A career in the geosciences?
What is geoscience?
Geoscience is the branch of science that includes all fields of natural science related to the Earth. It covers everything from the rocks beneath our feet, to Earth's oceans, atmosphere, ice sheets and much more. Some branches of geoscience even cover the rocky bodies out in space, from planets to asteroids. Geoscience is a really broad field of study and has something to offer everyone.
Why is geoscience important?
Geoscience is often thought of as the study of past earth processes, but it is also intrinsically linked with current and future processes too. One of the most important things geoscientists do is help to protect the planet through studying and learning from it. By studying past processes, like past climate change, we can begin to predict the future. As you'll learn by interacting with our website, geoscientists play a vital role in locating resources. These can include things like water, energy and mineral resources. Mineral resources are especially important at the moment as the green technologies we need for our sustainable future are reliant on these resources and we don't currently have enough mineral resources mined to meet the growing demand. Geoscientists are crucial for a sustainable future for our society!
What can I do as a geoscientist?
There are so many options open to you as a geoscientist! Even just by looking at the range of things that the 'Mining a Sustainable Future' team at iCRAG and the NHM do, you can see that there are so many different things you could do - like being a research scientist and studying something you're passionate about, or running a laboratory with lots of complex and interesting equipment... you could also become a field geoscientist and study geoscience in the great outdoors, the possibilities are endless! We suggest you have a look at the Geological Society of London's Geology Career Pathways activity (below) or check out the Geological Survey Ireland's Life as a Geoscientist page to learn more. It is a fantastic resource and you might find out about a career that you never even knew you existed!
First steps for a geoscientist often involve a university degree. We've put together some more information here.
Advice for UK Students
Advice for Irish Students
UK Universities offering Geoscience Courses 2021
According to UCAS, there are 43 institutions that offer geology related courses in the UK. Click below for more information. Bear in mind that there's much more to geoscience than geology and other universities may offer courses which better suit you, such as environmental science or join honours with geography.
Irish Universities offering Geoscience Courses 2021
There are four universities that offer geology related courses in Ireland, these are UCD, TCD, UCC and NUIG (click below for more information). Bear in mind that there's much more to geoscience than geology and other universities may offer courses which better suit you, such as environmental science or join honours with geography.
A fantastic resource for everyone
The Geological Society of London's interactive career pathways pages
Further information and downloads
Girls into Geoscience
Girls into Geoscience is a fantastic UK and Irish based programme aimed at introducing people to the geosciences.
Life as a geoscientist (GSI)
What skills do geoscientists need? What do they do? What do they study? And where can I learn to be a geoscientist? Find out all this, and more!