Number of jobs expected per year is unavailable at this time. Occupational growth is unavailable at this time. Employment outlook is unavailable at this time. National Outlook Nationally, employment of geologists and geophysicists is expected to grow as fast as average through 2008. Many jobs for geoscientists are in the petroleum industry.
Most jobs involve exploring for oil and gas.
This industry tends to increase and decrease in size depending on oil prices. Exploration has stopped in this country because of low oil prices and high costs. Shrinking oil reserves, improvements in energy efficiency, and restrictions on drilling sites have also slowed exploration. If these conditions continue, there will be limited openings in the petroleum industry in the United States. As a result of poor job prospects in the recent past, the number of students studying geological sciences dropped.