Careers in Natural Sciences
Geology or Earth Science fields
are the set of careers and jobs
that deal with the Earth.
Earth Sciences are very diverse
and there are many fields to
choose from – weather, ocean
studies, volcanic studies – the list
is very long.
These are some fields that have
to do with Earth sciences.
Petroleum Geologist
Petroleum geologists work for
companies that make oil. Their
job is to locate and explore
areas where there may be stores
of natural oil underground.
Petroleum geologists use a
variety of equipment and
technologies to do their job.
Salary:
$75,000 - $130,000 per year
Education:
Bachelor’s of Science in
Geology to get in – Masters to
move up.
Benefits:
• Very good pay
• Travel
• Lots of technology usage
More than 25,000 geoscientists work for the petroleum industries. They
are petroleum geologists, geophysicists, sedimentologists, and
engineering geologists working in the United States, Africa, South
America, Canada, Mexico, North Sea, Middle East and elsewhere in the
world. They do subsurface mapping, make stratigraphic correlation, use
computers, and acquire seismic, gravity, and magnetic data to locate
favorable host rocks for oil and gas. They work on land or off-shore and
may travel extensively to explore unknown areas.
Oceanographer
Oceanographers study the oceans and their
various aspects: chemistry, biology, geology,
etc.
Oceanographers cover a diverse range of
studies on the Earth’s water – from the Arctic to
the Tropics.
Salary:
$35,000 - $75,000 per year
Education:
Bachelor’s of Science in Geology to
get in – Masters to move up.
Benefits:
• Travel
• Lots of time at the beach!
•On the fore-front of current
environmental issues.
Park Ranger
Park Rangers are employed by the government. They act as police
officers within national and state parks. Park Ranger is the perfect
cross between an environmental job and law enforcement. These men
and women are specialized police officers whose job it is to both
protect park visitors, campers and hikers, but also to protect the
ecology and overall environment of the parks.
Salary:
$35,000 - $115,000 per year
Education:
60 Credit Hours, especially in
environmental sciences
Civil Service test and police academy.
Benefits:
• Work alone (if you like that)
• Spend a lot of time outdoors in
beautiful areas
• Slow winter season!
Volcanologists
Volcanologists study volcanoes
and volcanic processes both to
learn and to protect people by
issuing warnings and
restrictions.
Salary:
$35,000 - $90,000 per year
Education:
Bachelors of Science in geology, and
then masters degree to move up.
Benefits:
• Travel!
• Exciting / dangerous work
• Spend lots of time outdoors
Earth Science or Geology Teacher /
Professor
Earth science teachers or professors teach about the Earth and
Environment at levels from middle school right up through the university.
They are responsible for educating young people about the Earth and its
processes, and for helping students develop and find careers in the
geosciences.
Science teachers are very hard to come by right now in high schools and
have a much better chance of finding work. Professors at the university
are highly respected and get the opportunity to do research and publish
their work.
Salary:
$25,000 - $85,000 per year (teachers)
$25,000 - $50,000 per year
(professors)
Education:
Bachelors degree in Education / Earth
Science and eventually masters
degree. For professors – B.S. in
geology and masters / PhD.
Benefits:
• Get to study the Earth all the time
(cool!)
• Live in an academic setting
• Exceptionally rewarding field.
• Possibility of gaining notoriety
through publishing.
• Summers off!!
Meteorologist
Meteorologists study the weather on the Earth. Of
course you are all familiar with the men and
women on TV, but meteorologists are much more.
The National Weather Service employs these
scientists to study the weather and predict / report
to the public. They use advanced equipment and
technology.
Salary:
$60,000 - $110,000 per year
Education:
Bachelors of Science in geology, and
then masters degree to move up.
Benefits:
• Constantly changing job environment
• Lots of team-work
• Interesting field and cool
technologies.
Biology or biological
science fields are the set of
careers and jobs that deal with
the living things.
Biological science are also very
diverse and there are many
fields to choose from –
medicine, laboratory work,
agriculture… The following are
fields that have to do with
biology.
Nursing
Nurses assist in the care of patients in
many different settings. Nurses work in
private homes, doctors offices, emergency
rooms, critical care / trauma floors at
hospitals, and even on air-medical
transport vehicles.
Flight nurses care for patient in
air and helicopter transport
situations. They treat on-scene
trauma patients with paramedics
as well as long-range med /
surgical patients being
transported for care.
Intensive care (ICU) nurses provide closeup and rigorous care for unstable patients
who have had serious illnesses, injuries or
surgery.
This is a fast-paced job.
Also fast-paced is the life of an ER
nurse. These men and women see
everything from cuts and bruises to cardiac
arrests and shootings.
Home nurses travel to patients
homes and take care of them there –
administering medications, checking
vital signs and generally making
sure the patients are in good shape.
This is a job where you will get very
close with elderly people – in many
situations you are the only one
coming to visit! It can be very
rewarding, and is slow-paced.
Practice nurses work in doctor’s offices and provide
assistance to the doctor. They record vital signs, work
with charts and records, schedule appointments and
discuss medical problems with patients both in the
office and via telephone.
This is a faster-paced job, but generally not one where
there is a lot of serious medical action.
Salary:
$40,000- $70,000 per year
Education:
RN (2 years) or Bachelors of Nursing
(4-years) – Salary increases with
education.
Benefits:
• Flexibility of schedule.
• Lots of team-work
• Rewarding dealing with patients
•Can work in a variety of different
settings.
Physician / Doctor
Doctors care for the ill and injured.
They encompass a vast array of
fields and most are highly
specialized to a certain area.
Just a few of the areas doctors
specialize are:
Cardiology (heart)
Oncology (cancer treatment)
Trauma (serious injury)
Surgery
Obstetrics / Gynecology
Orthopedic (bones)
Radiology (scans / x-rays)****
Salary:
$150,000 - $500,000 per year (up to
$1,000,000 for highly specialized,
highly skilled doctors.
Education:
Pre-med / biology: Bachelors of
Science (4 years)
Medical School (3 to 4 years)
Benefits:
• High Pay
• Prestige
• Rewarding dealing with patients
• Can work in a variety of different
settings.
Zoologist
Zoologists study a variety of animals
and their lifestyles.
They are found all over the globe and
often specialize in specific regions or
specific animals. Lions and tigers and
bears – oh my!
Zoologists work through public zoos,
through universities or on their own.
They often become “teachers” and
many have been seen on television
and movies.
Salary:
$30,000 - $70,000 per year
$Education:
Bachelors in Zoology, Masters and or
Doctorate to find higher paying jobs.
Benefits:
• Get to work with animals
• Travel / seeing many different places
• Can work in a variety of different
settings
• Possibility of publishing / lecturing /
getting on TV!
Bioethics
Professionals in bioethics are like modern
philosophers. They grapple with questions
that come up in everyday medicine. Who
should get treatment? Who should not?
How can we decide which of 3 patients
gets the transplant heart?
Salary:
$30,000 - $80,000 per year
Education:
At least 4-year degree.. Multidisciplinary (science, medicine,
philosophy, etc.)
More education commands higher
salary.
Most major medical institutions and
medical colleges have bioethics
committees.
They make procedures and policies
for doctors to follow.
Benefits:
• Not a main-stream field
• Ability to set polices for the way
medicine works
• Can work in a variety of different
settings
•Exposure to many interesting
thinkers!
http://facweb.furman.edu/~jsnyder/careers/careerlist.html