Geologist - As a career option
Introduction
Geology is the study of the substance of which the earth is made. An ancient branch of science, geology has always been a pertinent field of study when it comes to the development of the human race, and its importance is more prominent today than ever before.
Even though it is a branch of science, the core subject matter of the stream is highly interdisciplinary and requires in-depth knowledge of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and even biology.
This is owed to the numerous and diverse applications that geology can have, from the study of tectonic plates to predict and analyse earthquakes to the study of the earth’s history, evolution, and even climate change.
When it comes to pure science, geology can provide us with a means of studying the physical and chemical changes over the past several billion years that led to the earth as it is today, telling us valuable stories such as the role of climate and the importance of carbon and nitrogen in the sustenance of life.
If you’d rather spend a life looking at the future instead of the past, geology can aid us in determining the location of natural resources such as fossil fuels, minerals, and raw materials for the extraction of metals.
How to become a Geologist?
Geology is available in most Indian universities as an undergraduate stream of study. Hence, all that you have to do is to crack your class 12 board examination with flying colors and apply for a position to a faculty of repute.
Unlike physics or chemistry, Geology students in college enjoy frequent field trips outside of the city to study rocks and minerals, find it much easier to drift into research and fit into a host of uncommon, interdisciplinary, and fascinating job profiles.
Eligibility criteria to become a Geologist
- +2: Must graduate in the science stream
- Bachelor’s Degree: B.Sc in Geology
- Master’s Degree: M.Sc in Geology
After graduating with an undergraduate degree, a fresh geologist can pursue their careers as professionals, as postgraduate students, or even in research and development.
A day in the life of a Geologist
Hey there! I’m Rohit, a senior geologist working in one of India’s largest coal-bed methane production companies. I have a master’s degree in geology from a top Indian university and have been working in this capacity for six years.
Let’s get along to my workplace so that you can see the fascinating world that I belong to.
7:00 AM: My apartment is in the city, but the site where I work is several kilometers into the outskirts where coal mines are typically located.
Hence, I have to leave early if I am to arrive at my workplace on time. The train I’m sitting in right now is popular transportation for geologists – we’re in India’s largest coal district.
9:00 AM: I head a small team of geologists, chemists, and engineers who specialize in the measurement of coal bed methane.
Methane, as you might recall from high school chemistry, is a highly flammable gas that is found in copious amounts inside the earth’s crust.
As it happens, coal present in mines often has large quantities of methane stuck onto their surfaces via a process known as adsorption. When workers deep inside the mines drill into the beds of coal to break off chunks of black gold, they generate heat.
This heat sometimes makes the methane catch fire, which can (and has, in the past), cause widespread fires and lead to catastrophes. My job here is to acquire and measure chunks of coal for their methane content to ensure that drilling is safe.
11:00 AM: Typically, we are provided with new samples around this time that require swift inspection and diagnosis every time the drilling crew embarks upon new successive layers of coal.
Right now, we have more than eight samples from various parts of the massive coal mine into which I look. Depending on the type of coal, we do various sophisticated tests to determine the suitability of the bed for drilling. This information has to be provided urgently. Two of my team members are very busy doing exactly that.
1:30 PM: Once that’s done with, we look into how the methane in the coal can be removed in a way that is not only efficient but allows us to have access to the methane which can then be refined and sold.
My job here is to provide engineers working at the extraction unit with something that we call a desorption isotherm, which loosely tells them what to do to get the methane out. This process involves a state-of-the-art instrument that can take several hours to cough up data.
3:30 PM: I’m at an interdepartmental meeting with personnel from management, line operation, and control. I’m here to discuss a number of coal characterization requirements placed by other departments in the company have been failing to be up to the mark because of the lack of suitable testing equipment.
We’re going to discuss their requirements and present the managers from the equipment procurement section of the company with the specs of new testing equipment.
5:00 PM: The meeting was quite eventful, and I’m going to be working tomorrow on generating holistic specifications for several new characterization instruments that we’ll be procuring. For now, my day is done and it’s time to catch the train again.
Do you want to study how the earth is made up of? According to us, this will be the right profession for you. We hope you have learned something valuable from this article. Have your say in the comment box below. Enjoy Reading!