Education Analysis

Education Requirements for Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers

Does degree level affect salary? Based on education data in DOL PERM (green card) filings.

Salary by Education Level

What the Data Shows

For Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers positions, filings requiring a Master's degree carried an average declared salary of $122,875 versus $115,074 for those requiring a Bachelor's - a premium of +6.8%. Across all certified filings with a stated education level, 29.5% accepted a Bachelor's degree as the minimum requirement.

Education vs Salary

Education LevelAverage SalaryFilings% of Total
Associate's$140,00010.6%
Master's$122,87511868.2%
Doctorate$118,05331.7%
Bachelor's$115,0745129.5%

Education by Top Employer

EmployerMost Common Minimum% Bachelor's% Master'sMedian Salary
BP America Inc. Bachelor's 33.3% 33.3% $124,862
Schlumberger Technology Corporation Master's 50% 50% $93,001
Chevron Corporation Master's 0% 100% $127,500
The University of Texas at Austin N/A N/A N/A $60,000
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory N/A N/A N/A $68,496
ConocoPhillips Company Master's 11.1% 88.9% $120,720
Exxon Mobil Corporation Master's 0% 100% $135,470
Shell Exploration and Production Company Master's 50% 50% $134,500
CGG Services (U.S.) Inc. Master's 10.5% 89.5% $88,220
ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company N/A N/A N/A $126,400
TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company Bachelor's 66.7% 33.3% $102,023
Broken Hill Proprietary (USA), Inc. Master's 0% 100% $154,898
Lumina Geophysical, LLC Master's 16.7% 83.3% $80,538
Columbia University N/A N/A N/A $74,726
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Master's 0% 100% $124,124
Petroleum Geo-Services, Inc. Bachelor's 100% 0% $93,020
Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. Bachelor's 100% 0% $94,208
Texas A&M University N/A N/A N/A $64,626
GX TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION N/A N/A N/A $86,370
Weatherford International, LLC Bachelor's 100% 0% $97,344