Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

1. Is a Geo-scientist and a Geologist the same? If not what is the difference?
2. What are the types of Geo-scientists?
3. what is the daily schedule of a Geo-scientist?
4. is the salary amount fair for the work done?
5. what is the education requirement?
6. Are there any evaluation, exam required for the job? Does is required a License/certificate?
7. What is the current market like for entry level jobs in this field?

Thank You

Hi Yeeleng_vang17,

1. Geoscientists and geologists are both names for scientists who study how the Earth works.

2. Geoscientists do a variety of things. For example, some geoscientists spend their careers in private industry working for the oil and gas industry or a mining company. Other geoscientists work with engineering challenges, such as deciding the safest place to build a new dam. Still others work on environmental issues like water quality. Another group of geoscientists study earthquakes. Others study volcanoes and the formation igneous and metamorphic rocks. Some geoscientists focus on the geology of the other planets in our Solar System. Geoscientists can do all sorts of things!

3. The daily schedule depends on what kind of earth science you are involved with, as well as whether you are employed in industry or academia. My experience is with academia, where most people work five days a week during the daytime. Sometimes people work on the weekends or at night when are doing special experiments that need careful monitoring. During field work, people usually take advantage of every moment they have because once their time in the field is over, it might be difficult to get back to the site again.

As for the rest of your questions about salary, education requirements, and the job market, this profile on geoscientists has all of that information:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... nformation

Licensing and education requirements differ depending on what type of work you do. For example, an environmental geologist might need a bachelors and masters degree and have to pass a state licensing exam, but people studying the geology of the planets in our Solar System typically require PhDs.