68 of 100
BACK NEXT
68. Geologist

Like this job? Now Like CNNMoney on Facebook for career tips, plus the latest business news and features on Personal Finance, the Economy, Markets, Technology, and more.


Geologist
Median pay: $65,400
Top pay: $119,000
10-year job growth: 21.2%
Total jobs*: 33,800
What they do all day? Geologists are like earth detectives. They collect soil to analyze its mineral makeup and find ground water. Lately, some geologists have raised red flags over soil pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing, a relatively new technology used to release natural gas and oil. --J.A.

Quality of life ratings:
Personal satisfaction Low stress Benefit to society Flexibility
B C B C
Published: October 29, 2012
Notes: All pay data from PayScale.com. Median pay is for an experienced worker (at least five or seven years in the field). Top pay represents the 90th percentile. Job growth is estimated for 2010-20, and based on people working in broader 'job family' from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
*Total jobs is estimated number of people working in broader BLS 'job family.'

Sources: PayScale.com, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and CNNMoney research
Do Geologists have great jobs, or what?
Best Jobs in America
Highest-paying jobs
Top-paying jobs

Neurosurgeons take home a median $368,000 in salary and bonus annually. What other Best Jobs in America offer big paychecks?

Fastest-growing jobs
Best new jobs in America
Top 100: Full list
Get paid to play videogamesPLAY
How we picked the Best Jobs
It's still a tough job market out there, so when CNNMoney and PayScale.com set out to find America's Best Jobs this year, first and foremost we looked for professions that offer great growth opportunities. More

Comments? E-mail the editors
Contact Us Closed Captioning Manage Cookies+ Site Map

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.