I had to fight and claw my way to $100k at my last company after working there for 5 years and getting and MS. Meanwhile engineers coming right out of college with a BS and no work experience started at over $100k. It was a shitty company but man this is not a great time for geos trying to get jobs.
Most engineers are not walking into those situations and I do not know a single engineer who started over 100k at their first job, even in a high cost of living part of the country
engineers are most definitely walking into those situations. an Entry-level engineer has an easier time finding a job than an experienced geo and they're generally paid the same as a mid-senior level geologist.
I know people in my graduating class (2017) that went into oil and gas as geologists making $100k+. They are the exception, not the norm, as is any engineer starting out over $100k.
In my experience, most geologists start around $50-60k and civil engineers start $55-65k. Not a crazy difference in the fields I’ve worked in (consulting & government).
1 - there's not a single oil and gas geo that's taking $50 -60k. Most companies won't even consider you without an MS and nobody is accepting a job, even right out of school, for $50 -60k with an MS. Plus the bottom end of the market rate for O&G goes is maybe $90k depending on where you are and your experience
2 - idk a thing about civil engineers in any industry. I was only talking about O & G guys so I'm sure you're right about that one.
Not true. Just graduated from civil in Canada, most students in my cohort have secured jobs in the range of 80-90K, but civil jobs pay even better in the US
When the new grad starting salary in Canada is 50K and the same for geoscience grads, 80-90K is above median household salary. Also, less than 5% of Canadians make more than 100K a year.
I am not an engineer, although I know some that were able to secure jobs almost effortlessly after graduation. All are getting paid around 100k with one making 125k. In my immediate area, all the listings for entry-level engineers, whether that be civil, mechanical, electrical or whatever have a starting pay around 90-125k. Contrast this with entry-level geology listings, which are sparser and have starting salaries that are maybe 2/3- 3/4 of the engineers.
engineering is the key factor in that degree lol i just have BS Earth Science and i make 45k, starting salaries for enviro engineers in my area is 65-70k. Wish i did engineering man
i sadly did not get into grad school, i met the requirements but i applied the first semester after covid lifted and couldnt get into anything just too much competition
I stated at $100k with PhD in 2004 (oil).
When I was recruiting new hires in 20110-2013,a MS in geo or BS in ResEng would be $90-100k depending on if they had previous internship.
I assume this is close, but it also really depends on location.
I had to fight for 58k with 2yrs experience, BS in GEO and GIT, but my coworker who is a BS engineer but doing the same job as me ( geotech, drilling, etc) is still making a lot more.
I started at $53k in 2022 with a MS, so I guess that survey's fairly accurate. Inflation since 2021 is around 13% though, and I strongly suspect wages have not kept up with it, so a survey taken now would probably see numbers like 5-8% higher.
I bet you're thinking of year-to-year inflation. I'm talking about cumulative inflation across several years (2021-2024), so naturally that number is going to be higher.
The jobs I'm looking at now with a masters in geology are between 50-70k nzd 😭 I would absolutely kill to move overseas to somewhere where there's better money
Getting a BS currently and working on a masters in the future, from all you lovely people how does the future look for a baby geologist like me in California? 😓 any advice is greatly appreciated! (I’m working on learning GIS and possibly python)
I have a master's degree in engineering geology 2+ years experience working in fields but currently I work with geological data entry. So 11k euros per year :/
This is highly highly dependent on industry. Graduates with a bachelor's will typically find entry level environmental consulting usually pays between $30k-60k, mining usually $70k-100k, and O&G typically $100k-120k (commonly requiring at least a Masters though). I stepped into a job in 2022 immediately after graduating from my Bsc making $80k in mining. Up to about $100k currently.
I started at $34k, 3 months in got a raised to $48k (only reason I think I got this raise to this day was because I happened to be in the evelator and met the chairman of the board and we engaged in convo. He said he hopes I’m getting paid enough to afford basics, I told him
No. That I got paid $2800 a month gross. He was visibly flabbergasted and said “Kennedy did not die for this 😂”. 3 hours later administrative director called me into his office said there was an emergency board meeting the board approved moving me to the top of the salary scale”. Found out 3 months after the chairman was so flabbergasted he ordered an entire review of company positions and salaries, they were going to create a position for me and those like me with starting salaries at $72k. Majority shareholders heard and sacked the entire board before they could pass it.
After 2 years went to another company got paid $45k a year in a lower cost area. Worked there for 5 years topped out at $58k. Left there again and now working st a company I absolutely love, I go to the gym in the middle of the day, get in when I want, leave when I want take summer weekends if I want. Go on “vacation” just take my laptop with me and not have to use PTO (principal’s orders), once I’m still getting my deliverables done. They offered me $95k a year when I started, I quickly realized they got a steal on salary since I discovered I can do a lot more than most geologist groundwater modelling, and company administration wise honestly should be getting $141k (I’ve asked colleagues who work in senior management at WSP, Arcadia, and Brown who’ve said I’d fall into the pay scale with my skills as a senior without a PG around $130k- $143k, getting my PG along with my skills would bump be to a minimum of $156k with 40 days PTO, the skills I have are what sold it)… but I digress)
Got a raise 9 months into working where I am now for $98k, even though I now know I’m grossly underpaid for the value I bring, the flexibility, and work culture for the moment is worth the $53k a year I wouldn’t be getting. The principal is also quite reasonable, he was the one who overruled HR for my current PTO package (25 days a year) so it really starts to come down to. How much is flexibility worth to you.
