What does an engineer and geologist do?
The duties of an engineer and geologist depend on one's line of work or place of employment. An engineer's responsibilities typically revolve around planning and overseeing construction projects and processes, performing risk assessments, and developing procedures to optimize construction operations. On the other hand, a geologist is usually in charge of gathering data, analyzing geological structures, and providing geological assessments and advice for construction procedures, ensuring a safe and efficient work environment for everyone.
Engineer and geologist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real engineer and geologist resumes:
- Manage numerous UST closures and site restorations
- Conduct geotechnical investigations for commercial and residential soil and foundation design, seismic stability, grading and soil compaction testing.
- Report writing for pavement construction and rehabilitation.
- Conduct pavement management studies and recommend rehabilitation strategies using MicroPaver.
- Perform site reconnaissance and slope stability analyses to back-calculate material strengths and design mitigation of incipient rock slide feature.
- Perform slope stability drilling investigations, site inspection and supervision of slope stabilization construction of berms and concrete caisson piles.
- Coordinate geotechnical and environmental subsurface evaluations that involve scheduling subcontractors, obtaining government agency permits, and communicating with property owners.
- Conduct field investigations with CPT and SPT.
- Perform drilled shaft bearing capacity calculations and reinforcement design.
- Perform and guide several junior to intermediate engineers to perform buoyancy control requirements and calculations.
- Supervise hydrology RC drilling project.
Engineer and geologist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Engineers And Geologist are proficient in Geotechnical, Groundwater, and Project Site. They’re also known for soft skills such as Physical stamina, Communication skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Engineers And Geologist that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Geotechnical, 14%
Coordinated geotechnical and environmental subsurface evaluations that involved scheduling subcontractors, obtaining government agency permits, and communicating with property owners.
- Groundwater, 9%
Designed municipal & individual site wells, identified/explored groundwater sources.
- Project Site, 7%
Provide oversight of performance load tests and standard penetration tests at project sites.
- GIS, 7%
Utilized CAD and GIS daily.
- Technical Reports, 6%
Prepared and delivered technical reports/presentations to management and other departments during coordination or performance meetings.
- Project Management, 6%
Engaged in all phases of project management for foundation engineering projects for public and private clients.
Common skills that an engineer and geologist uses to do their job include "geotechnical," "groundwater," and "project site." You can find details on the most important engineer and geologist responsibilities below.
Physical stamina. The most essential soft skill for an engineer and geologist to carry out their responsibilities is physical stamina. This skill is important for the role because "geoscientists need to be physically fit because they may need to hike, sometimes to remote locations, while carrying equipment for fieldwork." Additionally, an engineer and geologist resume shows how their duties depend on physical stamina: "conducted downhole geologic and geophysical logging of boreholes and supervised the casing and grouting installations for these wells. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform engineer and geologist duties is communication skills. Engineers and geologist responsibilities require that "geoscientists must be able to present their research findings clearly to a variety of audiences, including both scientists and those who do not have a background in geoscience." Engineers and geologist also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "conducted geotechnical investigations of communication tower sites, commercial site development and rails to trails proposed right of ways. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for engineers and geologist to perform their duties. For an example of how engineer and geologist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "geoscientists must be able to analyze statistical data and other information in order to address problems." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an engineer and geologist: "provided geotechnical guidance during construction of various highway projects including solutions to difficult problems encountered during construction. ".
The three companies that hire the most engineer and geologists are:
- Wsp USA Buildings Inc.6 engineers and geologist jobs
- Kinder Morgan2 engineers and geologist jobs
- Black & Veatch2 engineers and geologist jobs
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Engineer and geologist vs. Environmental technician
An environmental technician is responsible for identifying, evaluating, preventing, and controlling contamination of the environment. They study how it affects human health with the supervision of environmental engineers and environmental scientists. Environmental technicians work by monitoring the environment and look for possible sources of pollution and contamination that can possibly affect public health. They make sure that environmental violations are prevented. In addition, an environmental technician also investigates any complaint that is related to water quality, air quality, and food safety.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an engineer and geologist are more likely to require skills like "groundwater," "project site," "project management," and "dynamic environment." On the other hand, a job as an environmental technician requires skills like "patients," "osha," "hazardous materials," and "customer service." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Environmental technicians really shine in the energy industry with an average salary of $43,237. Comparatively, engineers and geologist tend to make the most money in the energy industry with an average salary of $106,941.On average, environmental technicians reach lower levels of education than engineers and geologist. Environmental technicians are 14.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Engineer and geologist vs. Geology internship
In a geology internship, an intern has the opportunity to gain insights and practical experience while performing various support tasks under the directives and supervision of a geologist or manager. Their duties typically include working on different projects, conducting research, doing fieldwork, gathering and analyzing samples, collecting photographs or videos as evidence, completing surveys and assessments, and producing reports, submitting them according to protocols and standards. Additionally, they also have clerical duties, such as handling calls and other forms of correspondence, preparing and processing paperwork, and running errands when necessary.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that engineer and geologist responsibilities requires skills like "groundwater," "project site," "technical reports," and "project management." But a geology internship might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "database management," "gps," "arcgis," and "digitizing."
In general, geology interns achieve lower levels of education than engineers and geologist. They're 7.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Engineer and geologist vs. Geophysicist
A Geophysicist studies the Earth's physical properties. They also examine the effects of the atmosphere on radio and satellite communications.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, engineers and geologist are more likely to have skills like "groundwater," "project site," "technical reports," and "project management." But a geophysicist is more likely to have skills like "geophysical data," "c++," "r," and "matlab."
Geophysicists earn the highest salary when working in the energy industry, where they receive an average salary of $125,764. Comparatively, engineers and geologist have the highest earning potential in the energy industry, with an average salary of $106,941.When it comes to education, geophysicists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to engineers and geologist. In fact, they're 4.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Engineer and geologist vs. Geoscientist
A geoscientist specializes in studying geosciences and performing research and analysis. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around crafting research plans, conducting field mapping and studies to examine geological structures, gathering samples, obtaining photographic evidence, and conducting different experiments and scientific studies. As a geoscientist, it is essential to maintain an extensive record of data, summarize results in reports and presentations, and collaborate with different scientists. They may publish their studies in various publications, utilize them for other projects and programs, or raise public awareness.
Types of engineer and geologist
Updated January 8, 2025











