While many students are interested in studying engineering, business, or computer science, geology may be of interest to some. These earth lovers can tell you what has happened to the earth in the past and what may happen in the future. Geologists are kind of like Earth detectives and, thanks to them, we can protect ourselves from natural disasters and save lives.

A geologist studies the composition and structure of the earth's crust and tries to understand the history of the planet. Based on their findings, they can foresee how past processes and events may influence the future. Geologists also monitor planetary changes like land formation and climate change.

Professional geologists possess excellent problem-solving skills, stamina, and communication skills. The job is highly paid at an average of $41.96 an hour and is expected to experience a 6% growth by 2028. Great employment opportunities can be found at universities, with the federal government, and with private energy industries.

What Does an Environmental Scientist/Geologist Do

There are certain skills that many environmental scientist/geologists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and problem-solving skills.

How To Become an Environmental Scientist/Geologist

If you're interested in becoming an environmental scientist/geologist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 87.6% of environmental scientist/geologists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.7% of environmental scientist/geologists have master's degrees. Even though most environmental scientist/geologists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become an Environmental Scientist/Geologist
Top Environmental Scientist/Geologist Jobs Near You

Average Salary for an Environmental Scientist/Geologist

Environmental Scientist/Geologists in America make an average salary of $63,344 per year or $30 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $82,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $48,000 per year.
Average Environmental Scientist/Geologist Salary
$63,344 Yearly
$30.45 hourly

What Am I Worth?

salary-calculator

Roles and Types of Environmental Scientist/Geologist

The role of an environmental scientist/geologist includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general environmental scientist/geologist responsibilities:

  • Conduct field work under the direction of a senior scientist to investigate the nature
  • May include the following. Other duties may be assigned as determined appropriate by the supervisor based on level of experience. Perform project tasks on public
  • Participates in monitoring well installations, sampling events,

There are several types of environmental scientist/geologist, including:

Geologist

Role:

A geologist is a trained professional who studies the composition, structure, and history of the earth in order to provide an understanding of the history of the earth and to predict future occurrences. They study rocks, minerals, and the sequences of earth processes, then use their knowledge of chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and geology to explain certain phenomena.

Their job is also useful in locating minerals, petroleum deposits, and underground water resources. A geologist may decide to focus on a specific field within geology. Popular fields include marine geology, environmental geology, economic geology, petroleum geology, and engineering geology.

Employment opportunities for geologists can be found in the oil and gas industry, civil engineering, construction companies, government agencies and the underground water industry. The job of a geologist may involve a lot of travel because they do a lot of site visits. Therefore, they have flexible work schedules and may work late evenings and even during the weekends.

  • Average Salary: $111,878
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Environmental Scientist

Role:

An environmental scientist researches, gathers, and analyzes environmental data. The data could pertain to air, water, or soil contamination. They help organizations protect nature by developing ways to minimize environmental hazards, conducting tests, and analyzing data to implement environmental standards.

Environmental scientists are employed by government agencies, construction, and mining companies, or environmental consulting firms. A successful environmental scientist must possess excellent communication skills, critical and analytical thinking, and demonstrate attention to detail.

Environmental scientists work full-time in offices and laboratories. 40 hours a week on a Monday to Friday schedule. However, this earns them an average of $28.94 per hour.

  • Average Salary: $60,208
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Environmental Analyst

Role:

Environmental analysts collect samples from the environment, including the water, soil, or air, to determine if the ecosystem has been affected. They monitor any damage to the environment and suggest the appropriate action to take in countering the negative effects. They study climate change and evaluate the effects of environmental factors on human health. Additionally, they create restoration plans for polluted sites. Environmental analysts raise awareness about environmental issues. Moreover, they are also called environmental scientists or specialists.

For this position, you can either have a bachelor's, master's degree, or PhD in environmental science, hydrology, or a related discipline. You must be conversant with data analysis, digital mapping, and computer modeling techniques. Proficiency in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a plus. Communication, research, and analytical skills are important for this position. Environmental analysts make an average salary of $55,631 per annum. This ranges between $38,000 and $81,000.

