Almost a third of geologists are unemployed or underemployed as commodity prices remain low and exploration work becomes increasingly rare.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-16/one-in-three-geologists-unemployed-or-underemployed-survey-finds/6119866
This was based on observations made in early 2015. Well,....brace yourself,.....2016 is set to be worse!
There aren’t much of employment opportunities for geologists at the
moment, and
there won’t be for a while so we need to adapt. This is so unlike 2008 when being a geologist was
like striking gold. We were rare, in demand and paid well. A CV in the public
domain would not last a day before a lucrative job opportunity is realised. Now,
the reverse is true.
There are more geologists than the ailing mining industry
can employ, and even then, the remuneration is trailing way behind our
technical counterparts in mining engineering. Even the uptake of geologists in
critical managerial roles has been on the decline. Dire straits.
How do we adapt? Well as
geologists, we tend to be blinkered in our career paths and as we stand,
production, exploration and resource geologists are in a position where,
difficulties in the mining sector sees them jobless or with their jobs on the
line…back on the job market. The other big unfortunate glitch in the mining
career for a geologist is that, when push comes to shove, mining houses tend to
get rid of the capital based projects like exploration (Exploration geologist
back on the street) and outsource mineral resource definition to consultants
(out with the rest of the geology crew)…...
Are prepared ourselves for the realities we face??
In my view, the problem starts with the university education and how it’s too technical with no managerial components whatsoever. The tertiary institutions should differentiate between the geotechnician and the geologist. More project and senior management components should be incorporated in the various geology curricular to make our profession more versatile.
But what to do now. We are already sitting in the hot soup…what now?
In the words of Mark Cutifani (Jo’burg Indaba, 2016) which related to
the mining industry and are so relevant to our profession’s plight “There is
something different about what we are confronted with, for us we have to think
differently about the future and what we can learn from the past, we have to
make sure that we are not confined or constrained by the lessons of the past.
There are many new things we have to think about and respond to in the world as
it stands today.”
The first is to reinvent oneself. One needs to each re-evaluate the
trajectory of their career path. If one is on track then great, but if the
gradient is shallowing, act now...
How? Well here's my two-cents worth:
- Supplement one’s credentials with a “power-course” like
an MBA, MBL etc.
- Investigate changing the path of your geological career
by considering any of the following careers Archeologist, Geophysicist,
Hydrogeologist, Environmental geologist, Geochemist, Engineering
Geologist, Wellsite Geologist, Mineralogist etc. A career change that will also involve
a bit of study and experience.
- Read and don’t stop. Learn about geological
environments outside your region. You never know where you'll end up.
- Network. The value of
networking is immeasurable. We tend to be more rock people than people people
but we gotta pop out of our shells.
- Be willing to travel even for temporary jobs or FIFO etc.
In a nutshell. Let our careers be as dynamic as the times we find ourselves in to match the volatility of our industry.
Good Luck!!
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