How to Become a Geological Engineer?

Geology includes the study of earth and engineering which is related to applying scientific knowledge in real life. Geological engineers identify the earth processes and their formation to design structures in an environment-friendly way. Choosing this field as a career can open various prospects for the candidate. A person can become an engineer, scientist, or professor. Find out how to become a Geological engineer with this blog!

What does a Geological engineer do?

There are various jobs that a Geological engineer performs. These areas are listed below:

• Study: The foremost job of a Geological engineer is to study the landforms and the foundation of the earth. They aim to protect life and property while building any structure. As a result, the study of all the aspects of the earth like soil, rock, water as well as a civil foundation, is carried out. Alongside, they hold expertise in mines, minerals and earth’s crust.
• Planning: The next job a Geological engineer performs is to plan and list down all the steps to be followed while designing and establishing any kind of structure.
• Designing: The engineer then designs the whole structure and its specifications. They do so by taking into account all the aims and planning. Geological charts, maps, and samples are used to get the best results mitigating any kind of natural or man-made hazard.
• Post-Analysis: After designing and laying the structure successfully, the engineer analyses any disparities and prepares technical reports.

Skills Required to Become a Geological Engineer

To become a Geological engineer or a Geologist, one must possess several skills:

• Good intellectual skills
• Observation skills
• Communication skills
• Problem-solving capabilities
• Good Physical abilities
• Academic skills
• Ability to assess hazards

A person can become a geologist if they can understand the risk of the complexity of the earth’s formation and the complexity of engineering.

How to Become a Geological Engineer?

In order to become a geologist in India as well as abroad, one must do the following: 

• One must study physics, chemistry, and mathematics in high school and grab a good knowledge of these subjects.
• One should make a strong decision of taking it as a career by doing good research on its scope.
• Choices for colleges must be made whether in India or abroad. Set them as an aim.
• Prepare and appear for entrance examinations.
• Take Admission, study hard and gain a degree
• Practice

Geological Engineering Courses

A successful journey of becoming a Geological engineer begins from high school itself and continues till you achieve a doctorate. After doing high school with subjects like physics, chemistry, and maths, one can go for higher degrees.

• Under-graduation
  • B.Tech. in Geological engineering is an undergraduate course that gives insights into geology like minerals, mechanics, etc.
  • It is a full-time 4-year course that requires geology as the main subject.
  • Exposure to theory as well as the laboratory is given to the students.
• Post-graduation
  • After B.Tech., a candidate can go for a higher degree of master i.e. M.Tech. in Geological engineering or MS in Geological Engineering.
  • It is a complete 2 years course. Few specializations in the fields like minerals, hydraulics, hazard management, etc. might be taken up to complete the master’s degree.
• Doctorate
  • Doctorate of Geological engineering is a research-level degree that focuses on various advanced levels of geology like geotechnical engineering, hydraulic engineering, and earth sciences. It is a full-time 3-5 year course.
  • The course requires deep academic rigour and practical projects need to be completed to get your degree. 

Eligibility Criteria

At each level of degree of the course, various criteria are needed to be followed along with several entrance exams.

• Eligibility criteria for under-graduation
  • The person should have cleared high school examinations by obtaining at least 60% aggregate.
  • The person should appear and clear entrance exams for B.Tech. (JEE Mains, JEE Advanced, VITEEE) to study this course in India.

• Eligibility criteria for post-graduation
  • One should have cleared B.Tech. in Geological engineering with at least 60% marks.
  • Also, entrance exams for this course need to be attempted and cleared (GATE, UPCET, AP PGECET) to study this course in India.

• Eligibility criteria for the doctorate
  • The person must have completed M.Tech. With a minimum of 60% marks
  • Entrance exams should be cleared (JNU Ph.D., UGC NET) to study this course in India.

• Eligibility criteria For students who want to study abroad
  • The student should have completed 10+2 with physics, chemistry, and maths as his main subjects.
  • GPA should be more than 3 out of 4
  • Reference letters attested by professors of some top accredited institutions
  • English language exams like TOEFL or IELTS must be cleared and documents available
  • Citizenship and Id proof might be required as well
  • All the institutions have their respective entrance exams that must be cleared
  • Some institutions hold post-exams counselling as well

Fee Structure

Course	Average fee
Under-graduation	INR 1.5-2 LPA
Post-graduation	INR 9000-2 LPA
Ph.D.	INR 1-2 LPA
Abroad	USD 12,000-20,000 per year (INR 9,08,610 to 15,14,350 per year)

Top Institutions Abroad

University	QS Would University Rankings 2021
ETH Zurich-Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland	1
Harvard University, US	2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US	3
University of Washington, US	4
University of Cambridge, UK	5
California Institute of Technology, US	6
University of California, Berkeley US	7
Stanford University, US	8
University of Oxford, UK	9
Columbia University, US	10

Top institutions in India

Institute	NIRF Ranking 2021
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras	1
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay	2
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur	3
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi	4
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur	5
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee	6
Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad	7
Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar	8
Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar	9
Indian Institute of Technology, Patna	10

Future Scope of a Geological Engineer

There are a plethora of opportunities available after gaining a geological engineering degree whether it be in India or anywhere in the world. One can seek jobs in the following fields:

• Residential constructions
• Commercial projects
• Governmental installations
• Mine, forestry, and coastal developments
• Public works department
• Research and Development
• The average salary of a geologist is around 7 LPA.
• Countries like the US, UK, and Australia also have greater opportunities.

Geological engineering is one of the top-paying careers these days. Its scope is much higher abroad. The geologist job market is expected to grow by 14.1% between 2016 and 2026 in the US.

FAQs

Want to study Geological engineering abroad? Get in touch with our Leverage Edu experts today and get your application to your dream university started. Have any further question? Drop a comment and we will get back to you!