salaries of college graduates who took a geology course in college

by Julien Padberg 8 min read

Upon graduating with a bachelor's degree, geology majors make an average salary of $40,100.

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This data is based on 22 survey responses. Learn more about the gender pay gap.

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Average Geology Salary By Company

Geology major graduates report their job security as good. But just as in every field, some employers pay higher wages than others. Health Care companies and Professional companies tend to have the highest concentration of employment for Geology major graduates. Hess and BP America are the highest paying companies.

Average Geology Major Salary By City

Geology major graduates in the US make an average salary of $59,531 per year or $28.62 per hour. Working in San Francisco, CA as a Geology major graduate will pay you the highest wages at around $63,520 per year. The average entry-level salary in San Francisco, CA is $32,000.

Average Geology Major Salary By Industry

Geology major salaries can vary depending on the industry. By looking at our data, we can see that Finance companies, Manufacturing companies, and Pharmaceutical companies pay Geology major graduates well.

Salary History For Geology Major Graduates

This data shows the national average salary between 2011-2020 among Geology major graduates.

Geology Major Salary By Experience Level

The salary for a Geology major graduate can range from $29,395 to $112,992 depending on the amount of work experience that the person has.

Geologist Employment

As of 2008, there were about 33,600 geoscience jobs in the United States, and since then, this field has grown even larger. Geologists work in a number of roles, include as engineers, particularly in the oil/gas extraction industry, and as researchers in this field.

Geologist Job Outlook

Because so many companies are investing in clean energy, workers in scientific fields are in high demand, so an education as a geologist makes sense! This field is growing faster than average, according to reports by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, with an expected growth of 18 percent between 2008 and 2018.

Geologist Salaries

The geoscience field can be extremely lucrative, with an average annual salary of $93,380 as of 2010. So, as you can imagine, a six-figure salary in this field is a definite potential. As if the case with most fields, you can earn more working in some locations than in others.

1. What Is Geology?

Geology is the study of the Earth’s physical structure and the materials that it is made of. It also studies the forces that act on these materials and how they bring about changes to the Earth’s surface and structure.

2. Key Geology Statistics

The closest comparable data for geologist employment is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2018 employment estimate for geoscientists. Geoscientists (excluding hydrologists and geographers) held 29,260 jobs.

3. What are the Requirements to Study Geology?

The training and education to become a geologist can start as early as high school. Students who have good high school GPA and who perform well in subjects like mathematics, physics, biology, and science can increase their chances of getting accepted in geology programs in prestigious universities.

4. How Much Does It Cost to Study Geology?

The amount you spend on your geology education will vary depending on where you live and the university you choose. The US, for example, has the highest average cost of tuition among 35 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries (OECD, 2017).

5. How Long Does It Take to Become an Accredited Geologist?

Though you do not need accreditation to work as a geologist in the US, there 31 states that license geologists when they offer services to the public. These include activities or job responsibilities associated with environmental protection, regulatory compliance, and civil engineering projects.

6. The Best Universities to Study Geology

The list below is based on The 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings for physical sciences. Physical sciences include earth and marine sciences, geology, chemistry, physics and astronomy, and mathematics and statistics.

7. How Much Do Geologists Earn?

Geologists fall under the occupation Geoscientist. In May 2019, the median annual salary for geoscientists was $92,040 with an hourly pay of $44.25 (BLS, 2020).

Finding The Best Geological & Earth Sciences School For You

  • Out of the 338 majors we analyze each year, geological and earth sciences was ranked #66. In fact, 6,574 bachelor's degrees were handed out in 2018-2019.The geology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we'v…
See more on collegefactual.com

Honorable Mentions

  • These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Highest Paid Geological & Earth Sciences Graduates award.
See more on collegefactual.com

Rankings in Majors Related to Geology

  • Geological & Earth Sciences is one of 7 different types of Physical Sciencesprograms to choose from.
See more on collegefactual.com

Notes and References

  1. The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the res...
  2. Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  1. The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the res...
  2. Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  3. Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong.