How to hire a geological technician

How to hire a geological technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step geological technician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a geological technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new geological technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the geological technician you need to hire. Certain geological technician roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A geological technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, geological technicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of geological technician salaries for various roles:

   Type of Geological Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Geological Technician	Geological and petroleum technicians provide support to scientists and engineers in exploring and extracting natural resources, such as minerals, oil, and natural gas.	$15-37
   Technician	Technicians are skilled professionals who primarily work with technology in different industries. They are knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the various items they work with... Show more	$11-27

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Data Management
   • Petra
   • ArcGIS
   • GIS
   • Digitizing
   • Production Data
   • GPS
   • Geotechnical
   • Log Data
   • AFE
   • SMT
   • PowerPoint
   • Well Log
   • Seismic Data

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Organize, manage, and analyze various geotechnical databases.
   • Collect soil samples from potential geological sites using GPS, compass, and excavation tools.
   • Construct cross sections to correlate well logs in a prospect area using SMT software data and hard copy logs.
   • Provide support in all facets main focus is core data, log data tracking, verifying, qc'ing in great detail.
   • well files, logs, surveys, AFE's, maps, etc . )
   • Install and troubleshoot AN/VRC-92 series SINCGARS, AN/VRC-103, AN/VRC-104, and AN/VRC-110 radio systems.

   More geological technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your geological technician job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A geological technician salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a geological technician in Alabama may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level geological technician usually earns less than a senior-level geological technician. Additionally, a geological technician with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average geological technician salary

   $50,474yearly

   $24.27 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level geological technician salary

   $32,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average geological technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$58,086	$28
   2	Nevada	$55,333	$27
   3	Michigan	$53,977	$26
   4	Arizona	$53,343	$26
   5	Texas	$48,842	$23
   6	Georgia	$44,367	$21

   Average geological technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Weatherford International	$73,267	$35.22
   2	Crux Subsurface	$54,492	$26.20
   3	*n/a*	$54,148	$26.03
   4	Quanta Subsurface	$51,902	$24.95
   5	State Bar of Michigan	$42,735	$20.55

4. Writing a geological technician job description

   A good geological technician job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a geological technician job description:

   Geological technician job description example

   The Kentucky Geological Survey is seeking a safety-conscious and self-motivated employee to contribute to a two-year grant-funded project. The project's main deliverables include preserving and describing 170 rock cores for use in research. This position will include identification, labeling, and rehousing tasks while working on a team. Strong applicants will have an interest in data preservation, attention to detail, clear handwriting, and be skilled at identifying minute differences. Previous experience with material handling equipment, including forklifts and pallet jacks, is a plus. This position is eligible for healthcare benefits.
   
   Given the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to protect our university community including our students, staff, faculty and visitors, the University of Kentucky is requiring COVID-19 vaccination for all new hires prior to starting employment. Therefore, as of October 18, 2021, all new hires prior to their first day of employment must submit appropriate documentation showing, i) completion of the first vaccination against COVID-19, or ii) completion of the full vaccination series against COVID-19, or iii) approved exemption (medical contraindications or a sincerely held religious belief) through the formal exemption process from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement. For those employees who have completed the first vaccination against COVID-19 prior to their first day of employment, the second vaccination (if applicable) must be completed following the vaccination recommended schedule to be considered fully vaccinated.
   Skills / Knowledge / Abilities
   
   Attention to detail, organizational skills, excellent communication and interpersonal relationship skills, teamwork, must have legible handwriting
   
   Does this position have supervisory responsibilities? No Preferred Education/Experience
   
   Associates in Science or Associates in Earth Science, Materials Handling Equipment Experience: Forklift, electric stock picker, manual pallet jack, or other forms of heavy equipment operation.
   
   Warehouse Experience.Familiarity with geologic nomenclature.
   
   Deadline to Apply 10/26/2022 University Community of Inclusion
   
   The University of Kentucky is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce by ensuring all our students, faculty, and staff work in an environment of openness and acceptance. We strive to foster a community where people of all backgrounds, identities, and perspectives can feel secure and welcome. We also value the well-being of each of our employees and are dedicated to creating a healthy place to work, learn and live. In the interest of maintaining a safe and healthy environment for our students, employees, patients and visitors the University of Kentucky is a Tobacco & Drug Free campus.
   
   As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we strongly encourage veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, and all minorities to consider our employment opportunities.
   
   Any candidate offered a position may be required to pass pre-employment screenings as mandated by University of Kentucky Human Resources. These screenings may include a national background check and/or drug screen.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right geological technician for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with geological technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit geological technicians who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your geological technician job on Zippia to find and recruit geological technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting geological technicians requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new geological technician

   Once you've selected the best geological technician candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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