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Students: The Future Geosciences Job Market
As a student getting ready to graduate in the near future with White at Pioneer Natural Resources suggested that the unconven-
your geoscience degree, you might be wondering what type of job tional resources development industry is doing well.
market you are going to enter into. What sectors will be most
promising to recent graduates? Are there sectors that you have not Working at a state geologic survey can be a worthy alternative,
considered that you should? according to Young. With a survey in almost every state, and if
you seek an employer that is mission-based and focused on out-
At the GSA South-Central Section Meeting held 13 March reach to stakeholders and legislators, with an emphasis on geo-
2017, the career-focused session, “The Future of the Geosciences logic hazards, you may enjoy a state geologic survey. Housed
Job Market: A Faculty and K–12 Mentor Lunch,” aimed to answer partly at universities and partly at government institutions, state
these questions. Organized by GSA’s Academic and Applied surveys employ nationally 1,900 full-time staff, with many being
Geoscience Relations Committee past chair, Robert Finkleman, solely government funded. The five largest state surveys include
the event featured a panel of professionals from a variety of sec- Kansas, Oregon, California, Illinois, and Texas.
tors to discuss these issues. Featured panelists included Ches
Blevins, Executive Director, Texas Mining and Reclamation At the federal level, the U.S. Geological Survey is a service-
Association; Tonya Brami, Global Geoscience Recruiting oriented pathway that involves geohazards, mapping, geospatial,
Supervisor, ExxonMobil; Sharon Mosher, Dean, Jackson School and hydrogeological fields, according to Schnoebelen. There is
of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin; Douglas job potential as a result of an age gap that the agency is trying to
Schnoebelen, Supervisory Hydrologist, USGS; Lowell White, fill; however, finding a job with the USGS can be a slow and frus-
Geological Specialist, Pioneer Natural Resources; and Michael trating process.
Young, Associate Director, Environmental Division, the Texas
Bureau of Economic Geology. The mining sector may be another alternative to research.
Blevins suggested that mining is progressive in that they under-
According to Mosher, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts stand they are a competing energy source and look toward ways to
that in the next decade there will be 32,000 new geoscience jobs make mining cleaner and more efficient than other options in
added to the workforce. In addition, 150,000 geoscience profes- order to be competitive. While there have been some cutbacks in
sionals will retire. Combined with the number of students cur- retaining geoscientists on staff, some companies have turned to
rently pursuing geoscience degrees, there is an expected gap in hiring consulting firms to provide expertise for short-term help,
trained geoscientists of 90,000. This number is slightly lower than which has opened up more opportunities in consulting.
earlier predictions as a result of the decline in the oil and gas
industry, which has seen a drop in the number of new hires. As sectors evolve in the future, the panelists had some advice to
give to students, including (1) keep up good grades; (2) make
Despite the downturn in oil and gas hiring, large and small meaningful contacts at conferences and meetings; (3) talk with
companies are still recruiting, though they may be hiring in your professors and advisors about careers; (4) learn how to com-
smaller numbers. Other sectors have seen an increase in hiring, municate complex subjects to non-scientists; (5) be a good pre-
including environmental consulting, government laboratories, senter; (6) learn how to work on a team and be comfortable
insurance agencies, and mining. Brami at ExxonMobil empha- in different roles in a team; and (7) always be passionate about
sized that if your end goal is to work in oil and gas, remember that your career.
there is a cycle to the industry and that the outlook is promising.
—This summary was compiled through notes taken by Ryan
O’Connell of The University of Texas at Dallas.
www.geosociety.org/gsatoday 17
