Having a degree in both Chemistry and Geophysics worth it?

[tbomb]

If Wall-Of-Text, skip to last paragraph for the gist of it.

Went into university thinking I could rush through and get into Medical school. Now that I've finished all the med school "recommended" requirements and my 2nd year Chemistry degree courses, I just don't see myself being a physician. Never liked the hospital volunteer work to be honest. Wrote a boys mentoring program for several Red Deer high schools, soon to be implemented into some Calgary schools, which is much better than any volunteer aid work I could ever do at the moment.

I've grown a great love for Chemistry and want it to be associated with my future career. Organic/ inorganic are probably going to be my favorite uni courses ill ever take. Every lecture blew my mind.

Recently, I've been researching future careers in Chemistry and it looks horrible. Poor pay, no respect, boring work, and more boring work. I don't feel like I've wasted my time doing a Chem degree though, because I love it. If I could have, I think I would have gone into engineering or geosciences. So I went on to research possibly doing a geoscience degree instead.

I have contacted a few people in Nexen, Halliburton and Encana in regards to geology degrees, and they've all told me to get the **** out of chemistry while I can. One told me to take a year off school and hit the rigs to understand what goes on in the other side of the industry. The other said, getting a geology or geophysics degree will get you a job as soon as or before you graduate from UofC. I know there was a thread about geology degrees between MRU and UofC. All three of the employers I talked to said MRU is lower priority than schools outside Alberta. Perhaps its just those companies, but sorry MRU.

The one question I never asked them was; is getting a degree in both Chemistry and Geophysics worth the time. If you can get hired(with excellent salary/ benefits and work environment) as soon as you graduate with a geoscience degree, would having a chem degree with it designate you to "better" opportunities in the field? That's 6 years of undergrad for 2 degrees and 2 minors and lots of textbooks to sell.

Any feedback would be great. Thanks guys

[jsn]

Originally posted by tbomb

The other said, getting a geology or geophysics degree will get you a job as soon as or before you graduate from UofC.

Not likely, unless you want to do wellsite geology. There's tons of competition for office positions so unless you have an extremely high GPA, a stellar interview, or else connections, it definitely is not a given. Not saying it's not doable, but don't expect it to be easy to land an office position. Wellsite geo positions are easier to find and the pay is better than an entry level office position.

I actually dropped chemistry after 2 years because it seemed like you needed at least a masters or Ph.D to do anything with a chem degree.

[Projek01]

I am in Chem right now and I would not recommend it. Why waste time studying something that wont pay you more. If you really like chem, take them as your science options. Focus on glgy

[msommers]

Originally posted by tbomb
is getting a degree in both Chemistry and Geophysics worth the time. If you can get hired(with excellent salary/ benefits and work environment) as soon as you graduate with a geoscience degree, would having a chem degree with it designate you to "better" opportunities in the field? That's 6 years of undergrad for 2 degrees and 2 minors and lots of textbooks to sell.

Any feedback would be great. Thanks guys

To answer your question of having a chemistry degree, I could see it being advantageous for grad work doing oil analysis. Otherwise it's a nice thing to have, but you're not going to get a leg-up on someone else who doesn't have a Chem degree.

Secondly, you're flip-flopping between geology, geophysics and geosciences so I'm not entirely sure what specifically you're asking about. At the UofC, geology is separated into 3 specializations: General, Petroleum and Environmental. Given your interest in chemistry, I can really see environmental being up your alley so maybe look more into hydrogeology/hydrologist. Geophysics shares some of the required coursework but is much more math heavy, different courses in 3/4th year and in my opinion, kind of boring (however it is very useful).

As for the current job market, this isn't 2007. JSN has hit it right on. Office jobs are much more competitve (even summer jobs) and you're not going to just waltz out of university with your degree in your hand and get a job. Looking back now, I would have gotten more involved with geo events and the geology club. I thikn I should have done an undergrad thesis too but I guess all that writting can wait if I decide to go back for my Master's. A large portion of my graduating class is working as wellsite geologists, a smaller portion working as geologists/geophsyicists downtown, even smaller gone to grad school and a few doing mining/hard rock.

Again, I can see you enjoying hydrogeology. Here are current topics being researched. Lastly, email Dr. Masaki Hayashi ([email protected]) and ask him directly what the courses consist of, future in hydrogeology, drop in for a class etc. I don't know him personally but I'd still recommend talking to him.

Hope that helps. I know of a few other geologists on Beyond that may be able to share their thoughts as well.

[lint]

I have a chem degree and work in IT. pm if you want to discuss further

[tbomb]

Originally posted by jsn


Not likely, unless you want to do wellsite geology. There's tons of competition for office positions so unless you have an extremely high GPA, a stellar interview, or else connections, it definitely is not a given. Not saying it's not doable, but don't expect it to be easy to land an office position. Wellsite geo positions are easier to find and the pay is better than an entry level office position.

