Exploration expenditure is cyclic, as are commodity prices both impact greatly on the employment of geologists. I've heard talk about the mining cycle increasing in duration,good times lst longer so do the bad and considering the new way in which corporation are governed to cater for shorter term goals would you advise anyone at all to consider a career in geology. The 1996 - 2001 slump has been considered the worst ever, and i have read that upto 59% of geologists working in Australia left the industry, of the remaining 14% were considered unemployed.
Currently in Australia we are in a mining boom, commodity prices are high, so are geologists salaries. In your opinion, is this simply evidence of the lengthening in duration and maybe impact of the 1996-2001 slump and a sign of what to expect in the future.
Geology is intereting and diverse field, but if things are to continue in five years cycles of utter bust and boom, I cannot see why anyone would want to persue a career in it and I certainly will not. (scroll lock is stuck on my keyboard so i cannot figure out how to edit my mistakes (
Not one reply so no one knows ? On a site dedicated to attracting attention to the field of geology no one can tell me anything about the realities of working in exploration ?
Well I wouldn't be too pessimistic although we are about due for a stockmarket correction (inverted yields and the Yanks going crazy with the printing press and wars).
I think that China and India etc will continue this boom for many years and resources are getting harder to find. I just spent six months in the Kimberly and I reckon there will be some elephants there! A lot of sand cover in the valleys and over contact zones. Not easy easy country to prospect but "fortune favours the brave." Do your own prospecting in the busts. I have been well rewarded and I have no formal Geology training!
BTW - We (Oz) are terribly short of Surveyors! A Geo with some surveying knowledge would do very well!
I believe that with resources becoming more scarce and harder to find, and requirements from emerging economies increasing, the law of supply and demand has to work here. The prospects for geological employment has to increase.
Rank: Talc
Joined: 22/02/2007
Points: 2
Not one reply so no one knows ? On a site dedicated to attracting attention to the field of geology no one can tell me anything about the realities of working in exploration ?
Rank: Topaz
Joined: 18/12/2006
Points: 2981
I'm an academic geologist, so I'm pretty ignorant on the realities of exploration geology. I'm also pretty new to academia so pretty green too
Although academia does respond to cycles in exploration expediture, it also gets funding from other sources too; so it's modulated to some extent.
So I'm afraid I don't know what to say. Should have replied anyway
Geologists are gneiss!!
Rank: Talc
Joined: 22/02/2007
Points: 2
Well I wouldn't be too pessimistic although we are about due for a stockmarket correction (inverted yields and the Yanks going crazy with the printing press and wars).
I think that China and India etc will continue this boom for many years and resources are getting harder to find. I just spent six months in the Kimberly and I reckon there will be some elephants there! A lot of sand cover in the valleys and over contact zones. Not easy easy country to prospect but "fortune favours the brave." Do your own prospecting in the busts. I have been well rewarded and I have no formal Geology training!
BTW - We (Oz) are terribly short of Surveyors! A Geo with some surveying knowledge would do very well!
Rank: Calcite
Joined: 19/01/2006
Points: 245
I believe that with resources becoming more scarce and harder to find, and requirements from emerging economies increasing, the law of supply and demand has to work here. The prospects for geological employment has to increase.
Geologists like a nappe between thrusts