Earth Science and Engineering

Whatever career you choose, future employers will want to see evidence of the skills you have developed in your studies. These may include technical skills and academic knowledge if you’re seeking a job related to ESE and ‘transferable skills’ like problem solving, resilience and intellectual curiosity that fit a broad range of roles within and outside of ESE related roles.

The typical skills developed by Imperial ESE students during their degree that are highly valued by employers and include:

• Planning and organisation
• Teamwork and communication skills
• Data handling, processing, and interpretation
• Problem solving and initiative
• Report writing and presentation
• Patience, perseverance, resilience and adaptability

The skills above are all highly valued by employers in many sectors which is why the areas that our graduates go on to work in is so broad. It’s good to reflect on your abilities and consider what skills you can evidence and which skills you may need to enhance. Use our self-reflection webpages to help you understand and document your abilities as this will underpin your career plans and applications for future opportunities.

During your degree you will have many opportunities to develop and learn new skills. Employers will want to see what you have been doing to develop your skills and knowledge outside your course while you have been a student. Experiences such as student societies, part-time work, volunteering and sports can develop your skills and will be valuable additions to your CV. Work experience can also help develop skills and help you decide what career direction you want to follow. These experiences also make you more competitive in future job or further study applications as they show a breadth of experience beyond pure academic study.

As an Imperial student you can participate, or take a leadership role, in a wide variety of Students’ Union activities where you’ll develop many skills. You also have free access to LinkedIn Learning and can use this to develop or improve your knowledge and abilities with software tools and skills through instructional videos taught by industry experts skills. You will also have access to several ESE presentations and workshops providing you with advice on career planning and giving you industry insights. Many of the sessions and lecture recordings are held within ESESIS under the “information” tab.

Throughout your ESE degree you can also learn and develop the skills required to be successful in the job or internship market. For example, you will need to know how to create a strong CV, write a good cover letter and perform well in interviews. We can help you to learn these skills. Start with the applications and interviews section of our website, and by attending our skills training and workshops. For more personalised support, once you’ve use the aforementioned resources, you could book an appointment to speak with a member of our team.

When you understand your skills through self-reflection it’s a good idea to then learn about the range of career areas that might be of interest. Having a broad understanding of what you can do with a degree from ESE at Imperial is a great starting point to gain inspiration and deeper insights into career paths. You could pursue a career in geotechnical engineering, lead the energy transition, work in the environment sector, use your skills in finance, logistics and risk management or help answer critical global issues. Our what do Imperial Graduates Do? contains our Graduate Outcomes data which gives examples of employers and further study options of previous graduates. You can search the data to find what ESE graduates went on to do immediately after graduation and you may also find it useful to read some of the ESE Graduate Profiles or to explore Imperial College LinkedIn – “Earth Science and Engineering” where you can discover the career paths of our ESE alumni as their careers develop over time. However, don't feel limited by what others have done, but instead, follow your own interests.

It’s helpful to consider whether you want to use your ESE knowledge in a job. If so, would you like to be in the field, working in a lab or processing computational data? To help you begin ESE have collated a list of companies that employ ESE graduates which is taken from our what do Imperial Graduates Do? Graduate Outcomes data. Our exploring options resources can help you to learn more about these sectors including desirable skills, responsibilities, professional development and salary expectations across different roles and industries. 

In recent years there’s been a growing trend for ESE graduates wanting to use their knowledge and experience to build a sustainable future. The GreenCareersHub could be a great starting point if you’re looking for information and opportunities around green skills, jobs and careers. You can also meet employers from many of these areas through Careers Service events and fairs which are advertised on JobsLive and in our weekly newsletter. 

Through your research you’ll see that there’s a very wide range of options open to ESE graduates. Some of these are directly accessible from a first degree while others may require additional further study. This can create many questions that you’ll want to answer and speaking to a Careers Consultant through one of our one to one appointments may help after your initial research.

In addition to our resources you may also find the national resource Prospects - Geology to have a similar but alternative commentary to the resources we’ve specifically curated here for you. Their information on Energy and Utilities or Environmental and Agriculture sectors may also be of interest, as too could the TargetJobs resources for job descriptions by industrial sector, including exploration geologist, geomatics/land surveyor, engineering geologist, seismic interpreter, petroleum engineer, or environmental scientist  amongst many others. Finally, you may find some of the degree specific resources for other departments to be of use to you as they have similar skills and career trajectories, specifically, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Environmental Technology and Life Sciences (with a focus on ecology) which can be accessed from the webpage What can I do with my degree?