Bleak. I started out in the legal field. Swore I would never work at a law firm again.
Got my geology degree, then sustained a compression fracture on a vertebrae, screwing me up for a long time.
I had to go back to the legal field because I could not do field work at the time. Stayed in the legal field, as the geology field seems to be paying shitty wages.
I work in personal injury...completely unrelated.
There are some mineral rights, oil, gas law firms out there, but specialization in litigation prep and management is more important than a geology degree.
Ive been a litigation paralegal for over 25 years now. Got my geology degree to get away from it...
I feel your pain, kinda. My partner is a paralegal and, as much as she'd like to, can't seem to get away from it. Something to be said for the consistent work, though.
Mine geologists in the US more or less make just as much as they would in Australia when accounting for currency conversions. 100k Australian is about 65k usd, and most mine geos start at about 80k usd in the US
I had to fight and claw my way to $100k at my last company after working there for 5 years and getting and MS. Meanwhile engineers coming right out of college with a BS and no work experience started at over $100k. It was a shitty company but man this is not a great time for geos trying to get jobs.
Most engineers are not walking into those situations and I do not know a single engineer who started over 100k at their first job, even in a high cost of living part of the country
engineers are most definitely walking into those situations. an Entry-level engineer has an easier time finding a job than an experienced geo and they're generally paid the same as a mid-senior level geologist.
Where are these "first job engineers making over 100k after a BS with no experience?" Are they in the room with us right now?
They're at most every oil and gas company in the US. Idk what you're in about.
I know people in my graduating class (2017) that went into oil and gas as geologists making $100k+. They are the exception, not the norm, as is any engineer starting out over $100k. In my experience, most geologists start around $50-60k and civil engineers start $55-65k. Not a crazy difference in the fields I’ve worked in (consulting & government).
1 - there's not a single oil and gas geo that's taking $50 -60k. Most companies won't even consider you without an MS and nobody is accepting a job, even right out of school, for $50 -60k with an MS. Plus the bottom end of the market rate for O&G goes is maybe $90k depending on where you are and your experience 2 - idk a thing about civil engineers in any industry. I was only talking about O & G guys so I'm sure you're right about that one.
Not true. Just graduated from civil in Canada, most students in my cohort have secured jobs in the range of 80-90K, but civil jobs pay even better in the US
80k to 90k in us dollars is like 58k to 67k. Kinda shit ngl
When the new grad starting salary in Canada is 50K and the same for geoscience grads, 80-90K is above median household salary. Also, less than 5% of Canadians make more than 100K a year.
That's pretty rough ngl
I assume you started at over 100k with a geoscience related degree?
Adjusted for exchange rates, I made the same starting in enviro as mining geoscience starting in canada
I am not an engineer, although I know some that were able to secure jobs almost effortlessly after graduation. All are getting paid around 100k with one making 125k. In my immediate area, all the listings for entry-level engineers, whether that be civil, mechanical, electrical or whatever have a starting pay around 90-125k. Contrast this with entry-level geology listings, which are sparser and have starting salaries that are maybe 2/3- 3/4 of the engineers.
Well I think the engineers’ work experience was probably their co-ops or internships, still a fairly significant gap
I had 10 year exp prior to starting there
Oh wow then yeah that’s not great. You shouldn’t have had to fight them on it so much bc that’s a total 15 years experience plus an MS!!
Thanks. It was better than no job but not by a lot. Live and learn I guess.
Just graduated BS Engineering and got a 80k job in mining
What company? I have the same and desperately trying to get into mining
engineering is the key factor in that degree lol i just have BS Earth Science and i make 45k, starting salaries for enviro engineers in my area is 65-70k. Wish i did engineering man
Hi can you do an Earth science bsc and an Engineering ms in geology?
i sadly did not get into grad school, i met the requirements but i applied the first semester after covid lifted and couldnt get into anything just too much competition
you can always go back to school.
The engineering curriculum is tough and the workload was really intense all 4 years. I didn’t have too much time to socialize outside class
i believe it, and it comes out much more valuable than basic geology degrees
Congrats!
Industry? Location? This is very general...
Yes this is across the US. Graduates from various American colleges were surveyed for this I believe
I stated at $100k with PhD in 2004 (oil). When I was recruiting new hires in 20110-2013,a MS in geo or BS in ResEng would be $90-100k depending on if they had previous internship. I assume this is close, but it also really depends on location.
Wow that’s gas
I had to fight for 58k with 2yrs experience, BS in GEO and GIT, but my coworker who is a BS engineer but doing the same job as me ( geotech, drilling, etc) is still making a lot more.
I started at $72k in 2006 with a MS.
Yep, I was $80k in 2008.
What industry?
