Environmental Positions

I have a BS in Geology, am a ASBOG licensed Geologist, and I am seeking to change from the Engineering/Natural Resources work I have done in the past to move into Environmental Geology.

I have interviewed with a number of local companies that did not see my resume clearly initially and were dismayed by my lack of the basic drilling and sampling skills. I have redesigned my resume to be more clear about my background, and am targeting Entry Level positions. But where are they?

I do not get any interest from my applications at all anymore. No calls, no emails nothing. I cannot imagine that the 10 years of experience make me worth less than a person just out of school. But that is the way it looks.

If I had the background, jobs for people with 3 years of experience are plentiful. Jobs at the entry level seem to not exist.

Anybody with thoughts on cracking this barrier as a mid-career career changer, please let me know.

Are there other positions within the industry that you could target?

Well, I could move back to the Government, and probably get a job I was interested in, but I would prefer to be in the private sector.

I graduated with a BS in 1985. It was a time when there were no jobs for Geologist. I managed to land a job in the IM mining industry. It was good experience and I learned a lot from the job. I was laid off in 1987. In 1993 I received my MS in Environmental Geology from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Here it is 2008 and I have yet to land a job as a geologist. I've tried teaching school but hated it. I've worked retail, mud logger, construction and as a "operator" inside the chemical plants. During the last 10 years I have been a simple, yet frustrated prison guard. I grew tired working with uneducated people and inmates and resigned in February 2008. I have been looking for a real geology job ever since and have not landed that all too allusive job. I don't know what I am doing wrong. All I know for sure is I am a failure in life, a loser.

Preston Monaghan in Lake Jackson, Texas said: I graduated with a BS in 1985. It was a time when there were no jobs for Geologist. I managed to land a job in the IM mining industry. It was good experience and I learned a lot from the job. I was laid off in 1987. In 1993 I received my MS in Environmental Geology from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Here it is 2008 and I have yet to land a job as a geologist. I've tried teaching school but hated it. I've worked retail, mud logger, construction and as a "operator" inside the chemical plants. During the last 10 years I have been a simple, yet frustrated prison guard. I grew tired working with uneducated people and inmates and resigned in February 2008. I have been looking for a real geology job ever since and have not landed that all too allusive job. I don't know what I am doing wrong. All I know for sure is I am a failure in life, a loser.

I do not know who you are, but you are not a failure. You simply have to keep tring regardless of how situations may seem. Try Aerotek, they seem to have many positions available for experienced scientists. You can not give up and throw in the towel. E-mail me sometime so we can chat. l.kittler@yahoo.com

Rob Blomquist in Lynnwood, Washington said: I have a BS in Geology, am a ASBOG licensed Geologist, and I am seeking to change from the Engineering/Natural Resources work I have done in the past to move into Environmental Geology.

I have interviewed with a number of local companies that did not see my resume clearly initially and were dismayed by my lack of the basic drilling and sampling skills. I have redesigned my resume to be more clear about my background, and am targeting Entry Level positions. But where are they?

I do not get any interest from my applications at all anymore. No calls, no emails nothing. I cannot imagine that the 10 years of experience make me worth less than a person just out of school. But that is the way it looks.

If I had the background, jobs for people with 3 years of experience are plentiful. Jobs at the entry level seem to not exist.

Anybody with thoughts on cracking this barrier as a mid-career career changer, please let me know.

I am a recent grad with an MS in Environmental Engineering and EIT. Believe me its hard. I dont get any calls. :(

I do not get any interest from my applications at all anymore. No calls, no emails nothing. I cannot imagine that the 10 years of experience make me worth less than a person just out of school. But that is the way it looks.

lol I'm 'just out of school' (for a year and a half, now) with a bs in geology and I can't get a job either!

h6 in Richmond, Texas said: I do not get any interest from my applications at all anymore. No calls, no emails nothing. I cannot imagine that the 10 years of experience make me worth less than a person just out of school. But that is the way it looks.

lol I'm 'just out of school' (for a year and a half, now) with a bs in geology and I can't get a job either!

Send me your resume with contact information and let me see if I can help you.
Let me know your ideal (realistic) positions that you are looking for so that I can be better prepared for our discussion. ty@mrcartersville.com

Rob Blomquist in Lynnwood, Washington said: Well, I could move back to the Government, and probably get a job I was interested in, but I would prefer to be in the private sector.