A professional body, association or society seeks to further a particular profession and the interests of individuals engaged in that profession. The body maintains an oversight of the knowledge, skills, conduct and practice of that profession and can offer accreditation or chartership. You can often use professional bodies to access training or networking events and explore related career options.

Below are some links to professional bodies that deal with various areas related to ESE. Many offer student memberships which can give you access to job listings and careers information while offering great networking opportunities. Some memberships may even allow you to register your CV to vacancy matching services or to be viewed by other members of the community.

• The Geological Society
• American Association of Petroleum Geologists
• Association for Geographic Information
• Association of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists
• British Antarctic Survey
• British Geological Survey
• Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management
• European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers
• Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology
• Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining
• International Society for Digital Earth
• Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain
• Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society
• Society of Exploration Geologists
• Society of Petroleum Engineers

These are just some of the hundreds of societies and organisations dealing with Earth Science related fields. Wikipedia provides a list of geoscience organisations for reference.

Information and advice about how to find employment opportunities can be found on our Jobs and experience webpages, which discusses various strategies and resources. We also host our own jobs board within JobsLive where you can search a database of thousands of organisations and employers by their “business area”. You will also get various emails sent to you during your studies from ESE with relevant opportunities for you or inviting you to talks or networking events. These events can be a great way to find out about individuals working in certain industries and are an opportunity to understand the culture of various companies. We’ve created some resources to help with Networking and to improve your skills and confidence.

Finding ESE related Small or Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs):

There are many well-known Multinational Companies (MNCs) offering graduate level jobs but Small or Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), defined as organisations with fewer than 250 employees, also offer a wide range of interesting and unique graduate level roles. Due to a smaller marketing budgets, these SMEs can be harder to find and they often rely on you approaching them speculatively to show motivation and interest. Companies, particularly SMEs, will sometimes engage with universities through incubation hubs to help them grow skills and expertise. The Imperial Enterprise Lab often run events to help students understand and network with SME and start-up communities in addition to events or speakers that may be invited by ESE or student societies like Geology or Geophysics amongst others.

Below are useful websites to find SMEs relevant to ESE. Some resources may lead to direct job advertisements while others may open a networking opportunity or enable speculative applications.

• The British Geological Survey - a world-leading independent research organisation providing objective, expert geoscientific data, information and knowledge.
• Chamber of Commerce - These local organisations often have directories of local SMEs, including tech companies. The local Chamber may also host networking events where you could meet relevant business leaders. 
• European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) - promoting the development and application of geosciences and related engineering subjects.
• The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) - representing companies, large and small, working in the environmental technologies and services sector.
• Energy Institute – a global community for members to learn, share, network, and collaborate with each other towards creating a better and sustainable energy future.
• GEOExPro - reporting on developments in the energy sector from a subsurface perspective, taking the role of observer and commentator on projects both in the oil and gas and renewable space. Content often features SMEs and advertisements from SMEs.
• The Geologist Directory - a searchable guide to products, services, equipment and companies operating in the earth science sector.
• GeoscienceWorld - transforming how scientific knowledge is shared across the global geoscience community you can search publications for authors and associated companies.
• Ground Engineering - providing information on new and practical aspects of geotechnics, engineering geology and geo-environmental engineering. Content often features SMEs and advertisements from SMEs.
• NineSigma – an open innovation platform that connects companies with problem solvers. SMEs in earth science often participate, providing visibility into their operations and areas of focus through the case studies and news sections.
• Rigzone - an oil and gas directory you can search through for SME companies in this sector
• Association of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists – a member directory to find companies by specialism
• UK Science Park Association - contains a members list of science parks where you can find information on specific SMEs based at various geographic locations.
• UK Space Agency – to understand the Universe and protect our planet and outer space. 

SMEs can also be found by keyword searches on Google Maps. For example, running a search for a specific term (e.g. “Mining” or “GIS”) in geographic areas where you would like to work, or where you know one organisation exists. Often SMEs will cluster together geographically around a larger organisation related to their work from hospitals to transport hubs helping you to find other similar companies. LinkedIn is also a good tool to discover SMEs. Explore different people who have roles that you are interested in and explore their profiles to see where they have worked. You may find SMEs and other interesting organisations that you did not know about. For further support with LinkedIn, take a look at our LinkedIn webpage and attend a Careers Essentials: LinkedIn presentation. The Imperial Enterprise Lab also runs events to help students understand and network with SME and start-up communities.

