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Earth Planetary Sciences

Industry Areas

Here are examples of industry areas students enter with this major, jobs/internships, typical employers that hire students, skills employers look for, and examples of where alumni work.  To find more information make an appointment with your career counselor/advisor.

Industry Areas for Earth Planetary Sciences
Industry|Employers
Job|Roles
Skills
Alumni

Environmental Consulting

• Retail companies
• Consulting companies
• Banks and financial institutions
• Hospitals and healthcare organizations
• Education and public service agencies
• Utility companies
• Not-for-profit organizations
• Small businesses and start-ups (entrepreneurship)
• State and federal government including armed forces
• Agriculture consulting firms

Associate
• Human capital
• Strategy & Operations
• Analyst
• Data
IT
• Financial
• Marketing

• Problem-Solving Skills
• Analytical Thinking Skills
• Leadership & Team Based Skills
• Business Judgment
• Communication Skills
• Project Management
• Professionalism

• Ecocion Environmental Solutions, Consultant I

Federal Government Agencies

• Environmental Protection Agency
• Bureau of Land Management Forest Service

• Scientist
• Geophysicist

• Administrative
• Communication
• Foreign Language
• Multitasking
• Leadership
• Prioritizing

 • U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Staff Scientist
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Supervisory Geophysicist

Petroleum Companies

• BP
• Chevron Corporation
• Exxon Mobil
• Marathon Petroleum

 • oil and gas exploration
• production
• storage
• waste disposal facilities

• organizational
• analytical thinking/problem solving
• communication
• teamwork
• knowledge in math, science and engineering principles

 • Chevron, Geophysicist

State Government

• Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability
• Department of Child and Family Services
• Department of Finance and Professional Regulations
• Department of Human Services
• Department of Natural Resources
• Office of the Governor
• State Supreme Court

 • Environmental Protection Specialist I
• Human Resources Representative
• Human Services Caseworker
• Information Systems Analyst
• Paralegal Assistant

• Administrative
• Communication
• Foreign Language
• Multitasking
• Leadership
• Prioritizing

 • Town of Dedham, Conservation Agent

Energy

• Petroleum industry including:

  • oil and gas exploration
  • production
  • storage
  • waste disposal facilities

• Coal industry including:

  • mining exploration
  • grade assessment
  • waste disposal

• Federal government agencies:

  • National Labs
  • Department of Energy
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • US Geologic Survey

• State government
• Consulting firms
• Well services and drilling companies
• Oil field machinery and supply companies

• Stratigraphy
• Sedimentology
• Structural Geology
• Geophysics
• Geochemistry
• Economic Geology
• Geomorphology
• Paleontology
• Fossil Energy
• Hydrogeology

• Quantitative
• Leadership
• Interest in Sustainability
• Project Management
• Problem solving

 • Gould Groundwater Investigations, Inc., Hydrogeologist
• Energy Solutions Consortium, LLC, Project Director, Development

Environmental Geology

• Federal government agencies:

  • National Labs
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Forest Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • US Geological Survey
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • Department of Defense

• State highway departments
• Public utilities companies
• Mines
• Environmental consulting firms
• Water testing labs
• Land use planning agencies
• Civil engineering firms
• Surveying companies

• Sedimentology
• Hydrogeology
• Shallow Geophysics
• Coastal and Marine Geology
• Geochemistry
• Oceanography
• Environmental Geology

• organizational
• analytical thinking/problem solving
• communication
• teamwork
• knowledge in math, science and engineering principles
• Quantitative
• Leadership
• Interest in Sustainability
• Project Management
• Problem solving

 • Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Senior Environmental Specialist

Geologic Mapping

Federal government agencies:

• US Geological Survey
• Department of Defense
• Private companies

• Structural Geology
• Stratigraphy
• Sedimentology
• Remote Sensing
• Geophysics

• organizational
• analytical thinking/problem solving
• communication
• teamwork
• knowledge in math, science and engineering principles

 • Chevron, Technical Geophysicist

Hazards

• Federal government agencies:

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
  • US Geological Survey
  • Department of Defense

• Private research groups and foundations
• Consulting firms

• Engineering Geology
• Seismology
• Volcanology
• Geomorphology
• Geologic Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Environmental Geology
• Structural Geology

• organizational
• analytical thinking/problem solving
• communication
• teamwork
• knowledge in math, science and engineering principles

 • Natural Resource Technology, Inc., Environmental Engineer I

Minerals

• Geological exploration firms
• Mining companies
• Consulting firms
• Federal government agencies:

  • US Geologic Survey
  • Office of Surface Mining
  • Bureau of Land Management

• Railroad companies
• Well services and drilling companies

• Mining
• Engineering
• Mineralogy
• Geochemistry
• Economic Geology
• Paleontology
• Stratigraphy
• Sedimentology
• Crystallography

• organizational
• analytical thinking/problem solving
• communication
• teamwork
• knowledge in math, science and engineering principles

 • GLC Minerals, President & COO

Planetary Sciences

Federal government agencies:

• National Labs
• National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA)
• US Geological Survey

• Remote Sensing
• Geomorphology
• Mineralogy
• Petrology
• Geochemistry

• organizational
• analytical thinking/problem solving
• communication
• teamwork
• knowledge in math, science and engineering principles

 NA

Education

• Elementary/secondary public or private schools
• Colleges and universities
• Museums

• Teaching Research

K-12: 

• Coordination
• public speaking
• critical thinking
• writing
• social perceptiveness
• complex problem solving.

Higher Ed:

• Research
• Writing
• critical thinking
• judgment and decision making
• presentations

 • Arizona State University, Associate Professor of Life Sciences

Popular Industries (According to LinkedIn)

  • Research
  • Education
  • Community and Social Services
  • Media and Communication

Professional Associations