Definition

• Petrologists conduct research on the distribution and quantity of minerals in rocks. They also assess the orientation, composition, size, mineral interactions and other traits of ore bodies, rocks, hydrocarbon deposits and fossils. They spend much of their time out in the field collecting data and analyzing samples of minerals, and sometimes work in a lab conducting chemical and computer analyses. Petrologists working in private companies and environmental management may work long hours, while those working for the government tend to work standard hours.
  
  

Salary Range

• According to Schools in the USA, the entry level salary for a petrologist is around $36,580. The average salary for the position is $67,470, while the maximum salary tops out around $133,310. According to Salary Wizard, a service of Salary.com, the average salary for a petrologist in 10 major metropolitan areas that were surveyed was $75,688, as of March 2011. These averages are slightly below the median annual salary of all geoscientists, which was $79,160 as of May 2008, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  
  

Location

• The salary of a petrologist is significantly different from location to location, based on a survey conducted by SalaryExpert. According to the report, the top two salary locations surveyed were Houston and Dallas, Texas, with average salaries of $121,760 and $96,928, respectively. The two lowest petrologist salary locations were Atlanta, Georgia, and Orlando, Florida, at $51,478 and $54,593. The other cities surveyed, in order of lowest salary to highest salary, were Charlotte, North Carolina, with $56,212; Phoenix, Arizona, with $59,072; Chicago, Illinois, with $60,874; New York, New York, with $61,045; Miami, Florida, with $62,661; and Boston, Massachusetts, with $75,666.
  
  

Outlook

• According to the report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prospects for employment for geoscientists in general are positive. The industry is expected to increase 18 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is faster than the projected average of most jobs during the same decade. Since the geosciences are connected to monitoring the quality of the environment, and to the exploration and production of oil and gas, geoscientists are frequently in high demand. There will be fewer jobs for the industry within the government because of budget constraints at agencies like the U.S. Geological Service.