---
title: "Geoscientist, Except Hydrologists and Geographers"
description: "Study the composition, structure, and other physical aspects of the Earth. May use geological, physics, and mathematics knowledge in exploration for oil…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/geoscientist"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Geoscientist, Except Hydrologists and Geographers

**Category:** Life, Physical, and Social Science · **SOC code:** 19-2042 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 19-2042.00

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.

Also advertised as: Engineering Geologist; Environmental Protection Geologist; Exploration Geologist; Geologist; Geoscientist; Mine Geologist; Petroleum Geologist; Project Geologist.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $101,920 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $49.00/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $59,330 to $200,230, with the middle half between $75,110 and $139,380
- **Total US employment:** 23,470
- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +5.1% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,800 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 38/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 23,470 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $59,330 |
| 25th | $75,110 |
| 50th (median) | $101,920 |
| 75th | $139,380 |
| 90th | $200,230 |
| Mean (average) | $116,150 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TX | $145,220 | $149,623 | 4,900 |
| RI | $121,010 | $118,312 | Not published by BLS |
| OK | $119,990 | $136,596 | 770 |
| CO | $114,410 | $111,022 | 1,480 |
| MS | $112,400 | $129,265 | 250 |
| MD | $110,510 | $105,289 | 390 |
| MA | $108,210 | $102,319 | 420 |
| AK | $107,410 | $104,935 | 430 |
| CA | $106,500 | $96,189 | 3,350 |
| HI | $106,270 | $96,652 | 110 |
| WA | $105,020 | $98,138 | 840 |
| NH | $101,150 | $97,106 | Not published by BLS |
| NV | $99,890 | $99,911 | 520 |
| OR | $98,110 | $94,920 | 380 |
| IL | $96,950 | $96,991 | 410 |

35 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 50 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/geoscientist/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/geoscientist.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 25,400 in the 2025–2035 base year to 26,700 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 1,300 jobs, or +5.1%. Faster than average: 5.1% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,800 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Medium preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 48.2% |
| Master's Degree | 37.0% |
| Doctoral Degree | 7.4% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 3.7% |
| Post-Doctoral Training | 3.7% |

## What the work involves

- Locate and review research articles or environmental, historical, or technical reports.
- Communicate geological findings by writing research papers, participating in conferences, or teaching geological science at universities.
- 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.
- Prepare geological maps, cross-sectional diagrams, charts, or reports concerning mineral extraction, land use, or resource management, using results of fieldwork or laboratory research.
- 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.
- Analyze and interpret geological, geochemical, or geophysical information from sources, such as survey data, well logs, bore holes, or aerial photos.
- Review environmental, historical, or technical reports and publications for accuracy.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Science — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Analysis — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Geography — importance 4.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Physics — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Inductive Reasoning — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Investigative (I), Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| I — Investigative | 7.00 |
| R — Realistic | 5.59 |
| C — Conventional | 4.16 |
| A — Artistic | 2.72 |
| S — Social | 2.24 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.65 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| INTJ | 85.7 |
| ISTP | 84.1 |
| ISTJ | 80.9 |
| INTP | 75.6 |
| ISFJ | 56.0 |

Best-fitting types: INTJ, ISTP, ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Hydrologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hydrologist) — median $96,600
- [Industrial Ecologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-ecologist) — median $82,220
- [Conservation Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/conservation-scientist) — median $73,010
- [Soil and Plant Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/soil-and-plant-scientist) — median $78,850
- [Geographer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geographer) — median $102,040
- [Mining and Geological Engineer, Including Mining Safety Engineers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mining-and-geological-engineer) — median $106,220
- [Biologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/biologist) — median $98,920
- [Data Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/data-scientist) — median $120,230
- [Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-scientist-and-specialist) — median $82,220
- [Atmospheric and Space Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/atmospheric-and-space-scientist) — median $99,070

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/geoscientist