How does an Aussie geo get to Canada?

March 24, 2008 7:49 PM

This time next year I'll be a freshly graduated Australian geolgist. I'd like to work overseas, and I'm tempted by Canada or the US. What should I be aware of while trying to arrange all this, and how easy would it be to work as close to New York as possible?

This November, I'll be graduating with honours in Geology from a university in Australia. I've done some vacation work along the way, I've got good grades and references, and I usually interview well.

Any advice about what to expect, what the job market's like, what the job conditions are like, what the life's like etc. would be really appreciated.

I'd love to be as close to NYC as possible, but I'm aware that it probably isnt' the easiest thing.

I'm not interested in working for a company with a poor environmental record.

Thanks in advance.

posted by twirlypen to work & money (12 answers total)

I don't know enough about NYC firms that would hire you to suggest one, but this article sounds encouraging. You may want to check with some of the investment banks. Their oil and metals groups often hire geologists.
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:54 PM on March 24, 2008

Have you considered doing work Columbia? Perhaps Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (website down at the moment) or the Earth Institute? The former is more likely to be looking for post-graduate geologist types...
posted by onalark at 9:07 PM on March 24, 2008

It might help to know what you are interested in. Hard rock, soft rock, mining, petroleum, geophysics, seismology, geodesics, geochemistry, structural geology, environmental geology, hydrology, petrology, mineralogy, soils, paleontology, glaciology, volcanology, planetary geology?
posted by JackFlash at 9:46 PM on March 24, 2008

Fair enough, JackFlash. I've had a lot of experience with hard rock and structural stuff, and this year I'm focussing more on sedimentary systems and geochemistry. I've had a good amount of work experience in mining (especially iron oxide copper gold systems).

I'd be happy to consider anything in hard rock, soft rock, structural, and environmental geology. It could be with a government or investment business, or within the minerals/petroleum industry.

Geophysics, petrology, mineralogy, soils, and palaeontology don't especially appeal to me.

I don't have a great deal of experience with galciology, volcanology, or planetary geology but they all sound interesting and I'd certainly consider an entry-level position one one of those areas.
posted by twirlypen at 10:01 PM on March 24, 2008

Is your degree the equivalent of a bachelor's degree or higher? It's a great market for geologists right now, but my experience has been that industry demands a master's degree, barring some exceptional internship experience.

Actually, you might have a much easier time getting an internship first and using that as leverage into a full-time job later, if that's not too much risk for you to stomach.

My experience working with international interns has been that they get to do internships in the U.S. and/or Canada while they're in school here, but the expectation is that if hired, they'd go back and work in their home country for a few years. Companies don't want to go through the visa process unless you have some extremely valuable expertise they can't hire here (some areas of geophysics, mostly).

I admit I know very little about the investment arena, and if you're targeting NYC, that might be the best route anyway.
posted by adiabat at 10:30 PM on March 24, 2008

It's a bachelor double degree in science and arts, and at the end of this year I'll have completed honours (I think the basic US equivalient is a one year masters degree).
posted by twirlypen at 11:54 PM on March 24, 2008

I would imagine most of the large investment firms would consider you. Check out Goldman Sachs (the first one that comes to mind). They have a good career section from what I remember. Plus, they're massive - if you decide you want to return home at some point, you could likely transfer to an Australian office rather than have to look for a new job.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:59 AM on March 25, 2008

As a Canadian non-geologist, I'll focus on the location part of your question. As a piece of advice, one thing would-be Canadians often don't realize just how large the country is - cities often aren't a few hours drives from each other, and going from province to province typically means flying (unless you can devote 12+ hours to driving).

Being from Australia, this might not surprise you, but I thought I'd mention it. Best to research the living conditions of a particular city or province, rather than the country on the whole.

