering, but they are harder to find, and don’t pay nearly as well. To put it in perspective, PhDs in Geophysics who go into hydrology, environmental, or consulting, make less than most Masters students going into petroleum (usually something like 40% less).</p>
<p>Somethings to think about. It’s not a bad field to go into, but you need to know how geographically constrained your job options really are.</p>
<p>@yoon, I sent u a PM</p>
<p>GMTplus7, thank you so much for all your advice, I just read the PM but couldnt reply because I have below 15 post/replys, but I did take the time to read everything. I really appreciate your help. Do you know if UVA is a good school for graduate work in this? I know you pointed out some good schools in oil states such as Texas A&M and Colorado School of Mines (one I had been looking at before), but do they recruit at UVA?</p>
<p>I don’t know about UVA. Penn State is the only east coast school that I am aware of that has strong & sizable recruiting-- first oil well in America was in Titusville, PA</p>
<p>Here are some school recommendations:
[Helpful</a> Information About Geoscience Careers in the Oil Industry (Houston: best schools, universities) - City-Data Forum](<a href=“http://www.city-data.com/forum/houston/1735653-helpful-information-about-geoscience-careers-oil.html]Helpful”>Helpful Information About Geoscience Careers in the Oil Industry (Houston: best schools, universities) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum)
</p>
<p>Agree with a lot of the good advice others have been giving you here. William and Mary is an excellent school for undergraduate geology work, and it is well-respected on the graduate school circuit. It is correct that you should plan on getting at least a master’s degree, and possibly a Ph.D., depending on what you’re into. These are typically paid for (the school covers your tuition and gives you a stipend, which isn’t a ton but you can live on it). US News isn’t a perfect resource, but their list of graduate programs is a good starting place for top-ranked departments, and gives a pretty accurate representation the relative reputations of different programs. Here’s geology (they have other subdivisions as well): [Best</a> Geology Programs | Top Earth Science Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/geology-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/geology-rankings)</p>
<p>Others have given you good information on oil careers. As for non-oil, academic hiring is still going at a respectable clip (relatively speaking - it’s incredibly competitive, but not as bleak as say, biology). The USGS is a good source of jobs as well, although the sequester is hitting them hard at the moment (a good friend just got his job offer rescinded because of it - this is highly unusual). Environmental consulting is particularly popular with hydrology degrees - the pay isn’t as high as oil, but your geographic options are much more diverse. I’m a climate scientist doing natural catastrophe modeling, which pays similar to oil, but in higher cost-of-living areas, mainly on the coasts (San Francisco, New York, Boston, etc.).</p>
<p>Thanks GMTplus7, I will definatly try to get into one of those programs for grad work, especially looking at Texas A&M.</p>
<p>& thanks musicguru5 for the ranking link and info for work outside the oil industry, though hopefully I can get into that.</p>