AGI Survey: Job Market For Geology Grads Looks Promising

Starting salaries for new geology graduates, especially those entering environmental fields or the domestic oil and gas industries, are rising, according to a recently compiled survey by the Alexandria, Va.-based American Geological Institute. AGI's latest annual survey of starting salaries for inexperienced graduates, released this month, projected that geologists with master's and doctoral degrees beginning work in 1990 would reap the highest increases over the starting salaries paid to their counterparts who began work in 1989. For instance, AGI projected that master's grads beginning work in the domestic oil and gas industries in 1990 would be paid a median of $37,250, a figure that is 11 percent higher than the median salary for 1989 grads. Similarly, the median starting salaries for geologists starting work in academia in 1990 were projected to be 10.7 percent higher than the salaries for those who began academic jobs in 1989; the association forecasted that new hires holding a master's degree, but without experience, would earn a median of $22,727 in 1990 (see chart). In late 1989, AGI, a federation of member groups representing approximately 75,000 people, mailed 310 surveys seeking 1990 hiring plans and salary data from six categories of major geoscientific employers: oil and gas companies, mining companies, consulting firms, federal and state agencies, research institutions and national labs, and academic institutions. The overall response rate was 52.9 percent. (However, rates varied widely from one category to the next; for instance, only 9 percent of the consulting firms contacted chose to reply.) "Employment possibilities are looking better than they had," says Nicholas H. Claudy, director of development for AGI. "I don't think any of the job categories are going to slide." Overall, he says, future salary increases of 5 percent to 10 percent "wouldn't be out of range." In part, this reflects two trends. One is the rather modest number of geology students believed to be on the verge of entering the job market. Following the oil bust of the early 1980s--when oil prices plummeted and geology work grew scarce--enrollment at most schools declined. As a result, AGI expects that a shortage of geologists is on the horizon. "There are fewer young people, but more retiring people," says Claudy. "That would increase employment opportunities," especially in academia, in which AGI estimates that 40 percent of all geology faculty members are at least 50 years old. The other factor contributing to the positive outlook is an anticipated rise in demand for new graduates from consulting firms and industry. With the recent hike in oil prices, for example, renewed interest in oil recovery, if not exploration, may spur more hiring among these employers. "Industry seems to be taking a wait-and-see response to current prices so far, with no rush to higher levels of activity and hiring," says Norman McIver, manager of exploration recruiting at Shell Oil Co. in Houston. However, McIver notes that he's seeing more interest among major oil companies for the first time in a few years. And that's an encouraging sign, since oil and gas outfits historically have hired as many as 70 percent of all geologists. But not all geologists will be in great demand in the coming years. Many employers prefer candidates with master's degrees over those with bachelor's and doctoral degrees. In particular, some say Ph.D.'s have experience that is too specialized, making them more suitable for research work. "We prefer to train [newly hired staff] ourselves," says Shell's McIver. Such sentiments may hamper Ph.D.'s, many of whom returned to school after an unsuccessful job hunt during the mid-1980s, when work was harder to find for a bachelor's or master's grad. Another sign of caution comes from the mining industry. "There aren't as many projects and investment funds," said Ernest K. Lehmann, who heads E. K. Lehmann and Associates, a Minneapolis-based consulting firm specializing in mining. "I would foresee some increase after we got through the economic downturn. But it's a very up-and-down business, much more so than oil and gas." Nonetheless, growing concern about hazardous waste is expected to strengthen demand for geologists who seek work with national labs or research institutions. The AGI survey projected that the median salaries for 1990's crop of Ph.D.'s would be 11.5 percent to 13.3 percent higher than the starting pay for 1989's new Ph.D.'s. Although the findings projected a 50 percent hike for master's degree recipients working at research institutions, this figure may not be widely representative because of the small number of research institutions responding to the survey. There's also increasing demand for new grads at consulting firms that specialize in environmental work, such as groundwater studies, as every level of government gets more involved with issues concerning drinking water. The decrease in salaries projected for bachelor's and master's degree recipients at consulting firms may not be statistically significant because of the small number of respondents. "The market for geologists with training in hydrology has mushroomed," asserts Travis Hughes, who is a member of AGI's human resources advisory committee and vice president of geosciences with La Moreaux & Associates, a consulting firm in Tuscaloosa, Ala. "Over the last 10 years, consulting firms have doubled personnel every two to three years. I don't see an end to that." Jennifer Baillie is a beneficiary of this trend. Baillie, a 22-year-old who graduated in June with a B.A. in geology from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, spent about three months seeking a job in the Boston area. But with the New England economy in recession, she was unable to find work. So she switched her sights to Minnesota and recently accepted an $18,500 position with EnPro Assessment Corp., an environmental consulting firm based in St. Paul. Her work involves taking samples and supervising installation of monitoring wells. "I can't believe I'm being paid to do this," says Baillie, who expects to seek a master's degree. "But I think I pretty much lucked out by getting called by EnPro. I do think the job market is tight." Edward R. Silverman is a freelance writer based in Hoboken, N.J.

AGI Survey: Job Market For Geology Grads Looks Promising

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