What Do Geological Engineering Graduates Do?

B.S. degree graduates from Missouri S&T work in the areas of environmental protection, geo-technical engineering and geo-technics, geological hazards, GIS, and energy and minerals. The 21st century will be a time of conflict between the use of earth resources and the need for environmental protection-geological engineers will be uniquely positioned to address the problems associated with this conflict.

Most geological engineers work for environmental or geo-technical consulting firms, or for government agencies such as the U.S. EPA or state departments of natural resources. Job duties range from field investigations of geological and hydrological conditions to design of innovative waste storage or remediation schemes. Monitoring and sampling associated with environmental protection are also areas where geological engineers play an important role.

Many geological engineers work on problems associated with hazards such as landslide stabilization, seismic risk, and other geologic hazards. For example, a geological engineer might investigate the risk of a dam failing due to a large earthquake and might recommend geo-technical designs to reduce that risk.