Geological & Earth Sciences

Contains Stem Majors

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2022
8,124
growing 3.87%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$7,820
growing 0.916%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$55,810
growing 4.39%
Average Wage
$125,510
growing 7.15%
People in Workforce
1.18M
growing 2.09%
Average Employee Age
44.6
declining 0.491%

About

In 2022, the locations with the highest concentration of Geological & Earth Sciences degree recipients are Mississippi State, MS, College Station, TX, and Seattle, WA. In 2022, the locations with a relatively high number of Geological & Earth Sciences degree recipients are South Browning, MT, Ashland, WI, and Socorro, NM. The most common degree awarded to students studying Geological & Earth Sciences is a bachelors degree.

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Geological & Earth Sciences and the types of students that study this field. Mississippi State University awards the most degrees in Geological & Earth Sciences in the US, but United States Coast Guard Academy and Blackfeet Community College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Geological & Earth Sciences.

Tuition costs for Geological & Earth Sciences majors are, on average, $7,820 for in-state public colleges, and $55,810 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Geological & Earth Sciences programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (343 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (6,717 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Geological & Earth Sciences (2022)
  1. 175 degrees awarded
  2. 138 degrees awarded
  3. 129 degrees awarded

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Geological & Earth Sciences, is Public, 4-year or above (6,717 completions in 2022).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Geological & Earth Sciences programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$7,820
Median In-State Public
$55,810
Median Out of State Private

Mississippi State University has the most Geological & Earth Sciences degree recipients, with 175 degrees awarded in 2022.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Geological & Earth Sciences.

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Specialized Colleges

Out of all institutions that offer Geological & Earth Sciences programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, United States Coast Guard Academy has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Geological & Earth Sciences, with 15%.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Geological & Earth Sciences
  1. 195 degrees awarded
  2. 175 degrees awarded
  3. 138 degrees awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Geological & Earth Sciences by year.

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Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded
  1. 1.1k%
  2. 700%
  3. 500%

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Geological & Earth Sciences.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Physical Sciences graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $125,510 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other Physical Scientists.

The industry that employs the most Physical Sciences majors is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Offices of physicians.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
$125,510
Average Wage in Workforce
± $2,865
7.15%
1 Year Growth
± 3.02%

The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $125,510 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other Physical Scientists.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Physical Sciences majors.

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Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Physical Sciences majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Physical Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

The most common occupations Physical Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other Physical Scientists.

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Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Physical Sciences majors working as Geoscientists and hydrologists, except geographers, Astronomers & physicists, and Atmospheric & space scientists.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

The highest paid occupations by median income for Physical Sciences majors are Surgeons, Physicians, and Securities, commodities, & financial services sales agents.

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Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
1.18M
2022 Workforce
± 26,545
2.09%
1 Year Growth
± 3.14%

The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.09%, from 1.15M in 2021 to 1.18M in 2022.

The largest single share of Physical Sciences graduates go on to work as Postsecondary teachers (7.75%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Physical Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
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Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
1.18M
2022 Workforce
± 26,545
2.09%
1 Year Growth
± 3.14%

The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.09%, from 1.15M in 2021 to 1.18M in 2022.

The industry which employs the most Physical Sciences graduates by share is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Physical Sciences.

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Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Physical Sciences majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Physical Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Physical Sciences in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Physical Sciences is 44.6.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Physical Sciences degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Physical Sciences (5,485 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
44.6
Average Age in 2022
± 0.316 Years
0.491%
1 Year Change
± 1.01%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Physical Sciences. The most common ages of employees with this major are 32 and 30 years old, which represent 2.66% and 2.65% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Geological & Earth Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Research Doctorate.

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Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Physical Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Doctorate degree.

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Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (52.1%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Geological & Earth Sciences.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. White
    5,485 degrees awarded
  2. Hispanic or Latino
    866 degrees awarded
  3. Non-resident Alien
    697 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Geological & Earth Sciences for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination
  1. White Male
    1,966 degrees awarded
  2. White Female
    1,813 degrees awarded
  3. Hispanic or Latino Female
    321 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Geological & Earth Sciences.

White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

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Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Geological & Earth Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
Most Common Countries of Origin
  1. India
    56,647 degree recipients
  2. China
    54,690 degree recipients
  3. Korea
    12,244 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. Sri Lanka
    4.93 times more than expected
  2. China
    3.81 times more than expected
  3. USSR
    3.75 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Sri Lanka that hold Physical Sciences degrees (4.93 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (56,647 degree recipients).

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Geological & Earth Sciences field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Geological & Earth Sciences majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Geological & Earth Sciences majors need more than the average amount of Technology Design, Management of Financial Resources, and Management of Material Resources.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Geological & Earth Sciences majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Technology Design is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Science, and Writing are the three most important skills for people in the field.

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Bar Chart

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