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Geology students across the country won’t have to survey or excavate much to find a job after graduation.
“Currently, we simply cannot provide enough graduates to meet industry demand. Bachelor of Science graduates are being snapped up,” said Peter Isaacson, professor of geological sciences, in a press release. “I’ve never seen this before in my career. Currently, new hires are starting with salaries ranging from $80,000-$140,000, depending on the degree, along with full medical, retirement and stock option plans.”
One reason for the energy and geology industries booming is the current demand for oil, said Mickey Gunter, professor of mineralogy at the University of Idaho.
“The demand for petroleum and oil are at record highs. Half the petroleum in this country is imported, the other half is here,” Gunter said. “There is a big need to find other resources and people who know how to look.”
He said another reason for the demand in the geology and energy industries comes as a consequence from the last boom 20 years ago.
“All those people hired are retiring. We need to increase staffing,” Gunter said.
Over the last 20 years, there has been a decline in mining.
“Go to a big city and look at how many people drive. How many people do you usually see in a car? One,” Gunter said. “All the prices for metals have gone back up. Production is very profitable and geologists are the ones that go find them.”
Aside from the salary and fringe benefits, Gunter said there are other benefits to students from the recent boom.
“You get the satisfaction of producing resources that someone wants. People may not like resource use, but they still use them,” Gunter said.
The boom of the industries doesn’t bring more money into the programs though, Gunter said.
“As an academic, I enjoy helping people and at the university more work means more students,” Gunter said. “In the short term though, it doesn’t bring money in. Sustain it for 10-15 years though and it will.”
Gunter said that being a geologist is a rewarding experience.
“You go out in the middle of nowhere, prospect and send someone to drill. It’s incredibly rewarding, knowing you’ve done something,” Gunter said.
Geology is an interdisciplinary science, encompassing many types of classes, Gunter said.
“Students take math, physics and chemistry, and understand how it relates to Earth. They also understand environmental impact,” Gunter said.
Posted on the geology department’s Web site, www.geology.uidaho.edu/welcome, are stories from students that have graduated from the geology program.
“Most success stories have been getting jobs. Salaries are above professors’ salaries. And that’s with a bachelors or master’s, not a Ph.D,” Gunter said.
Graduate student Christina Bader graduated from Michigan Technical University with a bachelor’s degree in applied geophysics before coming to UI.
“I started work at a geotechnical engineering and construction design firm in Maryland in the spring of 2004,” Bader said. “I worked there as a Senior Staff Geophysicist for a little less than three years before leaving to come to UI for my master’s.”
Bader said she began with a salary of $40,000, which she said is good for a field person, and was making $60,000 a year when she left.
Bader said she is realistic about the boom.
“The upswing in the industry is good for those who want to work for the big oil companies, which I’m not so sure I want to do,” Bader said. “Most of them are based in Texas or in Oklahoma, the Gulf States pretty much, and you have to be willing to sacrifice your own way of living to work in those states.”
Bader said she is not fond of the requirements of living in a big city.
“Traffic becomes an issue in large cities, safety concerns, where the high crime areas are relative to where you live and work, housing costs, and just the all-around cost of living to be in a big city doesn’t appeal to me anymore,” Bader said. “I think it’s great for a young person who wants to travel, and likes city living, to experience it while getting paid well. But as you get a little older, you realize money may not be all there is to life.”
Bader said she wants to move to Alaska with her fiancé when they finish at UI.
“I might pursue a Ph.D, or maybe to work for the private sector again with another geotechnical or geophysics firm, maybe as a project manager this time,” Bader said. “I am excited to see all the job listings out there. It’s definitely a different picture than 4 years ago when I was first looking for a job.”
Bader said she is glad that oil companies are recruiting at UI. “It gives the students a chance to see what jobs are really out there and to showcase their own research,” she said.
Bader is reserving excitement for herself, for the mean time.
“I’m not going to get too excited until I have an offer in my hand. I did have an informal interview and lunch with an Exxon Mobil recruiter and some of his co-workers in early March when I went to Houston for a Lunar and Planetary Science conference,” she said. “Since I am about a year away from finishing they didn’t want to rush an offer, yet.”
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