This question comes up a lot. My little tools tell me a lot of people end up on this website with that very question.  And, there is a lot of bad information out there.

As in any field, there are wide ranges in salaries between professionals. Everyone knows brain surgeons get paid more than general practitioners. Or that corporate lawyers bring home more dough than the small-town guy who draws up wills and deeds. These differences are expected, are normal, and are based on supply and demand.

What do geologists make? If you look up "geologist salary" on the internet, you will find that geologists make X. And X is clearly wrong. That's because such numbers are developed when entities like the government get together and group all geologic specialties together as "geologists," and come up with an average salary, which really means nothing. We want to know what Petroleum Geologists make, by using numbers we can believe in that actually reflect the specialty.

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is the world's largest professional geological society. Every year the AAPG conducts a professional survey, published in  their tabloid, AAPG Explorer, that surveys the salaries of geologists employed in the petroleum businesses. This survey is the closest thing you will get to the real numbers. But it's still based on averages. It's just that the AAPG's numbers are more accurate for Petroleum Geologists.

With that in mind, take a look at the table below. These figures are from the April, 2011 issue of the The Explorer. It covers the salary period of 2010.

But Read This First:

The annual AAPG salary survey is based on employed, salaried geoscientists and is based on salaries alone. It does not include bonuses, employee benefits, autos, luxurious field trips, paid travel to exciting drilling locations, or other perquisites that often come with the job. It does not attempt to include anyone whose compensation is in the form of consulting fees, retainers or overrides, which are common in the industry, and often generous. The survey also is based on U.S. salaries only, though American expats working in foreign countries will virtually always be paid American rates, or more.

I should also point out that the vast majority of Petroleum Geologists have master's degrees, and anyone intending to enter the field should plan to get one.  My guess (and it's just a guess), is that 85% of working Petroleum Geologists have a M.S.  

2010 Average Base Salary By Degree  (Source: AAPG Explorer.  Does not include bonuses, benefits, autos, consulting fees, retainers, or overrides, which are common in the industry).

Many Petroleum Geologists work for independent...often smaller...energy companies that pay substantial bonuses, often 20-60% of salary each year. Coupled with generous matching contributions to 401K's (100% at at least one company) and other goodies, the average experienced Petroleum Geologist may find himself making a very high salary, doing a job he loves to do, often with no management responsibilities, which many geologists consider a pain the rear.   Good geologists need virtually no supervision, once they are told what the objectives of the company are.  And, the general lack of supervision is generally the way it works in most organizations, making the job a pleasant one to have.  

One poll found that geologists ranked #2 in job satisfaction out of all professions (I can't remember who was #1).  After meeting hundreds of geologists over the years, I can say that people who fall into geology naturally (as most of them do) are extremely satisfied with their profession.  

As with all professions, the sky is the limit, and some Petroleum Geologists will make more than $1 million per year. These kinds of salaries may be earned by Petroleum Geologists whose salaries involve "overrides," which is a fancy word for owning a piece of the action, without having to have their own skin in the game.

Please Don't Pay Much Attention to Money

If you want to be a good geologist, you should have immense curiosity, a scientific bent, an analytical mind, artistic ability, creativity, the ability to process and distill huge amounts of data, a good sense of humor, and the ability to communicate your ideas to others. This does not mean you need to be Einstein, Da Vinci, or Jay Leno, but being well-rounded helps a lot. 

Though a Petroleum Geologist works 90% with THINGS, he must get along with people in the modern "Team Environment," and possess basic interpersonal skills.  The ability to establish friendly communications is a must, as many types of people must be dealt with regularly (see 5 Steps to Drill A Well).   Please don't ever think of entering any field, especially this one, if money is your main objective!  You will not be very happy surrounded by geologists, who live and talk geology constantly (rarely even mentioning football), if you don't love what you are doing.

In fact, when you're starting out, it's really better not to think about money, or even a job for that matter. Just concentrate on getting the degree you need. The type of geologist you want to be, and the job you will do, will become crystal clear later. There are many paths in geology, and Petroleum Geology may not be your cup of tea. If you want to specialize in late Ashgillian monzonitic plutonic intrusions, more power to you. I once did!