Geoscientists

Also Called:

Geologist,

Geophysicist,

Geoscientist,

Project Geologist

What they do: Study the composition, structure, and other physical aspects of the Earth. May use geological, physics, and mathematics knowledge in exploration for oil, gas, minerals, or underground water; or in waste disposal, land reclamation, or other environmental problems. May study the Earth's internal composition, atmospheres, and oceans, and its magnetic, electrical, and gravitational forces. Includes mineralogists, paleontologists, stratigraphers, geodesists, and seismologists.

Energy & Natural Resources icon

Energy & Natural Resources

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Plan or conduct geological, geochemical, or geophysical field studies or surveys, sample collection, or drilling and testing programs used to collect data for research or application.
  • Analyze and interpret geological data, using computer software.
  • Investigate the composition, structure, or history of the Earth's crust through the collection, examination, measurement, or classification of soils, minerals, rocks, or fossil remains.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

Innovation

Achievement Orientation

Intellectual Curiosity

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Investigative

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Realistic

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Conventional

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Read and understand what is written

  • Communicate by speaking

Ideas and Logic

  • Make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information

  • Group things in different ways

Math

  • Choose the right type of math to solve a problem

  • Add, subtract, multiply, or divide

Visual Understanding

  • See hidden patterns

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Reading work related information

  • Talking to others

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one

  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Geoscientists jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop