Mahua Ghosh is glad that she decided to take up geology. As a junior geophysicist at WesternGeco-Schlumberger, an oilfields services company in Mumbai, she wouldn’t trade her job for anything in the world. Says she, “I get to travel extensively exploring nature.” Agrees Avik Manna, MSc student of applied geology at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, “It’s a diversified field and provides wide-ranging opportunities compared to other science subjects like chemistry or zoology.”

So why is geology such a hit with students today? Says Prof. Tapan Kumar Baidya, head of the department of geological sciences, Jadavpur University, “The notion of geology has undergone a sea change. It is no longer restricted to rocks and minerals but has now found applications in different branches of science like physics, chemistry, metallurgical engineering, civil engineering, chemical engineering, construction engineering and so on.” This newly discovered inter-disciplinary nature of geology has pushed it to the forefront of popular choices for students.

The entry of private and foreign companies in the oil and mining sectors has also led to a resurgence in careers in geology. After the dismantling of the license raj, the government is now no longer the sole proprietor of mines and oil fields. As a result, a lot of private and foreign companies have entered the field, which in turn has resulted in more job opportunities for geologists.

So what is geology all about? Essentially, it is a science that deals with the study of the earth, its history, environment, minerals, etc. Mineralogy (the study of minerals), petrology (study of rocks and the combination of minerals), stratigraphy (succession of rocks in layers), paleontology (study of fossilised remains), geomorphology (study of landforms), structural geology (classification of rocks and the forces that produced them), environmental geology (study of the use of the environment) are all specialisations of geology.

Apart from an undergraduate degree in geology offered at many Indian colleges and universities, there are also sub-branches of the subject such as applied geology and applied geophysics that are offered at the masters level at many leading institutions, including the IITs.

Specialisations in the subject can be divided into three categories ? petroleum exploration, mineral exploration and groundwater exploration and remote sensing. Says Santanu Banerjee, associate professor, department of earth sciences, IIT-Bombay, “Amongst these specialisations, petroleum exploration is very popular nowadays. These specialisations are available at the MTech level.”

Another hot specialisation in geology today is environmental geology. “This is an important field and the work includes testing ground water to analyse the presence of arsenic, etc,” says Abdul Matin, reader in geology, Calcutta University. Gemological science too is an allied field that has many takers today. Says Baidya, “It relates to assessing the quality of the mother rock and determining what kind of gems it would yield, the quality control of these gems and their industrial application.”

You need your NET and GATE scores to be eligible to go for an MTech or a PhD in geology. A good academic record is a pre-requisite for admission to undergraduate or postgraduate studies.

The job profile of a geologist is quite varied depending on the specialisation and the employer. “Someone in the geographical information system (GIS) field could be responsible for preparing databases.

Field work is an integral part if one is in the coal, metal and non-metal exploration business. Again, if you are in paleontology, you could be studying microfossils under a microscope,” says Chandreyee Goswami, junior research fellow at the Center for Study of Man & Environment, Calcutta.

Making the grade

So what does it take to be a good geologist? Different people have different takes on it. As Baidya puts it, “One must have a sound grasp of the basic principles of the pure sciences like physics, chemistry, maths and biology to be able to take it up at the undergraduate level.” An intrinsic interest in the earth sciences coupled with an ability to work hard under adverse conditions is also a pre-requisite, adds Banerjee.

The Union Public Service Commission conducts the Geologists Examination for recruitment to the following posts: Category I (i) junior geologist, Group A, (ii) assistant geologist, Group B, in the Geological Survey of India (GSI). Category II: (i) junior hydrogeologist, Group A, (ii) assistant hydrogeologist, Group B, in the Central Ground Water Board at selected centres in India. The basic salary for a junior geologist in GSI comes to about Rs 8,000 a month.

Jobs galore

In case of private companies like Schlumberger, British Gas, or Reliance, the pay package for freshers usually ranges from Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 a month. Says Banerjee, “Some of our geology graduates are joining companies like Rolta or Tata Consultancy Services where software for geological and mining applications are produced. But nowadays, more than 50 per cent students are joining the petroleum industry.”

Similarly, Coal India, Mineral Exploration Authority, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, Hindustan Zinc and several other organisations engaged in mineral exploration utilise the services of geologists. Research institutes like the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, Central Fuel Research Institute, Dhanbad, and Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany, Lucknow, recruit geologists as well as research scientists.