Geology has always been a great interest of mine.

Ever since my family and I ventured

out to Wyoming, Montana, and many more rocky mountain states, the outdoors have
intrigued me. There are many interesting details to learn about the field of Geology
including its history, purpose in todays society, its many forms, and finally the typical
life of a modern day Geologist. I have chosen this field as my culture for research and
hope to enlighten readers more about it with insightful information from professionals,
experienced workers, Geology students, and my own personal experience.
The study of geology is fascinating and extremely important to todays society.
Geology is the study of the Earth, its history, and the rocks that make it up. It helps us
better understand the planet we live on as well as what it was like before humans even
existed. Geology allows scientists to examine the processes the earth has undergone
while changing over time. Through the use of techniques such as Carbon Dating we can
learn more about the history of the planet Earth and determine the ages of certain
organisms that long ago roamed the lands we know today.
There is a great history to the field of Geology itself. Over the course of hundreds of
years many men and women have contributed substantially to the science and have lead
us to what we know today. The first major figure is James Hutton. Many Geologists
consider Hutton the Father of Geology today. Through long studying the earth he was
able to theorize that the Earth is always going through different changes. The
transformation that the planet goes through is due to erosion and tectonic activity.
Erosion is the constant wear of natural forces such as wind and water. These forces grind
away over time and eventually change the shape of the earths rocks, such is how the
Grand Canyon was formed. Another important figure is Eratosthenes who was a Greek

scientist who live from 276-195 BC. This man is credited for discovering the Earths
circumference. He was able to calculate this by measuring the lengths of shadows in the
city of Alexandria during the summer solstice.
Now that we have some background on what a Geologist is let us take a look at what
the day in the life of one is like. Usually a worker would spend 5-15 hours of the day
outside working in the field. While outside a Geologist will spend his or her time
reviewing the land and taking samples of the earth to be able to report information about
the land to their employers, depending on the type of Geologist they are. Unfortunately
pay for an average field Geologist about $41,000, but only about 10% of Geologists leave
their job, which means it truly is a very rewarding job.
There are many different types of work for Geologists today. These depend on what
section of the earth they are studying, and the to what company or agency they report to.
One type is called an Environmental Geologist which focuses on the environmental
problems that we are facing in the world today and work to make the planet a greener
place. Most of their work involves testing the earth and water for any toxic chemicals and
would report to an Environmental firm like URS Corp. or Veolia North America.
Another type of job is a Geological Engineer. These engineers focus on making sure that
different kinds of structures can be built safely on the land. These Engineers help plan the
building of structures such as roads, landfills, and tunnels where earth stability plays role
in safety. One of the most important Geology jobs today is a Petroleum Geologist. This is
the field I am interested in and am pursuing as a career for myself. A Petroleum
Geologist focuses on the search for earths many natural resources such as oil. They
would typically work for an oil company such as Mobil, Shell, Sinclair, or Gulf.