Initial Publication Date: April 13, 2015

Employer and Employee Perspectives

We have begun developing a collection of interviews of employers in a variety of geoscience professions and employees with degrees in geoscience (in a variety of careers). While no single perspective can be representative of an entire employment sector, collectively these interviews will provide insights into the hiring needs of the various sectors. We hope that knowing these needs will guide geoscience departments in preparing students for their future careers.

To suggest additional interviewees, please contact Carol Ormand.

Employers

Each of the individuals listed below is involved, to some degree, in hiring and/or training employees at their place of employment. We asked them to tell us what they look for in entry-level hiring decisions, and in particular what makes some candidates stand out from the competition.

Mike Loudin, Manager for Global Geoscience Hiring and Development, ExxonMobil
Jane Willard, President and Principal Geologist, EnPro Assessment (an environmental consulting firm)
Rich Patelke, Project Geologist, PolyMet Mining NorthMet Project
Ken Bradbury, Hydrogeologist, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey
Joe Kopera, Contractor and Consultant, Office of the Massachusetts State Geologist

Employees

Each of the individuals listed below has a degree in geoscience. We asked them to tell us how well their education prepared them for their current positions.