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What are good jobs in the rock-science field?
I have liked learning stuff about geodes,crystals etc. and I wanna know more about those types of job fields, I only know of Geology but i'm not entirely sure I wanna be a Geologist #geology #science #career
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4 answers
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Joseph’s Answer
I'm not really sure of the differences between rock science and geology - to me, I'd call anything in that field "geology", so when you say you're not sure you want to be a geologist, maybe you're already thinking of some of these things, or maybe you're thinking of purely academic research geology that you don't find as interesting. Anyway, the jobs that occur to me:
- Mining and quarrying - there's roles in these areas, where knowing how rocks will break up and where certain minerals and rocks may be found is useful.
- Oil and gas drilling and prospecting - the same applies here.
- Construction and planning - particularly for big infrastructure projects, geological understanding is needed to plan the best areas for facilities, highways, railways and similar.
- Environmental science - my field of radiation science overlaps into environmental science, and I've worked with several ex-geologists in environmental protection projects - understanding how contaminants can move in groundwater and how to prevent things getting spread.
There's also need of geologists to design and build deep geological disposal facilities for hazardous waste.
- In terms of crystals, I'm not sure exactly what is covered in rock science and geology, but if it's similar to crystallography in metals, there's a lot of work in materials science looking at how molten metals crystalize and using different crystal structures for developing better materials.
- I think there's also often a lot of overlap between geology and geography - there's a lot of jobs (in diverse industries) needing skills with GIS (Geographical Information Systems) databases at the moment, if that's something you use in geology for tagging where your rocks came from.
I'm sure there's many more, hopefully someone else can add other answers.
- Mining and quarrying - there's roles in these areas, where knowing how rocks will break up and where certain minerals and rocks may be found is useful.
- Oil and gas drilling and prospecting - the same applies here.
- Construction and planning - particularly for big infrastructure projects, geological understanding is needed to plan the best areas for facilities, highways, railways and similar.
- Environmental science - my field of radiation science overlaps into environmental science, and I've worked with several ex-geologists in environmental protection projects - understanding how contaminants can move in groundwater and how to prevent things getting spread.
There's also need of geologists to design and build deep geological disposal facilities for hazardous waste.
- In terms of crystals, I'm not sure exactly what is covered in rock science and geology, but if it's similar to crystallography in metals, there's a lot of work in materials science looking at how molten metals crystalize and using different crystal structures for developing better materials.
- I think there's also often a lot of overlap between geology and geography - there's a lot of jobs (in diverse industries) needing skills with GIS (Geographical Information Systems) databases at the moment, if that's something you use in geology for tagging where your rocks came from.
I'm sure there's many more, hopefully someone else can add other answers.
Thank you :)
Aleeciah
Updated
Jeremy’s Answer
I think the key aspect of being a Geologist or Geophysicist is that it is a field that uses the studies from other fields to achieve answers.
In school I liked math, physics, chemistry, but didn’t want to just be a mathematition, physicist or chemist. I wanted to use them to do things. Geology! (Actually looked at astronomy, but earth was a great planet to start the studies).
I eventually went into energy exploration interpretation, and not only did I use the sciences, but learned the business, economics and legal aspects of my industry. Due to my training as a geophysicist, I learned how to learn other disciplines and apply them.
Tomorrow geologists will be at the fore-front of the worlds energy transition. We will still be called upon to find conventional energy sources, but we will be particularly called upon to help find minerals, water recourses, carbon sequestration (taking CO2 out of systems), urban planning, wind and solar optimized locations, and environmental remediation.
It will be an exciting field to join. So just because you start with liking rocks, then possibly becoming a geologist, you will become an agent for change in global challenges.
Best way to start is to take that first Intro to Geology class - it’s the one that turns on those who eventually join the geoscience fields.
In school I liked math, physics, chemistry, but didn’t want to just be a mathematition, physicist or chemist. I wanted to use them to do things. Geology! (Actually looked at astronomy, but earth was a great planet to start the studies).
I eventually went into energy exploration interpretation, and not only did I use the sciences, but learned the business, economics and legal aspects of my industry. Due to my training as a geophysicist, I learned how to learn other disciplines and apply them.
Tomorrow geologists will be at the fore-front of the worlds energy transition. We will still be called upon to find conventional energy sources, but we will be particularly called upon to help find minerals, water recourses, carbon sequestration (taking CO2 out of systems), urban planning, wind and solar optimized locations, and environmental remediation.
It will be an exciting field to join. So just because you start with liking rocks, then possibly becoming a geologist, you will become an agent for change in global challenges.
Jeremy recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Clarissa’s Answer
Another career path in rock science and geology is rock mechanics, geotechnical engineering, and tunneling. I got my bachelors degree in geology and started working in the mining industry and later moved into the rock mechanics and rock properties side of things.
Updated
Daniel’s Answer
Aleeciah,
A career as a Geologist can take many different forms. All of the Geology careers start out the same way...the physical sciences and advanced mathematics. Minerals form out of many processes, but the basics are physics, chemistry, and the universal language, mathematics. The geological progression of courses tends to be something like a general introduction, then physical geology, structural geology, hydrology, minerology, petrology, and electives that focus the requirements of over 20 different geology careers. What you need to consider is even if your geology career is largely in a laboratory, every geologist spends a significant portion of their career outside. When I was about to graduate with a bachelor degree, I found in our multi-day field studies that many of the "A" students who had studied Geology in school for years were unprepared for the challenges of living outside in all kinds of weather, terrain, and climate. Some of my classmates even gave up geology careers in their last year because they never realized how physically challenging it could be. Even the remote sensing folks who used satellite imagery and sensor profiles started out their careers outside to understand how what they were looking at in the lab related to geological structures. But if you love minerals, geologic processes, and get all excited about seeing geological megastructures in all their exposed beauty, a career in Geology can be like owning a time machine.
You need to take as many math, chemistry (especially inorganic) and physics courses as you can before college, preferably at the AP level or in a dual-enrollment program with a local college. Math unlocks physics which is the key to understanding geological processes. Chemistry is important to understand how minerals concentrate in rocks and how to get them out of rocks... It's just pretty rocks and crystals until you have an understanding of what processes created the things in your hand.
Join a geocaching team or just find good geocaches online and hunt them down.
Perhaps look at orienteering as a hobby. It gets you outside, teaches you to be comfortable with a map and compass (even with GPS), and introduces you to important concepts like surveying.
A career as a Geologist can take many different forms. All of the Geology careers start out the same way...the physical sciences and advanced mathematics. Minerals form out of many processes, but the basics are physics, chemistry, and the universal language, mathematics. The geological progression of courses tends to be something like a general introduction, then physical geology, structural geology, hydrology, minerology, petrology, and electives that focus the requirements of over 20 different geology careers. What you need to consider is even if your geology career is largely in a laboratory, every geologist spends a significant portion of their career outside. When I was about to graduate with a bachelor degree, I found in our multi-day field studies that many of the "A" students who had studied Geology in school for years were unprepared for the challenges of living outside in all kinds of weather, terrain, and climate. Some of my classmates even gave up geology careers in their last year because they never realized how physically challenging it could be. Even the remote sensing folks who used satellite imagery and sensor profiles started out their careers outside to understand how what they were looking at in the lab related to geological structures. But if you love minerals, geologic processes, and get all excited about seeing geological megastructures in all their exposed beauty, a career in Geology can be like owning a time machine.
Daniel recommends the following next steps: