Read rocks to find metals, water and oil, and to work out what the ground will do next.
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Programs in the fields this career usually comes through. Each has its own page: what it takes to get in, the courses you need and what it costs.
The median pay is about $104,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $64,000 at the lower end to about $208,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.
4 to 8 years after high school, on the usual route.
$29,700 to $60,400 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.
It depends where you work. You need a licence, certificate or registration in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Elsewhere there is none to hold, though many employers still ask for training or a certificate.
Moderate demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.
Or read the whole thing here
What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Median
$104,000
Lower end
$64,000
Upper end
$208,000
Job Bank's national median is $50.00 an hour, about $104,000 a year at 40 hours a week. The low and high are the bottom and top of the wage range for everyone in the group, from $30.77 to $100.00 an hour.
$57.69 an hour
The median in Ontario, about $120,000 a year, the highest in Canada
Saskatchewan is next at $52.20. Quebec's median is $48.08, Alberta's is $44.43 and Manitoba's is the lowest, at $44.23. Exploration work often starts as a seasonal contract in camp, with food and housing covered.
Roughly, all in
$29,700 to $60,400
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is a four year science degree at about $7,000 a year, the required summer field school at the cheap end, basic gear and the first round of registration fees with the provincial regulator. The high end is the same degree at $14,000 a year, a pricier field school, and higher registration and annual dues. Employers usually supply safety gear once you are working. Summer jobs in mineral exploration are paid and often include room and board in camp, which helps many geology students cover part of the cost as they go.
Summer field jobs in exploration are paid and often cover room and board, which helps many geology students cover part of the cost as they go.
Camp rotations
Two weeks in, two weeks out is common, with flights and food paid.
Northern and remote allowances
Some employers add an allowance for working in the territories or at a fly-in site. Terms vary, so ask.
Share bonuses in exploration
Some junior mining companies pay part of your package in shares. It can be worth a lot or nothing.
Pension in government roles
Provincial and federal geological surveys are stable, pensioned jobs.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A science degree, then several years of supervised work before you can sign anything.
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Chemistry, physics, math and earth science if your school has it. Get comfortable being outdoors in bad weather.
Bachelor of Science (BSc) in geology or geoscience
4 years
Four years, including a field school. Make sure the program is accredited for registration in your province.
Summer field work
Each summer
Exploration crews, government surveys or mine sites. This is how you get hired after graduation.
Geoscientist in training
About 4 years
Register with your provincial body and work under a registered geoscientist while you log experience.
Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo)
After the experience
Pass a professional practice and ethics exam, have your experience reviewed, and get your registration.
Chemistry
Minerals are chemistry. This is the one that matters most.
Physics
Needed for geophysics and for understanding how the ground moves.
Math
Calculus is required for the degree.
Geography or earth science
Maps, landforms and reading the ground.
Everywhere except Prince Edward Island and Yukon, you cannot practise geoscience independently or sign off on technical work unless you are registered. Geologists there usually register in a neighbouring province or territory. Each region has its own body, such as Professional Geoscientists Ontario. The usual requirement is an accredited degree, about four years of supervised experience, and a professional practice and ethics exam. The Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo) title is protected, so using it without registration is an offence.
West
University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan.
Ontario
Queen's University, Laurentian University in Sudbury, University of Toronto, Western University.
Quebec and Atlantic
Université Laval, McGill University, Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
North
Yukon University's 2 year Earth Sciences diploma transfers into a geoscience degree at Acadia or Vancouver Island University.
In Quebec you need a geology degree on the order's list, then 3 years as a geologist-in-training, before the Ordre des géologues du Québec (the Quebec order of geologists) issues your permit.
Finish Secondary V
High school
Take the Secondary V math and science courses that your CEGEP (public college) asks for its science program.
Science DEC (Diploma of College Studies)
A science DEC at a CEGEP (public college) is the usual way into a Quebec university science degree.
A recognized geology degree
The order lists geology degrees from Université Laval, Université du Québec in Chicoutimi and Montréal, and Université de Montréal. In English, Concordia's geology degrees count.
Register as a geologist-in-training
After the degree
Apply to the order's trainee register after graduating, $371.25 plus tax. Until you are registered you cannot use the title or do work reserved to geologists.
36 months of geology work
3 years
Paid work, consecutive or not. A master's in geology cuts a year, a doctorate one more. Send your report and permit request 2 months before the end.
Exam, French and permit
End of the training
After the report is accepted, pass the order's exam, $506 plus tax. Show French through 3 years of French schooling or an exam. The permit is $797.50 plus tax.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Mineral exploration
Finding new deposits. The most field time, the most travel, and the most job swings with metal prices.
Mine geology
Working at one operating mine, mapping and guiding production. Steadier than exploration.
Petroleum geology
Oil and gas, concentrated in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Hiring moves with the price of oil.
Engineering and environmental geology
Ground conditions for buildings, dams and roads, and contaminated site work. The steadiest branch.
Geographic information systems (GIS) skills
Mapping software is used in every branch of the job.
Driver's licence and off-road experience
Field crews need people who can drive a truck on bush roads.
First aid and wilderness safety
Employers often require it before you can go to a remote site.
A second language
French for Quebec projects, Spanish for the many Canadian mining companies working in Latin America.
Geology hiring rises and falls with metal and oil prices. In a boom, exploration companies hire everyone they can. In a downturn, junior companies stop drilling and layoffs come fast. People who ride this out tend to hold roles in government surveys, engineering consulting or environmental work, where the work is steadier and the swings are smaller.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Up early in camp, a safety briefing, then a helicopter or truck out to the ground you are mapping. Walk traverses, split rock with a hammer, log what you see, bag samples and mark their positions. Back at camp before dark to write up notes, log drill core and plan tomorrow. Office weeks are the opposite: modelling, maps, reports and meetings, with no bugs.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
In 2024 Canada was the world's fourth-largest producer of rough diamonds, about 12% of world output. It started in 1998, when Ekati opened in the Northwest Territories.
Canadian securities rules say a public mining company's technical report must be prepared or supervised by a qualified person: an engineer or geoscientist with a related degree, at least 5 years of mining or exploration experience, and good standing with a professional body.
Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.
Earth and weather first, then the rest of the field. See every career in science and environment.
Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.
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