How Much Are Geologists Earning?
Geology salaries vary by employment sector. The graph at right shows the average starting salary of a petroleum geologist with zero to two years experience. It clearly shows that oil companies are willing to pay handsome salaries to new geologists. At the time of the most recent AAPG salary survey new geologists were earning an average of about $83,000. Similar salaries were being paid to new hires in the mineral resource sector. The new geologists earning these salaries were a mix of B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. geologists. A large number of geologists work in the environmental and government sectors. These employers tend to pay 10% to 40% less because they are not in such a demand-driven market. However, employment in the environmental and government sectors is often more stable than the prices of commodities. The data for 2008 will be available in the spring of 2009 and the graph and this article will be updated at that time.
