How To Become A Petroleum Geologist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a petroleum geologist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Chad Pritchard Ph.D.,

Jennifer Smith-Engle Ph.D.

The job of a petroleum geologist is to use his/her expertise to determine the location and size of crude oil deposits. Petroleum geologists can work as independent contractors in an oil or gas company or a governmental agency. They may use advanced computer technology to survey a region to get the necessary information. They study and examine rock formations and mineral samples to find gas and oil deposits. These experts work on extracting and estimating oil, gas, and other petroleum resources inside the Earth.

Most applicants for this position hold a master's degree in geosciences. You may be required to obtain a state license if you would be working in a public firm. Having relevant certifications is a plus. A minimum of two years of related experience is required, and you must possess interpersonal and teamwork skills. Petroleum geologists earn a whooping sum of $114,528 annually. Their salary varies between $67,000 and $197,000.

What general advice would you give to a petroleum geologist?

Chad Pritchard Ph.D.

Chair, Eastern Washington University

Talk to your faculty and career services center to get you resume, CV, and cover letter polished. Keep going, and don't get too fixated on one job. Try to keep you options open. Being able to move for a job can help you find more jobs and gain experience towards becoming a professional geologist, which then creates more possibilities. If jobs in your area are slim and you cannot move, then you might consider graduate school, so that when the market rebounds, you have that much more experience and will stand out to potential employers.

ScorePetroleum GeologistUS Average

Salary

7.9

Avg. Salary $111,574

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.5

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.58%

Asian 4.88%

Black or African American 0.85%

Hispanic or Latino 6.23%

Unknown 4.67%

White 82.79%

Gender

female 11.24%

male 88.76%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a petroleum geologist

Explore petroleum geologist education requirements

Most common petroleum geologist degrees

Bachelor's

78.5 %

Master's

18.6 %

Doctorate

1.2 %

Start to develop specific petroleum geologist skills

Skills	Percentages
Log Data	16.65%
Well-Site	14.16%
GIS	13.15%
Petra	12.40%
Log Analysis	9.29%

Complete relevant petroleum geologist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New petroleum geologists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a petroleum geologist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real petroleum geologist resumes.

Research petroleum geologist duties and responsibilities

Manage the installation of geophones, tiltmeters, inclinometers, passive vent wells, gas caps, and ORWs.
Review farm-out requests, prepare well prognoses, monitor area-drilling activity, and conduct miscellaneous well-site activities in Texas and Oklahoma.
Used PowerPoint to effectively communicate technical information to geologists, engineers, and managers.

Prepare your petroleum geologist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your petroleum geologist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a petroleum geologist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable petroleum geologist resume templates

Build a professional petroleum geologist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your petroleum geologist resume.