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Senior geologist vs development geologist

The differences between senior geologists and development geologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a senior geologist and a development geologist. Additionally, a development geologist has an average salary of $110,970, which is higher than the $109,166 average annual salary of a senior geologist.

The top three skills for a senior geologist include project management, data collection and GIS. The most important skills for a development geologist are reservoir characterization, AFE, and production data.

Senior geologist vs development geologist overview

Senior GeologistDevelopment Geologist
Yearly salary$109,166$110,970
Hourly rate$52.48$53.35
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs81145,844
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age4545
Years of experience1212

What does a senior geologist do?

A Senior Geologist manages all geological activities and research, and provides guidance to junior team members. They assist geological supervisors to prepare an annual and long-term plan for geological work.

What does a development geologist do?

A Development Geologist is responsible for geological static modeling and database management. They report best-practice technological advances to management.

Senior geologist vs development geologist salary

Senior geologists and development geologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior GeologistDevelopment Geologist
Average salary$109,166$110,970
Salary rangeBetween $63,000 And $186,000Between $71,000 And $171,000
Highest paying CityCorpus Christi, TXThe Woodlands, TX
Highest paying stateTexasTexas
Best paying companyStatoilChevron
Best paying industryEnergyHospitality

Differences between senior geologist and development geologist education

There are a few differences between a senior geologist and a development geologist in terms of educational background:

Senior GeologistDevelopment Geologist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorGeologyGeology
Most common collegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Senior geologist vs development geologist demographics

Here are the differences between senior geologists' and development geologists' demographics:

Senior GeologistDevelopment Geologist
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 84.7% Female, 15.3%Male, 81.4% Female, 18.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 0.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% Asian, 5.4% White, 82.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 1.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.6% Asian, 4.0% White, 83.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage4%4%

Differences between senior geologist and development geologist duties and responsibilities

Senior geologist example responsibilities.

  • Manage the installation of geophones, tiltmeters, inclinometers, passive vent wells, gas caps, and ORWs.
  • Provide technical GIS support to CRA staff including data acquisition, analysis, and presentation.
  • Supervise excavations of contaminate materials, collect groundwater, potable water, and surface water samples, and perform soil-gas surveys.
  • Lead coordinator and geologist for ComEd geotechnical and environmental sampling project to support infrastructure expansion.
  • Serve as principal-in-charge on geotechnical projects ranging in scope from engineering geologic assessments to foundation engineering studies.
  • Build geological, geophysical and geochemical models for integrate basin modeling, prospect generation, volume estimation and well planning.
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Development geologist example responsibilities.

  • Manage the field budget, and liability of MWD field equipment.
  • Manage the installation of geophones, tiltmeters, inclinometers, passive vent wells, gas caps, and ORWs.
  • Create mineral rights lease maps utilizing ArcMap (GIS).
  • Correlate well logs using PETRA and other programs, and research production zones for solid and fluid minerals.
  • Prospect generation and development has been expedite by becoming proficient in Petra mapping software.
  • Review farm-out requests, prepare well prognoses, monitor area-drilling activity, and conduct miscellaneous well-site activities in Texas and Oklahoma.
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Senior geologist vs development geologist skills

Common senior geologist skills
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Data Collection, 9%
  • GIS, 8%
  • Geotechnical, 7%
  • Autocad, 5%
  • Business Development, 4%
Common development geologist skills
  • Reservoir Characterization, 22%
  • AFE, 7%
  • Production Data, 6%
  • Well Log, 6%
  • Petrel, 6%
  • Log Analysis, 6%

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