>>10836976I ended up with a geology degree but work in engineering. I'm paid far too much to quit though so I'm stuck here awhile.
My geology friends are working in various geology fields right now.
1. Does soil samples for Utah Geological Survey. He drives up and down Utah in his truck, takes equipment with him, works alone, pounds an instrument into the ground, brings the sample back to the lab. It's undergraduate grunt work.
2. is working at a mine in the Henry Mountains
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Mountains I've talked to him exactly twice since graduation. He sits in a trailer on site and is the first person that looks at samples brought up from the mine. If he sees anything interesting he hands it off to the higher up geologist. It's undergraduate grunt work.
3. Is working for a company or the government or something. I honestly don't know which. He checks building sites for foundation work. He explains it like this 'I show up, look at the hole they've dug, and sign off on whether or not it's up to standard, and leave.' He's there to make sure that they're following procedure on digging the hole for the foundation before they set gravel and pour cement.
4. Was working for a construction company. He wakes up each morning at 4 am, heads out to the site at 5 am and looks at drill cores. He admitted that the guys in the truck know more geology than he does because they've been drilling for 25 years and he just graduated last year. Every morning, 5 am, head out. He quit back in May? June? ish. to go to school in Arizona.
Finally there's the guy who worked up at Kennecott Copper Mine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bingham_Canyon_Mine out near Salt Lake City. He was working at the drill site. His job was unloading drill cores to have them sent up to the lab. He got fired because he's a dumbass. Said he hated his job because it had nothing to do with Geology. I kept telling him to stick it out a couple years till a lab position opened.
