Hydrogeologist : Employers and vacancy sources

Hydrogeologists are employed in a range of sectors. Typical employers include:

• environmental and engineering consultancies, ranging from those with just a few employees to those with several hundred, working for private clients and governments both in the UK and overseas;
• research organisations, e.g. the British Geological Survey (BGS) , the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland  and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) ;
• government regulators: the Environment Agency (EA) ; the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) ; and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) ;
• water supply companies, especially those that use groundwater as a major part of their water supply;
• mining/quarrying organisations whose work may have an impact on, or require the management of, groundwater;
• the nuclear industry;
• waste disposal companies that operate landfill facilities;
• other large industries that have significant contaminated land issues, e.g. pharmaceuticals, steel and chemical;
• universities with specialist courses, for specific academic research and lecturing posts;
• renewable energy companies/organisations, where the evaluation of renewable energy schemes and ground source heat schemes is needed;
• overseas aid organisations that are developing safe water supplies in developing countries.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Earthworks Jobs  
• ENDS Environmental Job Search  
• Geological Society  
• New Scientist Jobs  
• National and local press.

Search websites of individual employers for details of vacancies. The UK Groundwater Forum  has a list of organisations that employ hydrogeologists in the UK.

Recruitment agencies often handle vacancies. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)  website has a searchable online directory of recruitment consultancies.

Speculative applications can be effective. Business directories are also useful for sourcing potential employers.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.