So today I am so bored I thought I’d share the boredom by explaining the life of a Geologist.
Firstly you get caught in this web of, not lies, but half truths at Varsity about how wonderful a life of a Geologist is, quite honestly its not all roses.
People rant and rave about how well some Geologists are paid well the truth is if you spend so much time away from home is it all really worth it??? Look at all the things you miss: Birthdays, Parties with mates and Family functions. Then when you do come home, which is a very limited time indeed, you have to now split that time up so that you can see all the family all the friends and then still have time for yourself. Well 10 days off, for me, is not enough time to do all that.
Depending on the type of Geologist you are (there are many different types) life can be difficult. I am in the exploration side of things. Life for us exploration types is very difficult to say the least, especially when you are the type of guy that’s wants to live in one place and start a family. Exploration Geologists are nomads, we move from exploration camp to exploration camp from country to country and from continent to continent. Also the commodities change too, one month you might be on Platinum the next on Diamonds the next on Copper.
Our shift rotations depend on the company you work for but could be anything from 9 days on and 5 days off to 9 weeks on 5 weeks off the latter also depending on whether you work for a junior or a big mining house, which if you work for a junior company could end up being 9 weeks on and 2 weeks off, NOT COOL!!! My shift rotation is 21 days on 10 days off so I work for 21 days solid Monday to Monday, then have my days off.
Then there is the “junior” side of things I have been there I have worked for a junior company, it was terrible they looked at us like cattle and when people resigned it was fine with them they would just hire another unsuspecting victim. They would hire anyone who was willing to do the job and they knew that people need experience and so they hired. In my time there at this junior company they must have had about ten Geologists leave due to not being happy with their working conditions. Then again there are the companies, and there are very few of them, from what I can see that actually look after their geological staff, to them you are not cattle and the when someone resigns for ‘greener pastures’ it’s a big knock to a team it really is.
Geology is definitely a career for people wanting to experience the world you get to work in all the weird and wonderful places that hardly anyone has ever been to. Totally untouched virgin lands ranging from Bushveld to rain forests to deserts the life of an exploration geologist can be one of excitement.
Living conditions are totally out there as well some camps are tented camps others are farm houses. The project I’m on now has been running for a while and we are at the Bankable feasibility stage and our camp actually is like a 5 star camp site. We each have a log cabin for accommodation, which each one has an airconditioner, thank the pope.
The ablution block has showers with running water. Some camps have those bucket type showers but not this one.
The nearest town, with a spar, is over 60km away where we get our food from and whatever else we need. Booze on the other hand can be bought at the local taverns which generally smell like old stale beer.
I enjoy my job I really do it’s just the uncertainty of where will I be in the next 6 months and the fact that you are so far away from friends and loved ones that always makes me so jealous of people that moan and complain about their lives when they actually don’t realize what they have.
I would give anything to wake up every morning next to my loved one and go and see my friends every weekend but unfortunately my career is leading me down a different path.