Survey assistant
| Highest | $3,200 / mo · United States |
|---|---|
| Experience | 0–1 yrs |
| Degree | Required |
| First paycheck | ~2 years of study |
Pay in the destination countries
Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.
| Country | Monthly |
|---|---|
| United StatesTOEFL 80–100 · $10–70k | $3,200max |
| AustraliaIELTS 6.0–6.5 · AUD 30–50k | $3,150 |
| SwitzerlandIELTS 6.5 · CHF 0.9–8k | $3,050 |
| CanadaIELTS 6.0–6.5 · CAD 20–40k | $3,050 |
| NorwayIELTS 6.0–6.5 · NOK 130–260k | $3,000 |
| GermanyIELTS 6.5 · €0–3k | $2,950 |
What does the day look like?
You do not spend most of the day finding deposits. Most of the day is the other end of the process: bagging, labelling, washing and logging samples, logging drill core and mud cuttings, charting pressure and temperature from wells and boreholes, entering test data into databases, preparing notes, sketches, geological maps and cross-sections, plotting data from aerial photographs and well logs, and assembling, operating, cleaning, calibrating and carrying field and laboratory equipment. Discovery and interpretation belong to the supervising geologist, who signs the report.
Your tools are GPS and GNSS receivers, total stations, drilling and logging tools, sonic, electronic, electrical, seismic and gravity meters, microscopes and GIS software. Office and laboratory spells are standard full-time hours on computers organising data and writing logs. Fieldwork is outdoors in all weather, sometimes at remote sites for days and weeks, with irregular schedules. Mine and drilling rosters are the spells most likely to include nights and on-call cover.
Where does this lead?
Next step up
What do you make of this job?