  • Average Salary: $60,795
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Environmental Scientist/Geologist Jobs

Number Of Environmental Scientist/Geologist Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1New York1,565$64,777
2Texas1,359$62,139
3Virginia1,265$74,886
4Pennsylvania1,156$57,000
5New Jersey1,092$66,556
6California1,034$74,694
7Florida1,026$44,851
8Illinois1,015$63,127
9North Carolina987$57,714
10Maryland930$67,999
11Ohio720$63,632
12Georgia597$59,289
13Wisconsin522$52,530
14Minnesota495$59,142
15Missouri477$50,056
16Michigan456$62,988
17Indiana420$60,338
18Colorado413$66,539
19Connecticut385$73,078
20Arizona353$52,326
21Oregon345$66,753
22Washington285$68,728
23Massachusetts273$85,252
24Utah247$56,568
25Iowa244$46,924
26Kansas229$58,844
27New Mexico205$54,674
28Kentucky193$47,852
29Alabama193$41,783
30Maine174$52,239
31Nebraska168$51,055
32Nevada164$68,748
33New Hampshire163$68,626
34Louisiana162$57,488
35Idaho150$62,821
36North Dakota144$50,508
37Arkansas139$50,708
38Delaware135$67,444
39Oklahoma130$62,028
40Montana125$61,154
41South Dakota120$49,503
42West Virginia116$70,222
43Rhode Island116$64,585
44Alaska113$57,849
45Hawaii92$60,673
46Mississippi85$50,634
47Vermont81$52,311
48Wyoming68$51,909
49Tennessee0$59,102
50South Carolina0$46,797

Environmental Scientist/Geologist Education

Environmental Scientist/Geologist Majors

71.4 %
3.1 %

Environmental Scientist/Geologist Degrees

Bachelors

87.6 %

Masters

6.7 %

Associate

4.5 %

Top Colleges for Environmental Scientist/Geologists

1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

2. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

3. University of California - Davis

Davis, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,402

Enrollment

30,698

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

6. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,184

Enrollment

30,845

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

8. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

10. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,430

Enrollment

5,963

Top Skills For an Environmental Scientist/Geologist

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 25.9% of environmental scientist/geologists listed osha on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Environmental Scientist/Geologist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Environmental Scientist/Geologist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume
Environmental Scientist/Geologist Resume

Environmental Scientist/Geologist diversity

Environmental Scientist/Geologist Gender Distribution

Male
Male
75%
Female
Female
25%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among environmental scientist/geologists, 24.7% of them are women, while 75.3% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among environmental scientist/geologists is White, which makes up 81.2% of all environmental scientist/geologists.

  • The most common foreign language among environmental scientist/geologists is German at 25.0%.

Online Courses For Environmental Scientist/Geologist That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  

1. Environmental Hazards and Global Public Health

coursera

The second course of the Impacts of the Environment on Global Public Health specialization will explore a number of different environmental hazards. These are: air pollution, water pollution, solid and hazardous waste, and two physical hazards (radon and noise). These hazards each have the potential to harm human health, and we will explore how you may come into contact with these hazards and how they may harm you, as well as what we can do to minimize these exposures and health impacts. We...

2. Global Environmental Management

coursera

Learn about the best environmental technologies for a sustainable development and how they are managed in various settings around the world. This course gives you an opportunity to learn about global trends that influence our environment and the living conditions and how different management systems and approaches that are used around the world to manage the environment. This includes current environmental technologies built for the environment and technologies for sustainable soil management,...

3. HACCP - Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Certification

udemy
4
(675)

Food Safety Preventive System (HACCP System) for ISO 22000...

Show More Online Courses For Environmental Scientist/Geologist
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary

How Do Environmental Scientist/Geologists Rate Their Jobs?

Working as an Environmental Scientist/Geologist? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Top Environmental Scientist/Geologist Employers

Most Common Employers For Environmental Scientist/Geologist

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Ramboll$74,382$35.761
2FEMA$70,538$33.911
3*n/a*$69,918$33.611
4Compliance$69,170$33.251
5MSA$68,879$33.111
6EnSafe$67,251$32.331
7Groundwater & Environmental Services$66,988$32.211
8Geosyntec Consultants$66,280$31.872
9Stantec$65,805$31.643
10Arcadis$65,700$31.5952

Environmental Scientist/Geologist Videos