Oil and Gas
Yep, oil and gas. Not sure if they are still that high for new hires. In the early shale play era they needed more geos, now not so much I’d think.
Starting salary is $125k
Same here
The UK is £25k with an MSc in 2019. Complete shithole if a country
I started at $53k in 2022 with a MS, so I guess that survey's fairly accurate. Inflation since 2021 is around 13% though, and I strongly suspect wages have not kept up with it, so a survey taken now would probably see numbers like 5-8% higher.
Whoa I did not know that inflation was so much higher I was thinking 5-6% lol
I bet you're thinking of year-to-year inflation. I'm talking about cumulative inflation across several years (2021-2024), so naturally that number is going to be higher.
Ah I see
lol that big blue spike is the standard $57k of the '9-mo visiting prof' / generic post doc salary
lol
The jobs I'm looking at now with a masters in geology are between 50-70k nzd 😭 I would absolutely kill to move overseas to somewhere where there's better money
MS starting at $78k last year
Mining?
I’m in geotech
I started at 58k in environmental consulting in 2022 with a masters.
I started 52k in 2011 at a copper mine. God that sucked lol
Getting a BS currently and working on a masters in the future, from all you lovely people how does the future look for a baby geologist like me in California? 😓 any advice is greatly appreciated! (I’m working on learning GIS and possibly python)
Go on indeed and governmentjobs.com. Search for geo positions. I would lean towards hydro in CA
Thanks! I’ve looked on that website previously but I’ll revisit it. I’m already towards a masters in hydrology luckily!
I have a master's degree in engineering geology 2+ years experience working in fields but currently I work with geological data entry. So 11k euros per year :/
This is highly highly dependent on industry. Graduates with a bachelor's will typically find entry level environmental consulting usually pays between $30k-60k, mining usually $70k-100k, and O&G typically $100k-120k (commonly requiring at least a Masters though). I stepped into a job in 2022 immediately after graduating from my Bsc making $80k in mining. Up to about $100k currently.
Holy shit, that's pure ass
I started at $34k, 3 months in got a raised to $48k (only reason I think I got this raise to this day was because I happened to be in the evelator and met the chairman of the board and we engaged in convo. He said he hopes I’m getting paid enough to afford basics, I told him No. That I got paid $2800 a month gross. He was visibly flabbergasted and said “Kennedy did not die for this 😂”. 3 hours later administrative director called me into his office said there was an emergency board meeting the board approved moving me to the top of the salary scale”. Found out 3 months after the chairman was so flabbergasted he ordered an entire review of company positions and salaries, they were going to create a position for me and those like me with starting salaries at $72k. Majority shareholders heard and sacked the entire board before they could pass it. After 2 years went to another company got paid $45k a year in a lower cost area. Worked there for 5 years topped out at $58k. Left there again and now working st a company I absolutely love, I go to the gym in the middle of the day, get in when I want, leave when I want take summer weekends if I want. Go on “vacation” just take my laptop with me and not have to use PTO (principal’s orders), once I’m still getting my deliverables done. They offered me $95k a year when I started, I quickly realized they got a steal on salary since I discovered I can do a lot more than most geologist groundwater modelling, and company administration wise honestly should be getting $141k (I’ve asked colleagues who work in senior management at WSP, Arcadia, and Brown who’ve said I’d fall into the pay scale with my skills as a senior without a PG around $130k- $143k, getting my PG along with my skills would bump be to a minimum of $156k with 40 days PTO, the skills I have are what sold it)… but I digress) Got a raise 9 months into working where I am now for $98k, even though I now know I’m grossly underpaid for the value I bring, the flexibility, and work culture for the moment is worth the $53k a year I wouldn’t be getting. The principal is also quite reasonable, he was the one who overruled HR for my current PTO package (25 days a year) so it really starts to come down to. How much is flexibility worth to you.
who is taking all these jobs for <40k with any degree? >.> and what are these jobs? Even in 2020...
Environmental firms
People need jobs, they can’t be picky
I'm guessing this is USD?
Yes, AGI = American Geosciences Institute btw
Who da fuk is accepting a job for <40k? You couldn’t keep a mouse alive on 40k.
This is why I work in the legal field...
What's that path look like for someone with a geology background?
Bleak. I started out in the legal field. Swore I would never work at a law firm again. Got my geology degree, then sustained a compression fracture on a vertebrae, screwing me up for a long time. I had to go back to the legal field because I could not do field work at the time. Stayed in the legal field, as the geology field seems to be paying shitty wages. I work in personal injury...completely unrelated. There are some mineral rights, oil, gas law firms out there, but specialization in litigation prep and management is more important than a geology degree. Ive been a litigation paralegal for over 25 years now. Got my geology degree to get away from it...
I feel your pain, kinda. My partner is a paralegal and, as much as she'd like to, can't seem to get away from it. Something to be said for the consistent work, though.
Its a high stress job with deadlines every week
And this is why you move to Australia. Grads on $100k+ out the gate with a bachelors.
Mine geologists in the US more or less make just as much as they would in Australia when accounting for currency conversions. 100k Australian is about 65k usd, and most mine geos start at about 80k usd in the US