Samantha
Is Geological Engineering a good major?
I have loved rocks all my life. My dad also works with construction so I also have a knack for physics and all that good stuff. I was just wondering if I made a good decision in my major. #engineering #high-school-classes #geology #geological
1 answer
Peter Sturtevant
Peter’s Answer
Hello, Samantha:
Most of my career I worked as a Civil Engineer in engineering consulting firms. And I can tell you that Geotechnical Engineers are always in great demand. In developing and constructing projects, it is extremely important to have a good understanding of the ground and soil conditions on a project site or along a project alignment such as a road or pipeline. Just to give you one big example in my own area, Seattle, a multi-year project to drill a very large, 2-mile tunnel is currently underway. It was supposed to take 2 years. But the project hit some unexpected problems with soil conditions, plus a the gigantic boring machine hit underground pipe that no one knew about. The damage this caused resulted in a delay of two years and the extra cost is hundreds of millions of dollars!
In many projects geological and soil engineering is a key part of the overall effort. If you choose a career as a geotechnical engineer, rest assured that this is a very interesting, well-paid and in-demand skill.
Good luck, Pete Sturtevant PE