If you'd like to live somewhere in Canada and close to NYC, Toronto would be worth exploring.
posted by lindsey.nicole at 7:46 AM on March 25, 2008

One possibility is to do a masters degree in your area of interest in the country of choice. Schools are very helpful with placement for summer internships and you would be getting a lot of contacts with teachers that could be very helpful for your career. You also might be able to get a teaching assistant position to help with expenses. A masters degree will go a long way to making you more employable.
posted by JackFlash at 8:30 AM on March 25, 2008

I don't know much about the East Coast, but there is a lot of work in environmental consulting out here on the West Coast. Typical issues involve remediation of soil and groundwater contamination. There is also a fair amount of Natural Gas exploration going on in the West (California and Nevada specifically).

I'm not interested in working for a company with a poor environmental record.

I think you'll find that there are companies with a poor environmental record that probably have a great, dedicated environmental group within them. A few of my clients have a poor public record, but in my dealings with their staff they truly do care about what is going on. I think it is tough to operate in today's business world with a poor environmental program. At least that's what the optimistic side of me thinks.
posted by Big_B at 8:55 AM on March 25, 2008

Did you do a senior thesis? If so, in what? A company will be looking for for that if you want to make the argument that your degree is equivalent to a one year M.S. The best chance you have at getting a job will be in an area in the research that you've done.

The most valuable thing to consider is what you want. What is it about the New York area that interests you? Do you want a desk job in/near New York pushing paper or do you want to work with rocks? Are you in it for the money? What is your GIS experience? Do you want to be looking at core/cuttings all day long? Do have seismic or wire line log experience? Do you have a special skill set that a company has trouble finding? Do you- know anything about hydrology or agronomy (especially necessary in the environmental field)? How easily bored are you - do you want to run around inspecting bedrock for bridges all the time or do you want to see the world? Because you can see the world, but that probably means working for a major company - like a petroleum company.

I'm not interested in working for a company with a poor environmental record.
If you're excessively worried about it, how about mine reclaimation? Be more concerned with how they treat people - their employees, and other people. That will give you an idea about how they care about the environment. Change comes from within.

I think if you're really interested in getting as close to NY as possible, going for an Ph.d/M.S. in an area school wouldn't be a bad idea. I've worked with Australian geologists from Perth and Sydney and a U.S. graduate degree is different than an Australian one - not worse, not better, just different - but more valuable would be the contacts with the bonus of cementing your interests (no pun intended). And in my experience, saying your degree is worth more than a U.S. B.S. doesn't mean you'll be paid more. If you're interested in working for a financial firm, picking up some coursework in that area also wouldn't hurt.

The job market here is fabulous, but takes a little work and possibly living in an area you're not currently leaning towards. The huge hiring expansion by the major petroleum companies is waning, but that doesn't mean there aren't jobs. Uranium exploration, minerals, geochemistry, unconventionals (i.e. tar sands and coalbed methane) and of course geophysics are all job areas crying out for new employees. I agree that an internship is your best foot in the door. At your level, a lot of major companies aren't as interested in what you truly know as they are in what kind of person you are and whether or not they can teach you what you should know. No matter where you'll go, you'll be in for a lot of training.

(On preview) Well, yeah, what everyone else said. If you want, e-mail me, I can give you some nitty gritty details on my experiences finding a job.
posted by barchan at 9:26 AM on March 25, 2008

I'm currently doing a postgraduate thesis, it's based upon biogeochemical sampling of trees around ore bodies to better define them and find new deposits in a cheaper and less destructive way than drilling.

New York interests me specifically because for almost five years now I've been in a long distance relationship with an American woman who lives there. Either working at a desk in NYC or living there and travelling out to site would both be wonderful for me. I'm not in it for the money, and would much prefer a job with good conditions and interesting work to one with a big salary.

I've done a little GIS in undergrad, I've done a fair bit of core logging and don't mind that (especially in the short term), I've done some wire line log and seismic section work in undergrad, and I don't have much hydrology or agronomy experience. As for how easily bored I am- I wouldn't want to log core for the next three decades, but I'm quite happy to do it now as a graduate, especially if it helps me get a job.

Thanks for the help, everyone.
posted by twirlypen at 3:04 PM on March 25, 2008