Why would you prefer the private sector over the government? ( feel the exact opposite.

You have trade offs between going government or private industry. In private industry you will have unique challenges and be on top of the game but job security it lacking, esp now. You can make pretty good money after about ten years I WAS in the $80s'. In government you have security but I've met few in government who were satisfied with their job and most seem to have very limited scopes of knowledge, just spend their time checking off check-lists and waiting for retirement to come. FYI I've been laid off since last summer with very few interviews..................

Barry Davis in Tuscaloosa, Alabama said: I do not know who you are, but you are not a failure. You simply have to keep tring regardless of how situations may seem. Try Aerotek, they seem to have many positions available for experienced scientists. You can not give up and throw in the towel. E-mail me sometime so we can chat. l.kittler@yahoo.com

I am still looking for a job. I keep hearing from recruiters that I don't have the qualifications to be a Geologist. Funny, right above my desk is two degrees that say I can do the work of a Geologist.

bobby in Potsdam, New York said: I am a recent grad with an MS in Environmental Engineering and EIT. Believe me its hard. I dont get any calls. :(

You must remember who screens the resumes and how the are screened. The HR people are not the brightest people with a college degree. Throw in some buzz words from their job descriptions. If you have stood around logging cuttings, sampled them and installed monitoring wells, as well as smapled groundwater, you need to put that in your resume. Each consulting group will have their own methods they follow. Read the EPA sampling methods on their site. It is very easy and you could train a 16 year old kid to do it in about an hour.

How do you get a job today?

I have more or less given up getting a job in this economy as a geologist. I am looking elsewhere.

Man I feel your pain, been a year unemployed here in Texas. I have 12years experience, a Masters and my PG AND lots of contacts. If you do have a job here your hanging on my a thread..............

Geology isn't doing as bad as other professions. Here's a few things that may (or may not) work:

1) Be willing to relocate. Go to a place where there aren't 700 geologists per opening and the economy is strong. Example: North Dakota.

2) Learn how to learn. Keep skills up to date in spare time. Get easy certifications yourself. Example: 40 Hour HAZWOPER

3) The standard professional degree in geology is the Master's, not bachelor's degree. M.S. =2-3 years experience. Those "3 year experience" jobs are the entry level jobs. Those with only a B.S. get stuck with low level technician jobs. After 10 years, you've advanced past the entry level jobs, but lack the Master's to compete for the more responsible jobs. There are essentially no jobs for those with only a bachelor's degree in geology. Unlike other fields, returning to Grad school for a Master's degree is NOT a waste of time. (Heck, most schools will pay you for a Master's and waive any tuition).

Meh. What do I really know. I'm just one of them employed May 2009 graduates in Geology.

I recently landed a real nice job with an oil company, keeping up to date on current happenings in the field and networking, networking networking served me well.

I know how some of you feel. I am a disabled veteran and I have just finished my Masters degree in Geology. My concentration was environmental assessments and remediation. I even finished my Masters with a 4.0 GPA. I haven't gotten any replies at all either. I went for government work first because of the disabled veteran preferences but no luck yet.

My goal is to either land any job (even a technician job) in my industry to get some experience. I would really love to be as close to Minneapolis, Mn as possible since that is home but I'll go any where. Even North Dakota.

It sounds like alot of us are in the same boat here.

Landed an adjunct instructor job at a community college and I love it.

Greg in Carencro, Louisiana said: I know how some of you feel. I am a disabled veteran and I have just finished my Masters degree in Geology. My concentration was environmental assessments and remediation. I even finished my Masters with a 4.0 GPA. I haven't gotten any replies at all either. I went for government work first because of the disabled veteran preferences but no luck yet.

My goal is to either land any job (even a technician job) in my industry to get some experience. I would really love to be as close to Minneapolis, Mn as possible since that is home but I'll go any where. Even North Dakota.

It sounds like alot of us are in the same boat here.

Have you checked the large engineering firms, such as URS, Amec, Arcadis, CH2M HILL, Parsons, etc.? I noticed, for example, that URS currently is advertising for an entry level environmental scientist position in Minneapolis for which a geologist would qualify. The reason I mention these firms is that they do a lot of work for the DOD (both in remediation as well as other engineering services) and they may be more open to hiring a vet because it would help improve their veteran hiring statistics.