Many times you might have come across the word ‘Geology’, whether from the common pet phrase of ‘Geology Rocks!’ that of Ross of the famous and evergreen sitcom FRIENDS or from countless ‘Geological Technology’ in your brochure and Oordinances & Regulations booklet. You might have felt landing on a whole another planet when you heard about your allotment in this particular branch. But if you have researched a little, you would know there is a lot this branch has to offer.

To begin from scratch, Earth sciences is a branch of science that deals with the systematic study of Earth and its processes occurring on and beneath the surface of Earth. Earth Science being an observational science requires a combined knowledge of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and even Biology. To be more specific, the entire Earth sciences can be divided into two major disciplines: Geology and Geophysics. Geophysics involves studying dynamics of Earth whereas Geologists get to have an in depth interpretation of various geological features and their application in the industry.

This field has a lot to offer both in the field of Research as well as Industry. Research deals with core subjects like Petrology, Economic Geology, Ore Geology, Fluid Inclusions etc. which are taught in the first three years of your stay at IIT Roorkee. Industrial application deals with Structural Geology, Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, Logging, Remote Sensing, Mineral Exploration, etc. Field trips are an integral part of the course with two of them being organised in second and third years. The best part of the curriculum you can say!

Geologists play a key role not only in the Oil & Gas sector, but also in the mining industry. With the tremendous growth of artificial intelligence and remote sensing & GIS, the field has exponential potential for growth. And ah! How can we forget about placements? The recruiters for this branch during the infamous ‘Placement Season’ include mighty global conglomerates such as Schlumberger, Shell, Cairn and PSU’s like ONGC, Coal India, etc. To look at the placement stats and average salaries before applying for companies is too mainstream at the R-land. But a word of caution: these can be very misleading as these range from 7 lpa to 32 lpa; showing high variance because of some highly paid candidates.

Most of you might be thinking that you landed up here because of your screwed up JEE ranks and will go for branch change for sure. But before that, build your interest a little bit in this latitude and unravel the opportunities this branch has to offer. You might literally end up being a researcher at MIT or having a 40 lpa package at Schlum…

P.S. Beware of the jargons of some of the professors here..and yeah! Welcome to the R-Land! A journey you will never forget! - Bhavjot Kaur

ONGC, Schlumberger.