ESE related Job Boards and Recruitment Agencies:

Information and advice about how to find employment opportunities can be found on our Jobs and experience webpages, which discusses various strategies and resources. We also host our own jobs board within JobsLive where you can search a database of thousands of organisations and employers. You will also get various emails sent to you during your studies from the ESE with relevant opportunities or inviting you to talks or networking events. We’ve created some resources to help with networking and to improve your skills and confidence.

There are thousands of job boards and recruitment agencies operating in the UK and internationally. A jobs board essentially lists vacancies and attracts applicants from an open market of job seekers while a recruitment agency attempts to find the most suitable candidate for a specific job. While an agency can bring many benefits to a job seeker it’s important to remember that the agent is working for their client (that’s the company with the job vacancy) and you are simply a resource they can profit from. While agencies can form part of your job search they should not be your only strategy as they’re often in it for themselves. Additionally, you should remember that the agent is paid by the client so if you’re asked to pay a fee, we'd encourage you to stop and think if it’s necessary and what you would gain in return!

To find agencies operating in the area you may want to explore the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (UK) Membership Directory or speak to people within an industry sector to discover where jobs adverts are placed.

Below are useful jobs boards and websites related to ESE. Some resources lead to direct job advertisements while other may also be useful to develop your knowledge and understanding of an industry sector. 

• Acre – a recruitment company focused on the sustainability and climate change opportunities.
• Allen & York - a leading international recruitment consultancy with a passion for sustainable business growth.
• CA Mining - a mining recruitment consultancy with an initial focus on Africa but an extended global reach.
• Careermine - provides the largest dedicated job board to the mining industry worldwide.
• Earthworks Jobs - job posting board for oil, energy, mining, seismology, sustainability, waste management and many more related areas.
• Energy Jobline – focused on focus on the Oil and Gas, Renewables, Power, and Nuclear markets as well as emerging technologies in EV, Battery, and Fusion.
• Environment Jobs - adverts for green jobs encompassing the specialisms of ecology jobs, sustainability jobs, climate change jobs etc.
• Gradcracker - a leading website focused on STEM jobs, placements and internships for STEM students.
• GreenJobs Online - cover environmental and renewable energy jobs across all industry sectors.
• Hays Specialist Recruitment - a leading global recruitment agency placing over 63,000 people into permanent roles last year.
• Jobs.ac.uk - a jobs board for research, science, academic, teaching and management jobs and studentships in the public and private sector.
• Kinetica - specialists in scientific recruitment.
• Matchtech - provide clients with complete recruitment solutions across Engineering, Technology, Professional and Skills & Employability sectors.
• RigZone - job vacancies within the oil and gas sector.
• SRG - an award-winning resourcing company dedicated to the science, clinical and engineering sectors.
• Sustainability Jobs – a job board for Sustainability jobs and Environmental jobs.
• WorkingSmart – a specialised energy recruitment company to the upstream oil and gas industry.

The UK Science Park Association is also a useful resource as it contains a members list of science parks where you can find information on the SMEs based on at specific science parks across the UK. Some will have jobs boards advertising vacancies while others may provide contact details for speculative approaches to companies of interest to you.

While much of our service provision is focused on the UK, we’ve paid a subscription to give you access to GoinGlobal, which provides international job listings and employer directories alongside country specific information and application support to help internationalise your career. In addition, any student requiring a visa for work within the UK may want to explore StudentCircus who provide verified job vacancies from employers who offer visa sponsorship.

Please note that the above information is not an exhaustive list and that it is provided in good faith, however, if you find an issue with a website, or have additional websites that you’d recommend, please contact us. 

Career planning often takes time and can sometimes feel overwhelming. It’s a good idea to set aside a small amount of time on a regular basis to maintain momentum. Below are some things to get you started:

• Sign up to the Imperial Careers Newsletter by checking the relevant box on your personal profile on JobsLive.
• Learn about the timescales for applying for further study, work experience and graduate employment.
• See our what's on pages to find out about the different types of events that we run, including: workshops, careers fairs, career talks  - and hear from alumni and employers about different types of work.
• Learn the skills that will help you succeed on the job market in the applications and interviews section of our website, and by attending our skills training and workshops and using Shortlist.Me to improve your interview performance and confidence.

If you feel stuck with your career planning, you could book a one to one appointment to talk it through with a careers consultant. Richard Carruthers is the careers consultant for ESE but you can see any of our consultants for your first appointment.