Geologist
What the work is
Studies the composition, structure and other physical attributes of the Earth or other planetary bodies to increase scientific knowledge and to develop practical applications in fields such as mineral exploitation, civil engineering, space exploration, environmental protection, and rehabilitation of land after mining.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Studies physical attributes of the surface and subsurface of the Earth or other planetary bodies
- Studies the different chemical and physical processes involved in the evolution of the Earth or other planetary bodies
- Collects Earth or planetary materials, and analyses their composition, structure and other physical properties
- Studies and analyses the properties of reservoirs and deposits of resources such as oil, gas or minerals, to estimate their volumes and potential for extraction
- Estimates how rocks, fossils and other geological materials formed, and infers their age and the conditions in which they formed
- Builds an understanding of the evolution of the Earth or other planetary bodies and how it may impact upon people
- Studies and monitors the effects of anthropogenic processes such as resource extraction on Earth or other planetary bodies
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a geoscience team: core sheds and drill sites in the field, and a water agency office in town. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A core sample comes out of the ground and tells a story that is millions of years old
- A pattern in the data finally explains why a bore keeps running dry
- A rock you identified in the field turns out to be the key to a whole map
Hard days
- Long days in the dust and heat, with a laptop full of data to check each night
- Pressure to say a result looks promising when the data says it is uncertain
- A drought, and a town that wants more certainty about its water than you can give
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 244531, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.