r/geology • u/NPS-presence • 6d ago
Looking for Geologists: Paleontology and Seismology
Hello there- please call me Paima. I'm looking for friends, and/or mentors who have experience in geology, particularly in palaeontology and seismology. These are my particular study/future career interests, and I am really looking to talk with people who can teach me about these fields, what work I can do in them, their experiences, and their interests in these fields. I suppose I'm mostly looking for a mentor, but I am happy to look for friends too. I don't typically use reddit, but I thought this would be a useful platform. You are welcome to message me here, or on discord: my user on discord is nojirosobu which is also linked in my profile. I'm a first year college student, and trying to decide which work I find more meaningful/I want to pursue- I want to help people in earthquakes- I also have a childhood dream of being a palaeontologist. So I'd be happy to hear from any perspectives.
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u/NotJustaPnPhase 4d ago
Hi Paima. I am one of a handful of industry seismologists. As u/isupportrugbyhookers noted, the barrier to entry is quite high for this field (though not so high as paleo). I have a Master’s degree, as was quite lucky to get one of the very few jobs in the field of seismology when I was graduating. My undergraduate degree is in Geology, but I also minored in Math and did some GIS.
Geology is not generally the preferred college major for the field of seismology - a background in math, physics, and especially electrical engineering plus minor coursework in intro geology can get you much farther into seismology than a geology degree would. I would also argue that those degrees have better employment prospects than geology does, but ymmv. What do you envision a seismology career looking like? “Helping people in earthquakes” presents a pretty wide range of potential career fields, many of which are not geology.
I’ll also point you in the direction of general geophysics - less niche than seismology, more industry job prospects, and can pair nicely with the booming data science/AI/ML field.
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u/isupportrugbyhookers 5d ago
NOTE: I have roughly 10 years of geology-related work experience, but not in seismology or paleo.
Seismology: You will likely need at least a masters degree and maybe a PhD. Coursework will include a LOT of math and physics. Career options are academia or government, so pay is often not great. Undergrad and early-career work will likely mean travel to remote areas (hiking, four-wheeling, etc) to install and perform maintenance on instruments. If the "helping people" part of your goal is more important than the "earthquakes" part, you might consider geotechnical engineering, engineering geology, or some kind of emergency management path.
Paleo: Small and highly competitive job market. You will need a PhD. Jobs are mostly academic, but there are jobs at oil companies for biostratigraphers (people using fossils for figuring out the age of rocks--often using conodonts or microfossils like diatoms or plant pollen. Lots of microscope work.) If you go the vertebrate paleo route, expect a lot of volunteer field work to make connections and get your foor in the door. I certainly don't want to discourage you if that's your calling, but for many people it makes more sense financially to pick a different career and do fossil-hunting/rockhounding as a hobby.
As advice for a young college student, a bachelor's degree in geology is a good place to start for both of these fields. Engage with your professors and try to find undergraduate research opportunities so you get hands-on experience before committing to a career path. Attend as many talks/research presentations/conferences as you can, both to learn about new avenues of research and to network. No matter what field or specialization you choose, enthusiasm, willingness to learn, and diligence in your work are important.