I actually dropped chemistry after 2 years because it seemed like you needed at least a masters or Ph.D to do anything with a chem degree.

The employer I talked to did mention well-site geo, briefly. Bsc work well-site, masters or higher looks after company exploration-office work. Something like that, don't quote me. He mentioned he did well-site geo on many well types (had no idea what he was talking about at that point), right after school in the early 80's, and then got an office position after a decade and loves both kinds of work. He actually recommended starting as a well site geologist.

After dropping Chem, did you pursue a different degree?

[Xamim]

Chem will be much more useful in geology, rather than in geophysics, IMO. Other than the odd geology class, I don't remember doing any chemistry in geophysics. Like mentioned before, look into the environmental side of geology.

One of my good friends took chemistry for two years, realized it was a dead end and switched to computer science. Says he is very happy he made the switch and does not regret it.

[tbomb]

Originally posted by msommers


Secondly, you're flip-flopping between geology, geophysics and geosciences so I'm not entirely sure what specifically you're asking about. At the UofC, geology is separated into 3 specializations: General, Petroleum and Environmental. Given your interest in chemistry, I can really see environmental being up your alley so maybe look more into hydrogeology/hydrologist. Geophysics shares some of the required coursework but is much more math heavy, different courses in 3/4th year and in my opinion, kind of boring (however it is very useful).

I'm more interested in geophysics because of the heavy math and qualitative graphical analysis associated with it. I like how chemistry (especially organic) is very qualitative. Analyzing H/C NMR, UV, IR to get the structure of a compound is extremely interesting to me and I'm trying to ask people around the geoscience faculty if this interest would be a benefit.

Will definitely contact dr. hayashi. Any insight I can get will help.

Thanks

[chkolny541]

Im graduating with a chem degree this semester, i got 2 job offers and had a bunch of interviews. I got a incredible position with a O&G fracturing company. Your degree is only useless if you dont put any effort into looking for options when your done with it, i spent quite a bit of time researching positions that interest me. Just remember to chase what interests you, not the money, 100K a year doesnt mean shit if you hate your job everyday.

BTW there are TONS of environmental jobs out there that hire tons of chemists. Lots of these places pay insane as well.

http://www.ejobs.org/states/albcom.html

[jsn]

Originally posted by tbomb


The employer I talked to did mention well-site geo, briefly. Bsc work well-site, masters or higher looks after company exploration-office work. Something like that, don't quote me. He mentioned he did well-site geo on many well types (had no idea what he was talking about at that point), right after school in the early 80's, and then got an office position after a decade and loves both kinds of work. He actually recommended starting as a well site geologist.

After dropping Chem, did you pursue a different degree?

Yea, I dropped chem and got a Bsc in geology. I'm currently working as a well site geologist. Alot of office guys get sent out to the rigs so they get an idea of what goes on out in the field. Even though I would have preferred starting out in the office, it's nice getting the field experience first and it also looks good on the resume when you're trying to get into the office. Plus the money is better than an entry level position downtown which is a bonus.

[vadeit]

Those saying you can't get a job beyond a lab position for life with BSc chem don't know wtf they are talking about.

I have a BSc chem and work for one of the major service companies. I will tell you what I tell all undergrads or fresh chem grads I have mentored. In my opinion you have two options if you want to do O&G with a chem degree. Start in the field or in the lab with a service company. Bust you ass for 3 years or so paying you dues. Show you are a champ and you will move up the ladder. It is possible to be upwards of 100k in 5-6 years. Not banker money I know but it is decent.

[msommers]

Originally posted by tbomb


The employer I talked to did mention well-site geo, briefly. Bsc work well-site, masters or higher looks after company exploration-office work. Something like that, don't quote me. He mentioned he did well-site geo on many well types (had no idea what he was talking about at that point), right after school in the early 80's, and then got an office position after a decade and loves both kinds of work. He actually recommended starting as a well site geologist.

You can definitely get an office job with Bachelor's degree. Some companies really want you to have a Master's (Shell or Imperial come to mind). A lot of geos go back to get their Master's at some point. If you're looking at working internationally, you kind of need one. The unfortunate part is that some Master's programs around the world are equivalent to our Bachelor's programs here with an undergrad thesis but no one internationally will recognize it.

I think field work is important as it's another piece of information someone should. Accurately communicating and overseeing field operations when you're in the office I think is vital. The pay and perks of field work are pretty good too. For example, I'm making double what I would be if I got a job downtown right after graduating, able to write-off a lot of things because we all run small businesses and I only work 8 months of the year. The negative aspect is that you're out in the field for 8 months of the year. Depends on your lifestyle I guess!