Case studies: Geoscientist: Andrew

Andrew graduated from Leeds University with a BSc in Geological Sciences, then took a Masters in Basin Evolution and Dynamics at Royal Holloway, University of London. He works as a geoscientist.

I’ve always been interested in the natural world around me. After A-levels in geography, computing and physics, I was drawn to studying geology. This was in part due to the chance it offered to take regular field trips and also to my interest in how we came to be. After graduation I took a job outside the petroleum industry, but I soon missed geology so I decided to take an MSc at Royal Holloway. My BSc in Geology gave a broad understanding of various aspects of geology, whereas the MSc is industry driven and develops the specific skills a working geoscientist needs and it led me to apply for my current position.

I attended the Petex conference in London as part of my MSc course and used it as a chance to speak to prospective employers. I then had a list of contacts and sent my CV through to various companies. The interview process varies from company to company. In my case, I presented a piece of work from my MSc course, had a technical interview with project managers and a less formal discussion with recent graduates to secure my current role. A useful tip is to make sure you have good examples of work or projects you’ve been involved in to show at interview. It’s important to listen to and learn from senior and experienced people around you.

I was sent to Western Australia for my first two months in the job. This gave me the chance to understand the company’s global operations and see data from another part of the world. Since then I’ve been working in south east England. I’ve worked closely with various project managers, who’ve helped focus my skills on producing project deliverables. After spending the first year on mostly interpretation projects, my work has started to move into prospect generation and more focused local projects.

I’ve been involved in a number of regional scale seismic interpretation projects in areas such as south Australia, western Ireland and the west of Norway. Within these projects, there have been a number of tasks, including research into regional geology, review of available well data and interpretation of key horizons. I’ve also been involved in prospect generation in more specific areas, which has allowed me to gain a more thorough understanding of geological processes.

Regional seismic interpretation can be quite daunting and tedious at times, but is vital for producing maps and images to understand a region better. I enjoy looking at data from around the world and attempting to explain it. It’s exciting being involved in a technologically advanced industry and I’m constantly learning new things. My colleagues are friendly and I enjoy every day.